Printing a Digital Image on a T-Shirt
From "Digital Photography"
episode DPG-102 -- More Projects »
One of the advantages to digital photography is that it expands the versatility of how you display, share and enjoy your photographs. This episode focuses on some of the less conventional uses of your photos, including creating iron-on transfers for t-shirts, personalized photo calendars, artistic and graphic designs and a digital slideshow.
Creating a T-Shirt Design from a Digital Photo
One interesting and somewhat whimsical way to enjoy your digital photos is to create a t-shirt design from one of your photgraphic images. Kids in particular will enjoy this project. With a digital photo, a computer, a color inkjet printer and some specialized printing paper, you can create your own unique t-shirt design (figure A). Materials: Computer, image software and inkjet printer
Color-transfer paper
T-shirt
Iron and ironing board
Pillowcase or sheet
Scissors
Steps: - Begin with a digital photo of your choice, opened using the image software on your computer. You may want to add some text to the image before printing it. Use the type tool in your program to create a text-box, and type in the text or title you wish. Place the text where you want it to appear in the frame.
- The next step is to reverse the image. This is an important step since the transferred image on the shirt will be flipped backward from how it appears on the printed transfer-paper. If the image itself is not first reversed, the t-shirt image will appear backward. Reversing the image electronically is a simple step in most image-based programs. (In our program, the menu sequence was Image > Rotate > Flip Image Horizontally. Your program may have different names for the same step. Some printer programs have a "Mirror Image" command.) This menu-command reverses the image (figure B).
- With the image prepared to your liking, you're ready to print. Load a sheet of transfer paper into the printer.
Important: Never use transfer paper in a laser printer. The heat from the laser will melt the transfer and ruin the printer. Use ONLY inkjet printers with transfer paper.
- Select "Print" from your program menu, and print your image.
- Once the image has printed out, use scissors to trim off most of the white border -- leave only about 1/8" of border around the picture (figure C). Once the image has been transferred to the t-shirt, this small amount of border will help you peel away the paper backing without damaging the image.
- Place your t-shirt on a pillowcase that has been laid out on a flat, hard surface such as a countertop. The pillowcase will protect the counter from the heat. Don't use an ironing board for this process. An ironing-board's surface would be too soft for ironing on transfers.
- Make sure that all the water has been removed from your iron, and preheat the iron on a "hot" setting.
- Iron the shirt (figure D) to make certain that the surface where you'll be placing the transfer is smooth and wrinkle-free. This step also preheats the t-shirt to make the fabric surface ready to accept the transfer.
- Carefully position the transfer face down on the t-shirt (figure E). Make certain that the placement is exactly where you want the image, since this process can be done only once, and any mistake will be permanent.
- Once your placement is just as you want it, iron the back of the transfer paper (figure F) to transfer the image to the shirt. To ensure a clean transfer, iron thoroughly in a cirular motion, all around the surface of the paper.
- Wait about two minutes, then carefully peel back the paper backing to reveal the picture (figure G). Peel the backing very slowly and carefully to avoid damaging or tearing the image.
Important: Don't use a dark fabric for photo transfers. The image won't show up on a dark backing (figure H).
Garment-Care Tip : Wait a few days before washing your newly designed photo t-shirt. When you do wash the shirt, turn it inside out to protect the image during the washing and drying process.
RESOURCES :
Rick Sammon, professional photographer
Web site: www.ricksammon.com
Learn more about photography with Rick Sammon's new e-book on CD. More than 100 tips and photographs from Rick's travels around the world.
And check out Rick's column on Kodak's site:
Web site: www.kodak.com/US/en/corp/magazine/tips/2001_10
Rick Sammon
Croton-on-Hudson, NY 10520
Email: RickSammon@aol.com
Website: www.ricksammon.com
Special Thanks for DIY's Digital Photography workshop, episodes 101-105
Adobe Photoshop
Web site: www.adobe.com
PC Photo magazine
Web site: www.pcphotomag
Kodak
Web site: www.kodak.com
Epson America, Inc.
Web site: www.epson.com
Kinkos
Web site: www.kinkos.com
Ulead Cool 360
Web site: www.ulead.com
The Digital Wallet
Web site: www.mindsatwork.net
The L.A. County Arboretum
Web site: www.arboretum.org
Adobe Photoshop
Adobe Systems
Buffalo, NY 14240-1034
Website: www.adobe.com
PC Photo magazine
Website: www.pcphotomag.com
Online version of the magazine devoted to digital photography and related technologies.
The Complete Idiot's Guide to Digital Photography
Model: 002864235X
Author: Steven Greenberg
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Prentice Hall
Paramus, NJ 07652
Digital Photography For Dummies
Model: 0764506463
Author: Julie Adair King
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Hungry Minds, Inc.
Complete Digital Photography
Model: 1584500077
Author: Ben Long
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Charles River Media
Website: www.charlesriver.com/
50 Fast Digital Photo Techniques
Model: 0764535781
Author: Gregory Georges, Cris Rys
To order this title from Amazon, click here.
Hungry Minds, Inc.
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