The design planets are aligning.
I originally posted here about Spoonflower, a platform that allows you to create fabric from your graphic design, when it first surfaced in 2008. Haha… It was so new, one of the links lead to the page where you could, “Sign up to be invited to test the process…”
My friend Lee Garvey reintroduced me to it recently and I want to give you an update: It’s come a long, long way.
These days you can design and print fabrics, wallpaper, gift wrap, and to specific items such as pillows, bedding, tablecloths, curtains, and blankets.
I don’t recall how many examples of Spoonflower design were on Flickr at the time but as of April of 2019 there are upwards of 40,000.
For a good overview, here’s the latest issue of Spoonflower Magazine…
Details about doing it yourself…
Need instructions? Here’s the Spoonflower YouTube Channel…
In addition to the obvious, imagine the applications for creating one-of-a-kind promotional items, imagery for presentations, products, and so on. Design Pool, on the other hand, has made a business of designing products for clients and licensing its considerable collection through producers such as Spoonflower…
Curious about the technology? Me too. Since the early days, it appears they have graduated to using a Kornit Allegro roll to roll printer. As I understand it, the NeoPigment Inks that it uses allow for a wider color gamut than conventional CMYK printing.
And according to this release, they are currently testing a new piece of equipment…
The image courtesy of Spoonflower. Custom printed by Spoonflower, starting at $5 – featured fabric designs.
The original version of this post appeared in September of 2008.
Posted in MAY 2019 / Chuck Green is the principal of Logic Arts, a design and marketing firm, a contributor to numerous magazines and websites, and the author of books published by Random House, Peachpit Press, and Rockport Publishers. Copyright 2007-2019 Chuck Green/Logic Arts Corporation. Contact.
Great article. Glad to have found it as I’m heading over to Spoonflower to learn more. Thanks.