Comparing Ink Jet Fabrics- Part II (EQ)

 

Today, we’re looking at Electric Quit (EQ) Ink Jet Fabric Sheets .  This was my favorite ink jet fabrics out of the three I looked at!!

 

Yesterday, I described Scrap Soft ink jet fabrics.

 

According to Electric Quilt, their ink jet fabric holds the printed image better than other brands.  After all of my tests, I have to agree!

 

Like I said before, I have a run of the mill ink jet printer.  It’s a few years old and in good working condition.  It’s a HP C4480, Printer, Scanner, Copier.

All of the ink jet fabrics I used were “sew-on”.  No stickers or iron-on ink jet fabrics.

________________________________________________________________________

 

2nd TEST Fabric:  Electric Quilt (EQ)

 

I used the “Cotton Lawn” fabric sheets.  According to EQ, these sheets are 100% cotton and have a high thread count which results in a silky, smooth texture.  (I did like the feel of the fabric, although it is thinner than the other fabrics).

 

According to the instructions EQ is washable and dry cleanable.  They say in their instructions:

“The colorfastness of your fabric printout will depend on many factors including the number of washings, chemicals in your water, the total exposure to light and the type of printer ink used.”

 

ALL of the ink jet fabric companies recommend printing using “normal” computer settings.  Apparently, the “best” or “photo” settings can put out too much ink.

 

In terms of washing, EQ recommends soaking the fabric in room temperature water for 10 minutes after drying and swishing the fabric around if bleeding is noticed. 

They recommend using DISTILLED water versus tap water citing that tap water may have additives that affect the printer ink. 

---

 

Here’s what I found:

 

Fabric Quality: 

EQ was definitely the thinnest of all the fabrics and slightly translucent.  I can read the instruction sheet sitting underneath the fabric as I’m writing this.  Nonetheless, it is a soft and silky fabric just as described by EQ!

Also, this fabric is not a pure white, I think I would say it was off-white or creme.

 

**NOTE:  Each of the following tests used a newly printed logo. 

 

Test 1:  Quality of the original print using my HP printer.

                RESULTS:  Bright, strong vivid colors!  The image details were sharp!  I

                REALLY liked the way this fabric sheet printed!

 

Test 2:  Submerging logo in a pan of Fabric Softener and water.  (4 tablespoons per cup of tap water)

                RESULTS:  Logo looked good, no major loss of color.  This method seems to

                work well with all of the ink jet fabrics.

 

Test 3:  Ran the printed logo under running cold water. 

                RESULTS:  Too good to be true!!!  The ink still looks PERFECT!!

 

Test 4:  Sprayed with Scotchgard and then placed under cold running water in sink.

                RESULTS:  After Scotchgarding, everything looked perfect!  Once the

                scotchgard had dried, I ran the image under cold, running water.  Again,

                PERFECT!

 

 

---

Since most quilts will be washed, I tested the logos in the washing machine.  Once again, I cut the logo in half.  One side was washed with detergent.  The other half was washed with fabric softener.

 

Here’s what I did:

 

I gotta say, both sides look pretty good!

 

Test 5: The ink jet fabric was washed using laundry detergent (ALL Free and Clear).

               RESULTS:  (bottom left) slight fading of browns and reds.  Black also

               somewhat dulled, not quite as shiny and bright as before.

 

Test 6:  The ink jet fabric was washed using fabric softener (Downy Free).

               RESULTS:  (top right) Exactly the same as the laundry detergent. 

BEST:  Scotchgard OR rinse (by hand) in a fabric softener/water mixture.

 

WORST: Washing machine but not by much! 

 

---

What did I determine about Electric Quilt (EQ)?

-(using my HP printer)

 

     1.  Printing:  All of the colors print with excellent intensity and sharpness.

 

     2.   Running this fabric under cold water does NOT result in a loss to any of the

           colors!

 

     3.   The recommended fabric softener/water mixture seems to be an excellent way to

           rinse off the excess pigments while retaining the original colors and sharpness.

 

    

My thoughts about using Electric Quilt….

 

-This really was the best of the three ink jet fabric sheets in terms of color intensity and retaining color after washing.

 

-I think I would always use some form of washing to get rid of any extra pigment sitting on top of the fabric, even if it was just the fabric softener/water combo.

 

-The browns and reds were retained the BEST with EQ.

 

-I wish the fabric also came in a pure white clor.

 

-The EQ ink jet sheets printed the clearest and retained their color better than Soft Scrap or Printed Treasures!

 

 

Next….(and last) Printed Treasures ink jet fabric sheets, Part III.

 

Heather 

 

You know you’re a dog person if…you have a kiddie wading pool in the yard but no small children!