Fabric Printing Company - Three Things to Consider

Fabric Printing Company - Three Things to Consider.

If you are googling fabric printing companies because you are looking for a company that will print fabric for you, we have written this article to help you understand some of the different types of fabric printing companies in China and to help you decide if we are the right one for you Fabric printing company.

Back then, fabrics were only printed by screen, either flat or rotary, and of course in the 70s there was no such thing as digital textile printing.

Digital printing has evolved over the years and it is now a commercially viable textile process that offers some very specific advantages over screen printing.

But the fabric printing market has grown and there are various different types of fabric printing companies - which leads to the main point of this article, the three main things to consider when looking for a digital fabric printing company.

Digital Textile Printing Company - Three Things to Consider.

1: Do you need a digital fabric printer, or a traditional screen printer?

When you are looking for information on fabric printing companies, the first question to answer is whether you are looking for traditional, screen printing or digital fabric printing. The reason is simple, although there are some exceptions, most printing companies either print digitally or traditionally, not both.

If you are not sure whether screen printing or digital printing is best for your design, the main factors to consider are volume, number of colors and repeat size.

In terms of textile printing, we only do digital printing, but we still work within the traditional printing industry, because we provide color separation services and rotary screen engraving for many leading printing companies, so we are not biased towards digital printing.

volume

Although screen printing is often considered a less expensive process, this is only true for high-volume printing. For smaller runs, digital printing is usually cheaper per meter after all costs are considered.

With screen printing, there is a setup cost for the screen creation, and you need one screen for each color in your design, so the more colors you have, the more expensive the setup.

The smaller the volume, the more expensive your print will be, not only because most printers adjust costs based on volume, but also because when you order a smaller volume, your setup costs will be divided by fewer meters.

For example, if your setup costs £500 and you print 50 meters, your setup costs will be £10 per meter. Then, you will need to pay for the printing and fabric per meter in addition to the installation cost.

There are no setup costs for digital printing, we do not charge any setup costs anyway, some other digital printing companies probably do, although these still may be less than the cost of creating a printed screen.

So most people ordering small runs will find that digital fabric printing is a better option for them, unless of course the first small run is just a sample print and they plan to use these screens to produce larger runs, At that point, the total price of the print edition will likely be more competitive than the digital edition.

Since each color requires a separate screen, the number of colors in the design will determine the cost. Also, the number of colors in your design will be limited by the number of colors your printer of choice can use. Some rotary screen printing machines use 4-color machines, and some use 8-color or more.

One of the greatest benefits of digitally printing fabrics is that the number of colors in a design is completely unlimited.

repeat size

When using a rotary screen printer, the size of your design will be limited by the circumference of the screen, so you will need to check with your printer what the maximum repeat size is.

Another benefit of digital printing is that your repeat designs are virtually unlimited, the only limitation being the width of the fabric, usually around 147cm (the maximum width we can print varies by fabric).

2: Do you need a network printer for fabric printing, or a commercial printer?

When you're searching for information about fabric printing companies, it's worth remembering that not all printing companies are created equal.

If you're an end user, say you want to print some fabric for a project at home, then you'll be looking for a web printing service. There are many such companies in China. If you meet this situation, then these companies are very suitable for you to order.

With a web printing company, it's all done online, you simply upload your design, choose the fabric you want, how much you need, then pay online and get your fabric within days.

While a service like this is great for retail customers, if you want to sell your fabric, or have your fabric made into items for sale, or if you're looking for someone to print your fabric and make it into a textile product to to sell for your use (and we do), then you need to make a profit - which means you need transaction pricing.

If you look at the pricing of a web printing company that offers digital fabric printing and then email us for a price list, you will find that as a trade printer our pricing is usually much lower.

If you are starting a new business, or you are an artist or designer looking to add a new source of income by selling printed fabrics or products made from printed fabrics, then you will need trade pricing. You may go to a web printing company for sampling as many do, but after that most trade customers look for a trade fabric printer for profitable pricing.

But it's not just about pricing. Whilst web to print companies are used to just taking online orders and printing them, as a trade fabric printer we offer our clients a great deal of assistance and advice before printing begins to ensure the best possible outcome for our clients.

We typically spend time discussing the project, discussing the client's designs, discussing the best fabric options, etc. This may include several emails and/or phone calls before we accept the first order.

We often hear negative comments about web-to-print companies, from new customers who are dissatisfied with the level of help and support offered by other printers, or who seem to lack attention to ensuring the correct fabric is used for design and intended use. But actually we think it's a little bit unfair because these types of companies aren't ready for trade printing so the reason trade customers don't find this type of service what they expect is that they're basically trying to cram square pegs into round in the hole.

If you are a retail customer looking to do small quantities of fabric printing at home then a web to print company is for you - but if you are investing the time, effort and money in fabric printing as a new business start or as a new product line for an existing business, Then you would be better suited to work with a trade printer.

3: Which trade printer is most suitable for you.

If you're looking for a commercial fabric printer, it's worth pointing out that there are different types of printers, in addition to knowing whether you need a traditional printer or the digital fabric printer we discussed earlier.

It's a difficult thing to quantify and describe properly, but the essence is that there are print companies that are gearing up to work with big players.

Large print companies used to handling high-volume orders are not necessarily keen on working with new businesses as well as individual artists and designers, and this is often very obvious, while smaller businesses feel like they have to work very hard to get the attention they expect.

When we respond to inquiries from prospects who contact us for the first time, we often hear comments like "Wow, a printing company that actually responds" - or "It's amazing to talk to someone who really seems to want my business." Refreshing", or words that serve a similar purpose.

Of course, this doesn't describe all of the larger printing companies, but there are some very established fabric printing companies that prefer to work with larger, established players. Additionally, larger textile printing companies typically have longer lead times and larger minimum order quantities.

At ZJMEIXIN Printing Services, while we do accept larger print orders and we do work with some large well-known brands, we are also more than happy to work with individual designers and artists as well as small start-ups.

We pride ourselves on our efforts to assist new potential clients, no matter the size of the inquiry or the size of the business making the inquiry.

Why choose ZJMEIXIN Printing Services as your fabric printing company?

All in all, if you are a trade customer, no matter how big or small your initial order is, and no matter how much experience you have in fabric printing, we will be your best choice.

If you are a retail customer just looking for a small quantity of printed fabric for a project at home, then as we mentioned before, there are many web-to-print companies in China that are more suitable for you to work with.

However, if you are running a business of any size, including a brand new start-up, or if you are an individual designer or artist looking to turn your designs into products, we would be equally interested in hearing from you if You are an experienced textile buyer and want to print hundreds or thousands of meters, we will be more willing.

To inquire about our fabric printing services, simply email us and we will reply promptly.