Torn between Sheer...

I had my consultation with Cameron Gilmartin this morning. The information I collected form this visit has proved vital to the setup of finally printing which I have booked for tomorrow.

FABRIC:

Silk Chiffon: £8.41 per metre

Silk Viscose: £8.42 per metre

WIDTH:

140 wide with a max printable area of 135cm

COLOUR:

Viscose silk brings out print but may be stark where the organza is very transparent so the image will have to have a good line weight for visibility.

TIME:

Possible 3 day turnover at twice the normal price as normal printing time is 7-10 working day, and as next monday is a bank holiday I am to worried to use the longer cheaper service.

COST:

4 metres of fabric @ £8.42

4 metres of print @ £148

Set up being a flat fee of £15

33.68 + 192.00 + 15.00 = £240.68 + £42.12 VAT

Grand Total of £282.80

Date booked for print will be 11am 24/05/10

Capitalism a love story

http://www.film4.com/reviews/2009/capitalism-a-love-story

Though this film has not so much relevance to my project it does skirt around what I found

in my research earlier on in the project.

Also in terms of the filmography for which I am still deciding upon for my film short to

accompany the curtains I like the way in which Moore has sliced reprographic visuals with

a modern twist.

Revised print date and consultation

With the extra time now on my hands before my consultation on monday. I decided to print out the near to complete designs to see the clarity to which the lines appear on paper print. I visited The Colour Company, where i handed in my design to be printed as a real size proof for me to assess any changes and so forth that will need to be made. The files I gave though being black and white and relatively small in megabytes it crashed the printer system... so I am currently reviewing the images to straighten out any possible issues that could arise on the important print day.
 

Change of plan

Well after not being able to confirm that chelsea textile department could steam the fabric I wanted to print on (steaming is crucial in fixing the dye so if water comes in contact the dye doesn't run) I decided to not use it as a service due to the nature that the cost of printing the fabric (at least £150) may amount to nothing if someone touched it.

I promptly have booked a consultation with Cameron Gilmartin to find a best suiting material and arrange for it to be printed and steamed as quick as they could.

Companies...

The search for printer on fabric has been very difficult as there really aren't hat any to choose from. From the couple I have found and received quotes from I have discovered three possble places.


1) Chelsea print
(provides the cheapest service and quick turn over, only factor is the fabric needs to be heat pressed and the textile department do not help other courses). Essentially you can print but if a drop of water hits the fabric the dye will run.


2) The Silk Bureau
Popular service that provides a 7 day turn over.


3) Cameron Gilmartin
The most expensive of the three (twice the amount of Chelsea), but can provide a three day turn over including being heat pressed.

Test sample

The cost of printing my piece is steadily increasing so being conscious of this factor, I did a test sample to work out the dimensions of scale and how well the printing is transferred from screen to textile.

As working with fabric with a fabric outcome is not what I have usually produced on the course.

Factors I have considered:

- to not print on silk organza for the simple con that the print doesn't come up well on the piece. Though the organza itself is my preferred material due to its particular warp it has good level of transparency.

- as an alternative I have decide to go with Georgette a fabric that has a denser warp so a better clarity of print and easy to get printed on. The only con of using this material is the fact that the material available to me is not a white but a off cream which i am unsure to if I like or not.

- lastly the timing of getting this print done on time is a factor that has toubled the design process. As from contacting various printers there turnover rate is simply longer than expected or desired typical 7 days from hand in to the printers. Also especially as im competing for printers with many textile courses. But in In no way do am I going to let this effect me.

The images of the test sample quickly hung up (in no way is this an indication of how the final print will look).

Flocked off...

So after discussions about the production of my piece I thought of possibly flocking onto the fabric print. This I thought would add a tactile dimension to the work in which particular areas would be flocked to create depth and highlight significant areas of the design for them to stand out in comparison to the rest of the print.

I approached the textile department of Chelsea to see if I could utilise the facilities, but unfortunately there is loads of admin and red tape preventing me to use anything and there would be too many restrictions.

As much as I am disappointed with this hiccup in the design progress I have evaluated the use of this process against what I feel is necessary to embellish the print and feel happy with having to use my embroidery skills as a suitable substitute.