Fabric Printing Guidelines

We print on durable and recycled polyester fabrics made for digital sublimation printing. This method keeps the colors permanently deep into the yarns and provide vibrant color and strong wash durability.

This technique is one of the most environmentally friendly and sustainable method of garment printing. The dyes are water based with no chemicals and there is absolutely zero waste, since there is no need for water and excess of ink in the dyeing process.

Print Fabric

/Fabrics

We work with different eco fabrics for different purposes, and can match up with fabrics you use otherwise in your collection so the properties (hand-feel, thickness, stretch) are similar. 

Order our sample pack to see all of our recycled fabrics printed in a complete pantone and get a feel of which fabric is soft, stiffen or stretchy for your creative project.

/Print Design Options

• Our non-exclusive and exclusive print designs (see our Gallery)
• Custom print design created by Life is a Mesh (to start process here)
• Your own print
• Solid colours

Print Design Preparation

/Quality

For fabric prints the digital print file (pattern/artwork) must be high-resolution (minimum 300dpi). Preferentially the design should be in .jpeg.

/Seamless vs Placement

For a design in repeat

The artwork should be seamless or set up for repeat which simply means that you can put copies of the print next to it in each direction so that it matches up without any interruption in the pattern. 

We can assist you on making your design seamless (we charge for this service 30€+ VAT - VAT only charged if applicable).

For an illustration / non-repeatable print

For artworks that need be at a specific place on a piece, we can use placement print. Bear in mind that doing this involves developing and preparing garment patterns in advance so we recommend this only for some very unique pieces.

/Scale

The scale of your print is key. When you look at your artwork define what is the "real"  height or width for specific elements to then define the size of your artwork.

For instance, the same repeat tile can measure 5x5cm or 40x40cm, you decide what will be your end-result.

We can also assist you on making your design on your desired scale. 

/Direction

If the direction of the grain is something that you need to consider, you will need to ensure you add and position your file(s) on the design interface keeping the grain direction in mind.

The grain of the fabric runs across the width of the roll.This will be across the width (left to right) of the design interface, just as it will be across the width of the fabric.

For example, this can be important if you need to take in consideration the stretch of your pieces.