Why Our Digital Fabric Printing Process Is Different
Custom fabric should feel like fabric—not like artwork sitting on top of it. The Textile District combines high-resolution digital printing with fabric-specific preparation and finishing to produce rich color, crisp detail, a soft hand, and dependable wash-and-wear performance.
For cotton, linen, and natural-fiber blends, we direct print with fiber-reactive inks that bond with the fibers. After printing, the fabric is steamed, washed, and dried to remove excess dye and finishing agents. The result is production-quality printed fabric that arrives ready to sew, with no pre-washing required.
Our polyester and synthetic fabrics are sublimation printed with fiber-reactive inks. Polyester Outdoor uses a special ink system that provides its water-repellent performance and 500+ hours of UV lightfastness.
- Production quality from the first yard: Custom orders start at 1 yard, making it practical to test a design before moving into larger production.
- Fabric-specific printing: We use the print and finishing process appropriate for the selected natural-fiber or synthetic base.
- Ready-to-sew finishing: Natural fibers are steamed, washed, and dried after printing.
- Premium base fabrics: Choose from cottons, linens, natural-fiber blends, performance knit, fleece, outdoor fabric, and other specialty bases.
- USA print production: Fabric is printed to order in North Carolina.
- Easy reordering: Approved print files are stored for future reprints unless changes are needed.
Not sure which base fabric is right for your project? Compare fabric specifications and current pricing or order the Ground Fabric Swatch Kit.
How Fiber-Reactive Printing Works on Natural Fibers
Fiber-reactive printing is especially well suited to cotton, linen, and natural-fiber blends because the color becomes part of the fiber rather than simply forming a surface layer. Our natural-fiber workflow includes four important stages:
- Fabric preparation: The base fabric is prepared for printing so the fiber can accept the dye consistently.
- Direct digital printing: Your high-resolution artwork is printed directly onto the prepared fabric at the scale supplied in your print file.
- Steam fixation: The printed fabric passes through our steaming process so the reactive ink bonds with the fibers.
- Wash and finish: The fabric is washed and dried to remove excess dye and processing agents, leaving a soft, colorfast fabric that is ready to cut and sew.
This full finishing process is an important part of the final product. You receive finished printed yardage rather than fabric that still requires pre-washing before use.
How We Print Polyester & Specialty Fabrics
Polyester and synthetic bases require a different printing method. These fabrics are sublimation printed with fiber-reactive inks for rich, colorfast results and dependable wash-and-wear performance.
Polyester Outdoor uses a special ink system that provides the fabric’s water-repellent performance and 500+ hours of UV lightfastness, making it suitable for outdoor cushions, upholstery, heavy drapery, and accessories.
To compare fiber content, fabric weight, printable width, recommended uses, and current printed pricing for every base fabric, visit Our Fabrics.
Prepare Your Design at the Size You Want Printed
Our base fabrics are white. If your finished design needs a colored ground, that background color must be part of the artwork itself. When a seamless design is repeated across the fabric, the background included in the print file becomes the visible ground color.
Files should also be supplied at the exact scale you want printed. We do not automatically resize, recolor, or alter artwork. If you need a change made, contact us before production or include clear instructions with your order.
For projects where color or scale is especially important, a 1-yard test print is the best way to evaluate your artwork on the actual fabric before moving into a larger run.
Fabric Repeat & Layout Options
Your artwork can print as a continuous repeat or as a fixed placement panel. The examples below show the most common layouts.
Centered Motif or Fixed Placement Panel
Use a fixed placement panel when the artwork should print once rather than tile continuously. Panels must fit within the printable width of the selected base fabric and may extend along the length of the ordered yardage.
Standard Repeat or Basic Block Repeat
The design repeats directly across and down in an even grid until the ordered fabric area is filled. We print the artwork at the dimensions supplied in your file.
Half-Drop Repeat
Each vertical column is offset by half the repeat height, creating a staggered flow that works well for many floral, botanical, and organic patterns.
Half-Brick Repeat
Each horizontal row is offset by half the repeat width. This creates a brick-like stagger and can help soften the visual grid of a repeating motif.
Mirrored Repeat
The artwork alternates by reflection across the horizontal and vertical axes to create a symmetrical repeating layout.
Creating a Seamless Fabric Repeat
A seamless repeat should tile cleanly from left to right and top to bottom without visible breaks, gaps, or unintended seams.
- Supply the design at the exact size and colors you want printed.
- Check all four edges carefully before submitting the file.
- Test the repeat at several tiles across and down, not just as a single square.
- Confirm that background colors extend cleanly through every repeat edge.
- Do not rely on us to resize or repair the repeat automatically.
We review submitted files for obvious production concerns and will contact you if we notice a problem, but artwork should be print-ready when submitted. Design or file-editing services can be quoted separately when needed.
Artwork Specifications
For the best printed results, submit high-resolution, production-ready artwork:
- Resolution: 300 DPI at final print size
- Color mode: RGB or Lab
- File format: TIFF or JPG
- Scale: File should already be sized exactly as you want it printed
- Seamless patterns: Repeat must tile cleanly horizontally and vertically
- Panels: Engineered or placement prints must fit within the printable width of the selected base fabric
- Backgrounds: All base fabrics are white; include any desired background color in the artwork
Natural-fiber fabrics are steamed, washed, and dried during finishing, so some shrinkage may occur depending on the substrate. Check the printable width of your selected fabric before preparing engineered panels or placement artwork.
View printable widths for all base fabrics
File Naming Convention
Clear file names help our production team match artwork to the correct design, colorway, and order.
Recommended format:
Brand Name_Design Name_Color Name.tif
Use spaces between words and underscores to separate the major sections of the file name. Use the same file name in the Special Instructions field when placing your order.
How to Order Your Own Custom Design
- Go to Print Custom Fabric.
- Choose the base fabric you want to print.
- Enter the quantity in whole yards.
- Select the repeat type: continuous seamless repeat or fixed placement panel.
- Enter the print file name in the Special Instructions field and note whether the file is NEW or a REPRINT.
- Add each additional base fabric to the cart separately.
- Complete checkout.
- Send print-ready artwork separately through Dropbox or WeTransfer to info@thetextiledistrict.com.
Approved print files are stored for easier reordering, so unchanged files do not need to be resubmitted for future reprints.
Standard turnaround is typically 10–12 business days. Orders of 3 yards or more ship rolled on a core to help prevent folds and creases.
Ordering Artist-Designed Fabric
If you prefer to start with an existing design, every fabric in our online catalog can be ordered by the yard on a selection of base fabrics.
- Choose a design from our fabric catalog.
- Select the colorway.
- Select the available base fabric that best fits your project.
- Enter the yardage you need and add it to the cart.
The printed price per yard is determined by the base fabric selected.
Volume Pricing for Larger Runs
Custom printing can scale from a 1-yard test to larger production quantities. Standard volume discounts apply when printing on the same base fabric:
| Fabric Yardage | Volume Discount |
|---|---|
| 1–50 yards | Listed price |
| 51–100 yards | 5% discount |
| 101–150 yards | 10% discount |
| 151–200 yards | 15% discount |
| 201+ yards | 20% discount |
Multiple designs and colorways may be combined to reach a volume threshold when they are printed on the same qualifying base fabric.
Test Before You Scale
A 1-yard minimum gives designers, makers, and small manufacturers a practical way to evaluate a new design before committing to larger yardage. Use a test print to check color, motif scale, repeat, detail, and how the artwork interacts with the selected fabric.
For fabric selection and color planning, our Ground Fabric Swatch Kit and Custom Print Color Library provide additional printed references before production.
Need Help with Your Print File?
If you have questions about scale, repeats, printable width, fabric selection, or production setup, review our Design Resources or contact us before ordering.