Viewable now at the Whitney Musuem’s Biennial Exhibit is work by the artist Georgia Sagri. She teamed up with designer Shabd to help execute some of her installation. Shabd came to us at First2Print to have the photographic imagery of nude female body panel pieces custom printed on fabric, which would later be used for Georgia Sagri’s installation at the currently running Whitney Biennial. Gradients, subtleties in tone, and fleshy hues were a familiar sight for us at our New York studio that week. We received files of a sort of deconstructed human form, separated in to panels that would later be constructed into costumes of sorts.

*The Exhibit is up through May 27th, so hurry on up to 945 Madison Avenue at 75th Street before it’s over. Georgia Sagri’s work is on view in the Museum’s fifth-floor mezzanine galleries.

We were able to direct print this project too. When we say direct print, it means that we don’t employ any of our color matching skills, and that the file is acceptable as is–without any color correction in Photoshop. This can make the order less expensive and less time consuming from both ends. Our turn around time for production (permanent ink) printing is 7-10 business days, but often, when an artist or designer elects to just direct print the file, it can likely come in ahead of deadline.

See the video for her live performance here.

(Images: Eleah Lubatkin — First2Print)

Switching to digital doesn’t need to mean abandoning analogue methods completely however. Though the majority of designers are using computer software such as Photoshop and Illustrator to create their surface designs, we still get clients who have scanned in hand painted imagery or scanned swatches of vintage fabrics for restoration.

It’s faster, more environmentally friendly, and you’re not limited color-wise as you are with screen printing since digital fabric printing can achieve millions.

Educational Tours can be booked through Joan Roland of citi-style via email joan@citi-style.com

Scroll down for a list of just a few of the schools that have come through our facilities.

A big shout-out to…

Ball State University

Buffalo State University

Kent State Univ

Illonois Institute of Art

NC State Univ

Norwich University collge of the Arts

Ohio University

Palomar College

Parsons

Philadelphia University

San Francisco State Univ

Art intitute of Chicago

Art Institute of  Fort Lauderdale

Art Institute of Seattle

University of Arkansas

Washington State Univ

(Image Source: Oystermage.com)

 Ali Bennaim and Ximena Chouza of Shadowplaynyc are inspired by the cosmos…and Ziggy Stardust. In the photos of their workspace, you find imagery of outerspace, deep rich blacks speckled with cosmic formations. A sweet playlist of insipring music fills the rest of the space, and there they make their designs–or so I would imagine it from the article I read on Boys With Banjos. I got in touch with these space obsessed lovelies to ask about their work and how digital fabric printing comes into play. (All images courtesy of ShadowplayNYC…Thanks!!)
See their Etsy store here.

F2P: Do you only have your fabric printed digitally, or do you outsource to mills as well?
Ali: At the moment we only print digitally through various printing companies in the United States.

F2P: Do you feel that digital fabric printing has benefited your business model?
Ali: Definitely, we use a lot of real images from outer space, and the best way to print these detailed and colorful images is digitally. Using digital printing has given us more creative freedom when designing prints and  has also allowed us to select images that have many different colors and shades, which is key for our space imagery.

F2P: Has printing digitally opened the doors creatively for your product development?
Ali: Yes. With digital printing there is a universe  of possibilities; we never have to worry about how large our files and repeats are, and how many colors we are using. This definitely sparks our creativity.

F2P: When did you start your company?
Ali: We are a very young company. We had been doing this as a hobby for a while but it wasn’t until last December that we officially put our stuff in the market, and things have been crazy since then.

F2P: What are your backgrounds?
Ali: Ximena is from Mexico City and I was born in Caracas, Venezuela. We both went to Parsons and majored in Fashion Design, and have been living in New York since 2007. We have both worked in various companies, mainly through freelance projects, and have recently decided to dedicate our full time to our new business!

Thanks Ali, for the images and for taking the time to answer our interview questions!

BON, a full-service strategic, creative marketing and promotions agency worked with First2Print to produce some of the custom fabric needed for the Sailor Jerry Airstream Project. We digitally printed panels on cotton sateen, with images of classic Sailor Jerry (otherwise known as Norman Collins) tattoos, which would later be sewn into pillows, which would later become decorative elements within the Airstream, which would later be leaned on as individuals got inked in said Airstream by legendary tattoo artist Oliver Peck. Over 159 million impressions from digital, media event and PR activities were around this campaign. Check out the photos to see the fabric we printed right here in our New York studio.

Theophilus London | Photo credit: Nate “Igor” Smith |  http://www.drivenbyboredom.com/

DumDum Girls & Oliver Peck  | Photo credit: Nate “Igor” Smith |  http://www.drivenbyboredom.com/

Oliver Peck & Guests  | Photo credit: Nate “Igor” Smith |  http://www.drivenbyboredom.com/

Photo credit: Nate “Igor” Smith
http://www.drivenbyboredom.com/

Airstream exterior image source: http://www.greyhaas.com

Scottish designer Morag Macpherson designed surface patterns for the soon to open (June 2012) Union Square Hotel in Midtown Manhattan. Her designs will be digitally printed on fabric, covering the headboards in each of the 178 rooms. Each piece will be reversible, and will fluctuate with the seasons, creating a fresh centerpiece for the hotel rooms every three months. The patterns themselves are inspired by motifs from her Feminine and Masculine in Nature Collection. She won the contract while attending the 2010 International Contemporary Furniture Fair, where she hooked up with Vennie Lau, from VLDG architects, who thought her designs would be ideal for the project. (First2Print will be at the ICFF this coming May!!)

Though she scored this great commission, and hopes for more, she’s not traditionally trained in textiles, she’s totally self taught, so her approach is with the eye of a visual artist. Digital printing on fabric makes it “easier to experiment and with short runs being affordable, making mistakes isn’t such a big deal.” she mentioned in our brief email interview. It does allow for much more experimentation, and she’s currently looking into bringing photographic work into her next collection.

(Image Source: Style.com + Brittish Vogue.com)

Calla

Toronoto born, Paris based Calla Haynes got her start during an internship in Paris, while attending Parsons in New York. She debuted her brand in North America for the first time at New York Fashion Week this month. Haynes encorporates digital prints on fabric as one of her couture elements of design.

Edun

Edun is a fair trade fashion line founded by U2′s Bono, and his wife Ali Hewson in 2005. Their aim is to “bring about positive change through its trading relationship with Africa”. 29 of the 37 pieces in the Fall/Winter 2012 women’s collection will be produced in Africa.

Nicole Miller

American born designer, Nicole Miller started her brand in the mid-eighties, selling her designs in more than 1,200 stores and namesake boutiques throughout the US. She also has her own line of home goods at Bed, Bath and Beyond.

(Image Source: Style.com)

“Digital Printing has been a major factor for my brand and starting up as I’ve been able to save so much time and money on set up costs, and have been able to design to my full extent without adjusting and cutting colours and prints due to budget restrictions. I’ve been able to hit the market with my products at 100% and have been able to make a good impact due to this. My range of scarf designs are all photographs I have taken, and the ones that make it to scarves are the ones with the most punchy,vibrant and interesting colours, along with the most interesting patterns and shapes that are all morphed and beautifully warped when wrapped around the body. This is a huge part of the appeal of my scarves, and to be restricted in colours when printing would destroy this.”

From left to right: Bricklane photo and scarf, Broadway Gallery photo and scarf.
Click to enlarge.

From left to right: Plaza Real photo and scarf, Portabello Snaps photo and scarf.
Click to enlarge.

If you find yourself in New Zealand or Australia, swing by one of the many boutiques that Good & Co. scarves are carried, such as Jamie Boutique in Auckland or Incu in Sydney. For a full list of boutiques that carry these glorious goods, check out the Good & Co. website. And for the rest of us that aren’t in Australia or New Zealand, scarves can be purchased online on the Good & Co. shop page.