Rather than using a printed negative, consider painting directly on a transparency and making a print from your hand painted design. Just make sure whatever you paint with is opaque. Use a paintbrush, paint pen, applicator, airbrush or silk screen to apply the opaque ink to a transparent film.
Layering negatives is another way of creating interesting images. Use two different images and they will be superimposed on your print. Use the same image layered in a different orientation to create symmetrical photographic images.
You may also alter the negative prior to exposing, either by drawing or painting on it, or by scraping off some of the inkjet ink. Consider printing a solid black film and scraping the inkjet ink off with a dull tool to create a print of a line drawing (similar to scratchboard, but in reverse). Combing photographic imagery with photograms You may also consider combining negatives with objects for more diverse effects. Place a ribbon, tools or leaves over your negative, for example, for combined effects.
You may also collage with negatives and make a print from the collage. Use clear tape to attach different parts of negatives, or simply place them carefully on top of your sensitized substrate and keep them in place with glass, tape or pins. You may also consider cutting parts of your negative out or altering the edges. Jagged edges look pretty neat!
Your print doesn’t have to be one color. Consider applying more than one color of SolarFast to your substrate. Stripes, splatters and drips can produce beautiful effects. Use colors with similar exposure times for best results.
This is an advanced process, but it is so cool! You can print fully color photographs with SolarFast by printing each process color separately.
This is a long process, but it is definitely worth it. Your resulting image will look like a fully colored photograph (C-print).
You don’t have to use SolarFast only on white fabric. Consider printing on previously dyed fabrics, patterned fabric, your old clothing, or even found paper. The background color just has to be lighter than the SolarFast color you are using. Dyes are transparent, so the under color will affect the resulting color of the print: printing yellow on a blue fabric, for instance, will produce a green print.
SolarFast does not need to be heat set, steamed or chemically fixed—it just needs to be exposed to sunlight. This makes it ideal for embellishing or repairing artwork on fabric. Use SolarFast to color in a design or to add accents to a piece of artwork. You can also use it on top of another SolarFast print to fill in areas or to superimpose images.
SolarFast doesn’t change the hand or feel of fabric whatsoever, so you can always rework fabric printed with SolarFast. Use dyes, paints, pens or inks to embellish your prints.
Why not? It just takes a little extra patience. Wood must be uncoated and untreated. Use pine or a light-colored wood for best results.
1. Sand off any finish before applying the dye. After exposing, you will have to hand wash the wood surface.
2. Use a sponge to gently scrub the surface.
3. Use hot water and keep it submerged at least 10 minutes.
SolarFast makes the ultimate screen-printing ink: no heat setting required, soft to the touch, no in screen drying, permanent and it cleans up with water. What’s more, you can easily superimpose images and create continuous tone prints!
To super impose images, simply lay a negative on top of the print before exposure, as directed in the SolarFast instructions. Screen printing is a great way to apply solid blocks of dye without having to mask off areas or use a brush. Screen printing SolarFast is also a great way to superimpose imagery onto a pattern.
Because most SolarFast Colors are colorless until exposure, they can be difficult to work with. If you want to color your dyes for better ease of use before exposing, use a colorant that won’t stain your substrate. We recommend Pearl Ex or iDye Poly. You may also use a small amount of paint or powdered pigment.
✅ If printing T-shirts or clothing, put something between the layers of fabric to prevent bleed through. Board, wood, plastic, glass, wax paper, freezer paper or anything nonporous will work well.
✅ To keep the substrate and the film as flush as possible, always make prints on a hard, flat surface. Using glass is a great way to keep the negative and substrate flush. You may also clip or clamp the substrate and negative between the glass and a board. This will ensure optimum clarity in the resulting print.
✅ If you over wet your fabric or paper, blot it with a paper towel or allow it to dry slightly before placing your negative.
✅ It is better to overexpose than underexpose. Even if the color development looks complete, leave your print in sunlight for the full suggested time.
✅ If masking the edge of your print, you might find it easier to remove the tape before placing your image. Removing the tape will make it easier to smooth out any wrinkles in the fabric.
✅ Stretching the fabric before applying the dye and printing may produce distortions in the resulting print. For best results, keep fabric taught when applying the dye, but do not stretch.
✅ Double up your negative for better density or contrast if your inkjet printer puts out less ink. You may also feed the film through your printer more than once for a denser negative.
✅ If printing without film or glass, misting the substrate with water during exposure will keep it wetter longer, which may help produce deeper or brighter colors. A retarder may also be used to keep the dye wetter longer.