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Printing on Fabric Sample

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Print on Fabric Samples

From £4.50. Ready To Ship In 1 - 2 Day(s)

Premium Tracked Delivery:£2.49

  • Quantity Discount

    Discount available. Price by selecting dimensions & quantity:

    Start design >

  • Wholesale Discount We want to give makers and small businesses the best price to help their business grow. Available to selected makers and traders. Apply for your wholesale account.

Choosing the right fabric is critical. Finding the right weight, texture and drape is key to the success of the final design. Order fabric samples, UK test print swatches that are here to help you select from our wide range. You can tell a lot from a printed swatch, but you can gauge even more when the sample is printed with your own design. Having the physical custom printed samples in your hand can help you reach final decision your creation. Check your print works with the surface texture, that you like the weight of the fabric and that the colour profile is accurate bu putting your print onto fabric samples. Have your test print with next day delivery to help speed up the decision making process.

Start Design
Shop Artists' Designs
  • Order A5, A4, A3, A2, A1 sample sizes
  • Choice of 95+ tried and trusted materials
  • Upload your designs and get a fabric sample print
  • Generous quantity discounts so you can trial a variety
  • All printed by us in London

Order Fabric Samples UK

When uploading an image into our A size sample preview your image will be resized to fit the A size you have selected. If you upload a very large file, it will be reduced to the size of the sample ordered. If you require a crop at the actual size we recommend you size your file before uploading to ensure the dimensions are not changed. As these sample prints are small we do not recommend uploading files larger than 5mb. When you order fabric samples, UK made, we can make your custom test prints in these landscape or portrait sizes:

  • A5 = 14.85cm x 21cm
  • A4 = 21cm x 29.7cm
  • A3 = 29.7cm x 42
  • A2 = 59.4cm x 42cm
  • A1 = 59.4cm x 84.1cm

See your test prints on the material of your choice. Generous quantity discount means you can trial many textile print tests and reduce costs. Printed and sent fast. Print onto fabric samples, and they will be sent "As it is" with your printed design, loosely cut around the edges. What you will receive will be the entire print, and a potential small border of the plain fabric around the edges. 
 

Fabric Printing Discount & Offers

Get a Test Print and receive a £10 gift voucher to redeem against your next order of fabric prints.* This offer is for new customers only. Voucher can only be used once and expires after 30 days.

*voucher cannot be used for test prints or samples.

Care instruction

Handwash only, hang to dry. Low heat iron.

  • Hand Wash
  • Hang Dry
  • No Wring
  • Do Not Tumble
  • Iron Safe
  • Steam Safe

Reviews for Fabric Test Prints

Rated 4.9/5 based on 383 customer reviews view all

Great quality Was good to see quality & size of print before buying full amount


2 TIME RETURNING CUSTOMER
Brilliant work Brilliant Work it looks amazing love it


11 TIME RETURNING CUSTOMER
Thank you good quality Good quality Need to get fabric. RIGHT


10 TIME RETURNING CUSTOMER
Excellent quality prints on faux Leather. Quick delivery. 5 stars


2 TIME RETURNING CUSTOMER
Quick service for sampling I had 6 x A4 samples printed up of abstract images. However one had a pink splodge that wasn't in my original photo that I uploaded. However Rash sorted it out for me and a correct reprint was fast tracked through free of charge.


3 TIME RETURNING CUSTOMER
Velvet sample Great customer service, speedy delivery, will order again soon.


6 TIME RETURNING CUSTOMER
Fantastic! Beuatiful! I was worried that the material would fray if the sample pieces were going to be cut on the line, due to the synthetic material (Lucent Satin) but after chatting to a lady on email, she reassured me that the samples would be fine...and they were! They came with a boarder of excess fabric about the samples so I could do whatever I wanted with them. The material itself looks just like silk stain material which is just what I wanted and photographed beautifully. I would also use this again for fashion or accessory pieces.


8 TIME RETURNING CUSTOMER
Fast but quality lacking Was happy with only half of the printed sample, the other half was blurry and uncrisp. Ruining the pattern. However the fast turn around of the sample was amazing. Shame about the quality


2 TIME RETURNING CUSTOMER
Amazing range of fabrics and quality I've been ordering from Contrado for a while and they have never failed in their quality of print and fabrics available. The print is exactly as the image sent. The service is also impeccable with quick delivery and service. My experience with Contrado is always, quick with great quality, this makes me come back time and time again to print my fabrics!


12 TIME RETURNING CUSTOMER
Very happy with my order Great quality print,lovely fabric, will order more soon! Many thanks!


6 TIME RETURNING CUSTOMER
Perfect prints Ordered a some sample prints, very quick and reliable service so far and quality has been great.


5 TIME RETURNING CUSTOMER
Brilliant really good quality Service vary quick experience looking forward To the future thank you


10 TIME RETURNING CUSTOMER

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You have the amazing designs, but do you have the amazing place to sell?




All you have to do is design what you love and we bring your creations to life. We take care of the hand crafting and manufacture, the sales and the shipping. You the designer, control the products and designs from wherever you are, from home, the office, even on the go. Meanwhile the orders start to roll in and you get commissions fast.

Print Guideline

    • DPI-Print Guideline Icon

      What's the best resolution to print in?

      We print at 200dpi, which is a good combination of quality and file weight. Ideally, your image should be scaled to 100% at 200dpi; this means that no resizing of your file occurs, preventing any interpolation. Our design interface will have a quality marker next to the design that you have uploaded, this will change colour using a traffic light system and display a message. The message will let you know if the resolution is too low or if you have a good quality image. 

  • scaling-Print Guideline Icon

    How will my image scale?

    When you upload your design our system will automatically scale it to fit your chosen fabric dimensions. In the ‘Product Image’ tab, the displayed dimensions under ‘Print Size’ will show the dimensions of the piece of fabric that you are ordering. For image/design dimensions you need to see the ‘Images & Text Tools’ tab. You can see and edit the dimensions of the image under the quality information next to the thumbnail.

  • RGB-CMYK Print Guideline Icon

    Which colour model should I choose? RGB or CMYK?

    We advise providing images in the RGB colour space. Specifically using the sRGB image profile, to achieve best colour results. What does this mean? In your editing software choose RGB as the working space, and assign the image profile as sRGB (full name sRGB IEC61966-2.1)

  • Print-Roll Length Fabric Guide Icon

    Maximum dimensions

    For most of our fabrics, there is no limit on the length of the fabric that you can order. We have a preview design window set up to 10m max to visualise the print, but that's not a print limit. If you'd like to order more, increase the quantity (x2 for 20m or x4 for 40m for example) and then you can order as much as you'd like, with a built-in automatic volume discount too. The maximum print width of each fabric can be found on the individual fabric pages or in our design interface.

  • Borders-Print Guideline Icon

    Do I need to incorporate white space within my design if I want a border or some cutting space?

    Yes, that might help you! Always incorporate any extra space or borders into your purchased fabric size. We trim squarely around fabric samples and fabric prints, leaving approximately 5mm white space. Cutting neatly on the line has an additional fee.

  • crocking-Print Guideline Icon

    What is crocking and why might it occur?

    Crocking, which is fading along the creases, often after washing or heavy use, occurs when you digitally print on natural fabrics - more so when dark or dense colours are used. It can be minimised by using a cool hand wash instead of machine washing as the tumbling of the machine is the main cause of this. To avoid entirely, we would advise using a poly fabric.

  • organics-Print Guideline Icon

    Why do my colours appear lighter on organic fabrics?

    Our organic fabrics do not have any coatings that the non-organic fabrics have. This means the ink absorbs into the fibres, reducing the colour strength slightly (by approx. -40%). For super strong colours we recommend a non-organic natural fabric.

  • Transfer-Print Guideline Icon

    Do you print on fabric a customer supplies?

    Unfortunately not; we like to test meticulously so that we know what gets best results on our fabrics, and our facilities cater perfectly to them. We do however print sublimation paper to order, and if you have access to a heat press you can press your own fabrics easily.

  • Jpeg-Tiff Print Guideline Icon

    Should I save my file as a TIFF or JPEG?

    For multi-coloured or very detailed files we recommend using a tiff format, but they must be flattened. For simple colours and low detail files, a jpeg is fine.

  • Shrinkage-Print Guideline Icon

    What is the situation with material shrinkage?

    Just like many fabric printing processes, there is the potential for shrinkage. Depending on the fabric, please expect and allow between 2-8% shrinkage which you need to plan for in your dimensions. This percentage can vary from print run to print run and between fabrics, so we would advise ordering a little more material than you require for your project. 

  • Print-Both Sides Print Guideline Icon

    Can I print on both sides of the fabric?

    We do not offer to print on both sides of the fabric. A lot of our fabrics are semi-transparent or have some show through and this wouldn't work with double-sided printing. This is not a service that we offer on any of our fabrics.

  • Labels-Print Guideline Icon

    Can I order labels in another fabric? Would you cut them as you do with the normal fabric labels?

    At the moment no, our labels are all printed on the same satin fabric. We may introduce more in the future, but for now, this is the best choice. The labels are all cut the same way. You can order the fabric of your choice and make the labels yourself, but we do not cut different fabric into label format.

  • Eco friendly Printing

    How is your fabric printing eco-friendly?

    With environmental consciousness in mind, our fabrics are all printed using completely water-based inks. This means no chemicals or solvents are used. Our heat fixing procedure fixes the colours and prints, avoiding the downsides of steaming, such as excess or contaminated water returning into the waste system. We have one facility in London where we conduct all the printing, production and fulfilment. Rather than roll the fabrics, or send them in a tube, we fold them before they are sent out to you. This saves over 150 tubes a week, as well as a lot of space on the delivery van. (For delicate fabrics we ensure to package appropriately).

  • colour palette

    Why are there slight colour differences between my orders?

    We work at improving our colour profiles all the time. Though rare it may happen that from one print run to another, and there could be slight colour differences, this is normal and part of the process when we are constantly improving. It is extremely unlikely that there will be a huge difference (like orange instead of red for example). Please bear in mind such colour variations can be intensified from fabric to fabric due to the varying grains and textures of the fabric; natural fabrics tend to have more muted colours than their poly alternatives. This is due to the construction of the materials as well as the print methods that have to be altered slightly for more delicate, natural textiles.




Sizing For Hemming And Shrinkage

Hemming Options ICON

We have a full Cut & Sew service here at Contrado, and are able to hem your fabric prints for a small additional charge. We create a small one- or two-fold hem that typically uses 5 to 20mm of material, depending on the thickness of the fabric. So, for example, if you want a finished piece of fabric that measures 100 x 100cm, you will need to order a size of 101.5cm x 101.5cm to allow for the hem (on top of that please also allow for shrinkage of min 2%). The thicker the fabric, the bigger the hem will be. You can choose to have your prints hemmed with either Black or White thread. On our silk and other light woven fabrics, one hemmed edge will be straight (vertically down the roll) and the other will be slightly rippled. The hemming material allowances are as follows and you need to make your print bigger to accommodate the hem:

  • Light Fabrics (20-100gsm): For silks and other light fabrics, we use 6-8mm in the hem (2 fold), so overall width/height will be minus 12-16mm
  • Medium Fabrics (101-200gsm): For medium-weight fabrics that fray, we use 15-20mm in the hem (2 fold) so overall width/height will be minus 35-40mm
  • Stiff/Heavy/No-fray fabrics: we use 15-20mm in the hem (1 fold) so overall width/height will be minus 35-40mm
All of these measurements are approximate and can vary. Including with shrinkage, it can mean a fairly significant difference to ordered dimensions, so please plan your print accordingly. Depending on how open the weave is, our fabric can shrink anywhere from 2% to 8% with the average being 2.5%.
 

How Would you Like the Edge?

We have four finishing options for your fabric order: 
  • As it comes. We cut around your image, leaving a simply scissor cut, perhaps uneven white fabric border. 
  • Hem with thread. We can hem your fabric with a choice of black or white thread. Please allow 1-2 days of additional production time. See below for information on how hemming affects the size of your print. We offer an overlock hem, as well as a folded hem (one or two fold depending on the fabric) however not all fabrics, are suited to both hem types. If you can see both options, it means both are suitable, and you will be able to choose whichever you prefer. 
  • Cut on the line. We will cut neatly on the edge of your design. This means that if you have a border around your design we will cut around that border, if your design takes the whole space of the fabric, then we will neatly cut around the edge of that image. Please be aware, when we cut along the line, we have to cut against the grain of the fabric. This is the standard procedure for fabric cutting. This means that with some fabrics, for example, Georgette and Mulmul, which have a slight wave in them, some fraying will occur. This is unavoidable, as the cut follows the grain of the textile. 
All of our fabrics are cut manually by hand, with the utmost care and attention. If your fabric has a slightly uneven look on the edges or a touch of fraying, this does not indicate a flaw in the textile. It is not always possible to achieve a perfect straight cut with certain fabrics, so please do bear this in mind when it comes to your design. If you have any queries or would like to know about our cutting methods in more detail, please get in touch and we will be more than happy to discuss them with you. 

For further information about our fabrics see our FAQs. 

Please note: As everything we provide is handmade to order, you may find a slight variance in the sizes. 

Delivery time & Costs

Production times

We handmake your item on site, which takes on average 1-2 days. Please check individual production times which are displayed next to the item price on the product page, as this varies from product to product. In rare cases when we need to re-print an item, this may take an additional 1-2 days.

Shipping methods

After your item has been manufactured, we ship your order via your chosen method. Please add on the production time to the delivery time to calculate when your order will be with you. Select your delivery method in your basket.

We have a range of trusted shipping options:
  • Royal Mail 1st Class Standard (no tracking) - 1-5 working days on average (please note that this can take up to 15 working days in exceptional circumstances).
  • Royal Mail 1st Class Recorded (no tracking) – Usually delivered the next working day. It is not a guaranteed next day service, or a tracked service. A signature is required. (Please note that this can take up to 15 working days in exceptional circumstances).
  • Special Delivery – Delivered the next working day
  • Saturday Delivery (deliver only on Sat)
  • Collection from our London Office (between 4-6pm on working days only)
  • For international orders or large/bulky packages within the UK, we ship via DHL or Fedex services. This takes on average 2-5 working days.
You can then enjoy or resell your hand-made products with your very own designs.

You can also read more about our terms & conditions and refund policy. 

Make use of our Manufacturing and Worldwide Shipping Experience

At Contrado, every product is handmade on site to ensure the highest quality. We provide a dedicated production service as well as a range of fast delivery options. For the past 14 years, we have printed and hand-made countless personalised products for a wide range of customers all over the world and many of them have become loyal customers who love not only our products but also the care, knowledge and dedication from our staff.

A speedy Special Delivery service is available where your item will delivered within one working day, after it has been manufactured.



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