We always print fabric as long as we can, but the length you can receive will vary by fabric type. Variables such as color consistency and print alignment might limit the finished length.
Natural Fabrics
The print length of natural fabric is typically limited by the length of the blank roll we are printing on, but other considerations are important as well:
- For example, if our cores are currently 50 yards in length, we may print a 75-yard order in two pieces, one 50-yard piece and one 25-yard piece
- To ensure the best quality over a longer print for color heavy designs, we may decide to split a 50-yard order into five 10-yard pieces or two 25-yard pieces
- These are a few examples of how items may be printed but it ultimately depends on the variables that come with our digital printing process so it will be up to the discretion of the printer operator.
As your fabric prints, we run initial quality assurance. For print flaws that occur on shorter lengths, we usually reprint your item, but for longer runs over 10 yards, we often will print and send additional, separate yardage at no extra cost.
Wide Format Fabrics: Due to the dimensions of our wide-format fabrics, Wide Cotton Sateen 3.5 oz, and Wide Cotton Sateen 6.5 oz, the maximum piece lengths available for these substrates is 8 yards.
PRO TIP: If your project requires specific minimum lengths, you will need to place a separate order for each length. For example, if you want 20 yards of Linen Cotton Canvas, but no length can be less than five yards, place four separate orders for 5-yard pieces.
See How to Order Fabric for ordering tips, and remember, we only print in full yard/meter increments. Please reach out before you order with questions.
Polyester Fabrics
The print length of polyester fabrics can be more challenging because of the sublimation process. For longer runs over 8 yards/meters, we will often separate the amount into variable increments at the time of printing. If your project requires specific minimum lengths, we recommend placing a separate order for each piece. For example, if you want 12 yards of Sport Lycra but need 4 yard pieces for your project, place 3 separate orders for 4 yards of Sport Lycra.
Additional Details
Our system currently sets all orders to either be folded or spooled (i.e. shipped on a round cardboard tube/bolt) based on yardage parameters. We are not able to accommodate custom spooling upgrades outside of these parameters at this time. In the meantime, we have some guidelines for when we automatically spool an order. Generally speaking, continuous yardage of the same design will likely be spooled, if:
- it is 20 yards or more
- it is 10 yards or more and a heavyweight fabric (Our current fabrics that are considered heavyweight are: Belgian Linen, Cotton Spandex Jersey, Dogwood Denim®, Lightweight Cotton Twill, Linen Cotton Canvas, Modern Jersey, Organic Cotton Knit, Performance Linen, Recycled Canvas, Cypress Cotton Canvas, and Sport Lycra.)
- it is 6 yards or more and Celosia Velvet® or Performance Velvet
- it is 5 yards or more and Wide Cotton Sateen 3.5 oz or Wide Cotton Sateen 6.5 oz
If it’s an order that has multiple items and one item reaches the spooling threshold above, then any item in that order over 5 yards will be spooled as well. If the order equals the allotted amount but you ordered in smaller quantities, that will not count as continuous yardage and it will be folded.