Photos printed on fabric can be used for a variety of personalized projects - everything from hand-embroidered family portraits to custom photo quilts. This article outlines the steps to prepare, upload, and purchase your own photos on fabric with Spoonflower.
General Guidelines
Prepare Your Photo
Upload and Adjust Layout
Purchase Your Fabric
General Guidelines
- Photographs that are digitally printed on fabric typically need to have higher contrast than other types of media. A darker photograph may lose some detail if the contrast isn't increased before printing. Try increasing the contrast with your preferred design editing software before uploading, or upload a few versions with different levels of contrast and brightness to test out on several swatches before deciding on the final version. Edits like rotating, cropping, or adjusting colors must be done to your file before uploading.
- Crisp, clear photographs work best for printing on fabric. Keep in mind that fabric is textured, and the crispness of the print will be affected by the specific fabric you choose as well as the clarity of the original file. Polyester fabrics tend to present color more vibrantly and offer a more crisp print compared to natural fibers. This is another reason to do some testing on multiple swatches to help choose the perfect fabric type for your project.
- Generally speaking, we recommend printing photos no smaller than 4″ x 6″. Smaller photos may lose too much detail when printed on fabric, but it really does depend on the particular photo.
- If you need just one small photo for a project, you can order a single 8" x 8" swatch!
- If you upload a single photo, we can only print that one photo on the fabric - either centered once or repeated. This tutorial demonstrates how to prepare a file to print a single photo. However, if you want multiple photos printed on a single piece of fabric, you'll need to prepare a large file with multiple photos. You can learn more about how to do that in this tutorial.
- If you do decide to prepare a large file with multiple photos, be sure to think about how much space you'd want between the photos. This will depend on your final project - for example, you may need blank space in between to cut them apart and/or have extra for seam allowances.
- Please keep in mind that we ask all our customers to only upload images that they have created themselves or have explicit permission to use. Learn more about what type of images you can print with Spoonflower here.
Prepare Your Photo
If your photos are not already digital, you'll need to digitize them in one of the following ways:
- Scan your photos using a flatbed scanner at the highest resolution possible. This is generally the most ideal method, as it results in a consistently lit image.
- If you don't have access to a scanner, lay your photos on a flat surface and photograph them with a digital camera or your smart phone. When taking photos this way, be sure the room is evenly lit and that your own shadow isn't in the frame. Make sure your camera is directly above the photo and not angled to avoid distortion. Everything in the file that you decide to upload will print, so be sure to crop out the background (table, floor, etc.) before uploading the file.
Once you have a digital copy of your photo, you'll want to convert it to a JPG or PNG if it is not one of these file types already. Spoonflower accepts JPGs or PNGs that are 40mb or less. As mentioned in the general guidelines, make any additional desired edits before uploading to Spoonflower.
Upload and Adjust Layout
Be sure you are logged into your Spoonflower account. Then, click the user profile icon (the one that looks like a person) and click the teal Upload A Design button. Follow the screen prompts to upload your file. The Uploading Images article walks through the process in more detail.
In this example, we uploaded a square photo file that we'd like to print as 7" by 7" on a swatch.
- First, change the preview to show just a single swatch, to have a good idea of how it will print.
- Then, use the slider or type "7" in the first dimensions box to scale down the image. Since our file is already a square, typing in "7" inches in the width box automatically adjusts the height box to "7" inches as well.
- Choose the Center repeat option so just one 7" x 7" photo prints on the swatch. This will leave some white space around the edges.
- Confirm that the image window looks correct and click Save.
Purchase Your Fabric
Once you've saved your preferred layout, you'll return to the Design Edit and click the Buy button underneath the fabric preview image. This will show you the ordering page where you can choose the type and amount of fabric you'd like to purchase. Choose the type of fabric (in this example, Organic Cotton Sateen) and the amount (in this example, a swatch) and add it to your cart.
Finally, click on the cart icon in the upper right hand corner and continue through the checkout process. Once you receive your fabric, trim it down further with a rotary cutter or scissors if need-be, and then get creative! We love to see what you create - tag us in your finished project on Instagram!
Shop the designs featured in this article and throughout the help center in this collection!