Your Guide To Fabric Printing

Our range of 4 fabric swatch packs are here to help you make an informed decision as to what fabric will work best for your projects. Each swatch pack features a fun and vibrant print on each of the fabric samples, to show you how a print will come out against the different surfaces and compositions of each fabric. 

Introducing the Contrado Fabric Swatch Packs:

The Leather Swatch Pack

The leather swatch pack is made up of 100% real leather. Our specialist printing method gives high-quality color reproduction and fine detailing up to 2 pts. With leathers from both goat and cow, you are bound to find something that has the grain and the texture that you are looking for. 

For a full list of the fabrics that we have to offer and their names, in multiple languages please click here.

Color Charts

• Sublimation inks printed on our Monroe Satin 4.72oz fabric   
• Pigment inks printed on our Cotton Satin 5.07oz fabric   
• Reactive inks printed on our Janice Poplin Organic Cotton 3.98oz fabric  

ID reference numbers

When you get your pack in your hands, you'll see there's an ID reference number on each fabric swatch. Use this number to look up each individual fabric on our website. Just enter the number into the search bar on our full fabric range list to see the properties, uses and fabric information. You can also enter the name of the fabric, as an alternative to using the ID number.

FABRIC LABEL SAMPLE PACK

Before ordering large quantities of fabric labels or even just short runs, you want to make sure you have decided for the right type. Folded or flat label? Which size fits my textile or garment best? We arranged this small collection of all our available custom fabric labels you can print your design on so that you can make sure to make the best choice. Our fabric labels are woven in a tight, soft satin, giving it a silky feel with outstanding wear and abrasion resistance. Due to our printing technique the fabric label has an excellent print quality with a durable and long-lasting design. They are perfect to print your logo, brand name or design on it and give your garment or textile an exclusive look.

Please note: you cannot customize your Fabric Label Sample Pack. Each fabric label sample is ready printed with a full color, detailed design.

Custom Label Offer

Order your Fabric Label Sample Set and get a CA$15 gift voucher to use on your next order of custom labels.*

*Minimum spend: CA$30. This offer is for new customers only who have not previously ordered with us before. Voucher can only be used once and expires after 30 days.

Discount and Offers for Fabric Printing

Purchase a Swatch Pack with or without a color chart and receive a CA$10 gift voucher to redeem against your next order of fabric or leather prints.
*voucher cannot be used for test prints or samples. Minimum spend: CA$25. This offer is for new customers only who have not previously ordered with us before. Voucher can only be used once and expires after 30 days.

Please note: The first time customer offer cannot be used in conjunction with any other discount. This includes the wholesale discount and any other offers.

Sizing For Hemming And Shrinkage

We have a full Cut & Sew service here at Contrado, and are able to hem your fabric prints for a small additional charge. We create a small one- or two-fold hem that typically uses 0.2" to 0.75" (5-20mm) of material, depending on the thickness of the fabric. So, for example, if you want a finished piece of fabric that measures 39.37" x 39.37", you will need to order a size of 39.96" x 39.96" to allow for the hem (on top of that please also allow for shrinkage of min 2%). The thicker the fabric, the bigger the hem will be. You can choose to have your prints hemmed with either Black or White thread. On our silk and other light woven fabrics, one hemmed edge will be straight (vertically down the roll) and the other will be slightly rippled. The hemming material allowances are as follows and you need to make your print bigger to accommodate the hem:

• Light Fabrics (0.59oz-2.95oz): For silks and other light fabrics, we use 0.24" - 0.32" / 6mm-8mm in the hem (2 fold), so overall width/height will be minus 0.48"-0.56""/ 12-16mm
• Medium Fabrics (2.98oz-5.90oz): For medium-weight fabrics that fray, we use 0.5 - 0.75" / 15-20mm in the hem (2 fold) so overall width/height will be minus 1.4" - 1.6" / 35-40mm
• Stiff/Heavy/No-fray fabrics: we use 0.5 - 0.75" / 15-20mm in the hem (1 fold) so overall width/height will be minus 1.5" / 35-40mm

All of these measurements are approximate and can vary. Including with shrinkage, it can mean a fairly significant difference to ordered dimensions, so please plan your print accordingly. Depending on how open the weave is, our fabric can shrink anywhere from 2% to 8% with the average being 2.5%.

How Would you Like the Edge?

• As it comes. We cut around your image, leaving a simply scissor cut, perhaps uneven white fabric border. 
• Hem with thread. We can hem your fabric with a choice of black or white thread. Please allow 1-2 days additional production time. See below for information on how hemming affects the size of your print. We offer an overlock hem, as well as a folded hem (one or two fold depending on the fabric) however not all fabrics are suited to both hem types. If you can see both options, it means both are suitable, and you will be able to choose whichever you prefer. 
• Cut on the line. We will cut neatly on the edge of your design. This means that if you have a border around your design we will cut around that border, if your design takes the whole space of the fabric, then we will neatly cut around the edge of that image. Please be aware, when we cut along the line, we have to cut against the grain of the fabric. This is the standard procedure for fabric cutting. This means that with some fabrics, for example, Georgette and Mulmul, which have a slight wave in them, some fraying will occur. This is unavoidable, as the cut follows the grain of the textile. 

All of our fabrics are cut manually by hand, with the utmost care and attention. If your fabric has a slightly uneven look on the edges or a touch of fraying, this does not indicate a flaw in the textile. It is not always possible to achieve a perfectly straight cut with certain fabrics, so please do bare this in mind when it comes to your design. If you have any queries or would like to know about our cutting methods in more detail, please get in touch and we will be more than happy to discuss them with you.

Please note: As we make everything by hand, all sizes may vary slightly.

For further information about our fabrics see our FAQs.

Are all the fabrics inside the swatch packs?

You can choose from the Classic, Leather Natural and Paper swatch packs. We have a wide range of fabrics to print on and the packs show the whole range. All 100 examples are included, apart from a few specialist fabrics, such as the 0.12" felt, printable leather and our needlepoint tapestry. These are hard to accommodate due to their format mass, but you can order tests prints directly of each.

Is it clear which is the heavier of the fabrics?

We think that by having the samples and simply handling them personally will tell you so much about our range of custom fabrics, including the weight, and texture. If you can't decide by handling the fabric, then you can check out the specific fabric product page on the website for further details, or make a custom test print.

Is the print example a good representation?

We think that the print example is a very good representation. We use a design that has solid full color and fine detail. The samples give a full representation of what the print quality is like on each textile. The surface textures very useful when deciding which to pick. You can try a test print as the next step in your selection.