FAQs

General

• Where is Prinfab based? Prinfab are based in Faversham, Kent, United Kingdom.
• How long will it take to get my order? Prinfab sell stock and made-to-order items. The time it takes us to ship your order will depend on what you have ordered. An estimated shipping date is provided during checkout.
  
  - Stock items are shipped next working day, when an order is placed before midnight
  - Custom fabrics are shipped within 3 working days, when an order is placed before midnight
  - Orders containing a mixture of stock, products and fabric are shipped together once all items are complete
  - There may be extra processing days required depending on the size of your order - larger orders can take longer to print and process
  
  A final estimated shipping date is provided when placing an order, which takes into account the desired quantities.
  
  This will include potential delays due to public holidays and scheduled maintenance.
  
  In exceptional circumstances, such as breakdowns, stock shortages, or other situations out of our control, lead times may extend beyond the estimated shipping date provided.
• Can I cancel my order? Once placed, all orders a final and orders start processing very soon after they are placed.
  
  If you would like to cancel your order, please get in touch as soon as possible too see if it can still be cancelled. Please note that if your order has already started printing, it will not be possible to cancel your order.
• Can I make changes or add to my order? Once placed, all orders a final and it is no longer possible to add to them. Orders start processing very soon after they are placed.
  
  If you would like to add items to your order, the original order will have to be cancelled and re-placed with all of the items together. Please get in touch as soon as possible after placing your first order.
  
  Please note that if any items in your order have already started processing, it will not be possible to add any further items to that order.
• What carriers do you use? Prinfab use Royal Mail and DHL. Orders delivered overseas may use a local carrier for the last part of the journey.

Fabric

• Where are your fabrics sourced? Our fabrics are sourced from manufacturers and distributors in the United Kingdom. The country where each fabric is woven, finished and printed is stated on our fabrics page.
• What is EN71-3 certification? Fabrics that are EN71-3 certified have been independently tested to ensure they meet the requirements of EN71-3. EN71 is part of the CE directive that ensures toys sold in the EU meet a minimum safety standard. Part 3 relates to the migration of harmful elements. Learn more about certification.
• What is OEKO-TEX 100 certification? Fabrics that are OEKO-TEX 100 certified have been independently tested by our suppliers to ensure they do not contain over 300 harmful substances. The certification covers every stage of production up until the point it reaches our factory. Learn more about certification.
• Are your fabrics safe for my end use? You can view details on the certifications held by each fabric on the description page for that fabric. The requirements can vary depending on the exact end use, so we recommend you check exactly what is required for your purposes.
• Can I supply you with my own fabric for printing? We do not accept customer supplied fabrics for printing.
• How is my fabric sent? Unless otherwise specified, your fabric will be sent as a cut piece, folded, and placed inside a mailing bag along with your order information.
• How does my fabric look when it arrives? We print your artwork to the exact size it is shown in the preview. In addition, we leave a small, unprinted border around the image which we will cut to.
  
  We also print a small area of order information at the top of your print which we leave attached to the fabric when it is sent to you.
  
  For Linear Metres, there is an unprintable area on the left and right sides of the fabric which varies in size depending on the specific material. We print your order as centrally as possible on the fabric, so that the border on each side should be fairly even.
  
  If you require any room for cutting/hemming of your fabric, you should include that in your artwork and not rely on any of the unprinted space, as we may change the exact printed and cut layout at any time
  
  For example, if you are printing a 2m piece of fabric on our Twill 213gsm, the actual piece of fabric you receive will measure around 150cm by 203cm with your 140cm by 200cm print contained within. There will be a 5cm unprinted border on the left and right sides, with a 1cm unprinted border at the bottom and a 2cm border at the top that contains your order information.
• How should I look after my fabric? You can find washing instructions for each fabric on the relevant fabric description pages.
  
  Different fabrics require different care instructions, but in general washing garments/covers inside out and using a washing bag will help keep your prints looking vibrant.
  
  Some of our fabrics arrive in a non-optic white colour, and using a washing detergent that includes an optic whitener will lighten these fabrics and make them optic white.

Artwork

• What type of files can I upload? You can upload your design as a JPG, BMP, GIF, TIF & PNG files up to a maximum file size of 100MB.
• What colour mode should I use? Please use a RGB colour mode. For best results we recommended saving your file using the sRGB colour profile, specifically, the sRGB v4 Preference.
• Why should I not use a CMYK colour mode? Prinfab do not use a CMYK printing process and our printers are setup to print from RGB images. A CMYK proof will give you a rough idea of how your design will print. For example, greens and pinks are duller in CMYK than RGB, but our process has a wider gamut than a traditional CMYK.
• Why does the preview appear blurry? Your artwork is resized so that it downloads faster in the online preview. This may appear blurry in the preview but we will use your original file when printing.
• I am uploading a large file but am experiencing difficulty? If the image is large and high resolution, we recommend reducing the resolution to 180 DPI and re-uploading as a high quality JPEG. If you are using TIF files, try saving with LZW compression (which is lossless).
  
  You should also only upload a single repeating tile of your design, where possible, and let our software repeat it for you.
  
  Alternatively, you can send us the file to us using WeTransfer. Our customer service team will send you an email with a link to preview and setup your fabric online.
• Can I print photos? Yes, you can print photos on fabric.
  
  If you are looking to print a collage of multiple photos, you can combine them beforehand using image editing software, such as Photoshop or the free Photopea. For creating simple collages, you can also using a collage creation tool such as the befunky collage maker.
• Can I print multiple artworks on one piece of fabric? Yes, but you will need to combine your images beforehand. This can be done using any image editing software, such as Photoshop or the free Photopea.
• Will you repeat my artwork? You can choose whether your artwork is repeated by using the 'Repeat' option. We have several different repeat types available to suit your needs.
• I need my image to be printed at a certain size, is this possible? Yes, you can size your image exactly before uploading. When printed at 100% scale it will print at this exact size, as shown in the preview. This can be done using image editing software, such as Photoshop or the free Photopea.
• Do you print onto coloured fabric? We do not print onto coloured fabric. If you want a coloured background to your print, you would need to include it in the artwork. The base colours of our fabrics range from optic white to a natural/organic brown colour (the natural colour of the cotton/linen).
  
  You can change the background colour of your artwork using any image editing software, such as Photoshop or the free Photopea.
  
  You can view our guide to recolouring artwork here.
• If I want my artwork to show the colour of the fabric, how do I do that? Any light/white areas of your image will show through to the colour of the fabric. We do not print using white ink, so any white/light areas will actually be transparent and show the base colour of the fabric.
• Do you check my artwork before printing? We generally assume that how you have sent the images to us is how you would like them to be printed.
  
  We try and use common sense and spot any obvious errors, but we cannot guarantee that we will. You should check the preview carefully before submitting your order, for errors such as:
  
  - Non-seamless repeats
  - Borders around images
  - Sizing, repeat and placement of your artwork on the fabric
  - Backwards text
  
  How your artwork appears in the preview is how it will print - if the preview shows a large blank space, it will print with a large blank space.
  
  If you have any specific worries about your artwork, please get in touch before sending your artwork to print.
• If I create my own fabric, do my prints remain private? When you upload a file it will be used only for the purpose of fulfilling your order and will not be shared with any third parties. Please read our privacy policy for further information.
• Will the printed colours match the colour on my screen? Due to the inherent differences in how a screen creates colour vs how a printer creates colour, there will be differences in how your artwork appears when printed.
  
  This can be especially apparent with bright blue and green colours, but also deep, rich colours, where the printer is unable to reproduce the brightness of a screen, or is unable to reproduce the subtle variation in shades of a dark print.
  
  If you're unsure how your artwork will print, we highly recommend ordering a sample before committing to a large order.
  
  You should always make sure to follow our guidelines for colour, and always embed an icc profile in your artwork.
  
  For more information, you can view our guide to colour spaces and profiles here.
• Is it possible to colour match existing fabric/wallpaper? Colour matching can be very difficult, but not impossible.
  
  Getting a match for an existing printed colour can be a multi-stage process, but a great first step is to scan the existing item in and extract the colours using image editing software when creating your new artwork.
  
  We highly recommed printing a sample print on the fabric of your choice first, and comparing it to the original under the same lighting that it will be viewed in.
  
  Once you have your printed sample, you will be able to tweak the artwork to get a closer match.
  
  It is important to note that there are inherent differences in the way colours work in print vs on a screen, and so getting a good match on screen is usually not sufficient to reproduce the colours exactly. In addition, using a camera to capture the colour is generally a bad idea, as cameras will introduce exposure and white balance issues that can affect the colours in the image.
  
  If you are trying to get a perfect match for colours printed onto different materials, then it may require a more involved method to match the colours. You can view our guide to colour matching here, or get in touch and we'll be more than happy to help.
• Do you do Pantone matching? We do not use the Pantone Matching System for our prints. The Pantone Matching System is generally aimed at printing methods which are not suitable for digital textile printing.
  
  Our print methods will generally get a good match for Pantone colours as seen on screen, however, so you can incorporate those colours into your artwork and expect excellent reesults.
  
  If you are trying to get a perfect match for brand colours printed onto different materials using the Pantone Matching System, then it may require a more involved method to match the colours. You can view our guide to colour matching here, or get in touch and we'll be more than happy to help.

Printing

• What type of inks do you use? The type of ink that we use depends on the type of base fabric. For natural fibre fabrics we use water-based pigment inks. For polyester fabrics we use dye sublimation inks. Neither contain any harmful substances.
• Are colours consistent across different fabrics? Colour variations are to be expected across different fabrics, despite using the exact same file.
  
  Each fabric has a slightly different base colour, and may be printed using different print methods, which can lead to variations in the perceived colour.
  
  In addition, the finish and weave of the fabric can have a big impact on the perceived colour.
  
  Colours across fabrics of roughly the same type (e.g. two white, twill weave, 100% cotton fabrics such as our Twill 213gsm and Drill 255gsm) will match better than two fabrics of different types.
  
  In addition, different lighting can make colours appear different. If you are making curtains that will be largely illumated by sunlight, they will appear different to cushions made from the same fabric illuminated by an LED bulb.
  
  The difference in lighting is most apparent between daylight and LED or Fluorescent lightbulbs.
• Are colours consistent across print runs? We try and maintain a high level of consistency between print runs, but there are numerous factors that can slightly alter the appearance of colours between runs.
  
  Factors such as fabric batch, temperature, humidity can affect colour. We also undertake regular maintenance to our printers that can slightly affect colour output.
  
  Another factor is how the storage and processing of fabrics affect the colour. A printed fabric will fade slightly over time with use and exposure to the sun. Depending on how your older print has been used and stored, you may need to adjust the colours of your image to get a perfect match.
  
  If you are hoping to match colours from a previous print run, we highly suggest placing a sample order before committing to a larger run.
  
  Colour matching will generally be very good, however, so unless you are planning to integrate your newer print directly alongside your older print, it should be okay
  
  If at all possible, we recommend printing any colour sensitive designs in a single run to avoid the issue entirely, and if you have any questions, please get in touch before placing your order.
• Are the fabric measurements you provide accurate? We regularly calibrate our printers for dimensional accuracy, so at the time of print the sizes will be accurate to within 0.1mm.
  
  Textiles are inherently flexible, however, and there is usually room in the weave for movement, that might affect the dimensional accuracy of the final product.
  
  In addition to there being inherent flexibility in the weave, natural fibre fabrics such as Cotton, Linen and Bamboo will readily absorb moisture, or will evaporate moisture from within them. This can lead to shrinking or swelling of the fibres that can lead to changes in the dimensions of the final print.
  
  Handling of natural fibre fabrics can also affect the dimensionality, as fibres move around, change shape and in some cases break down, which can cause shrinkage or elongation of the prints.
  
  As a guideline, it is wise to include a tolerance for a change of dimensions of +/- 2% although this will vary from fabric to fabric, and with environmental conditions.
  
  Please review our acceptable tolerances for further information.