Fabric Swatch Pack For Printing. Pocket Size Fabric Guide

Your Guide To Fabric Printing

Our range of four fabric swatch packs are here to help you make an informed decision as to what fabric will work best for your projects. Each swatch pack features a fun and vibrant print on each of the fabric samples, to show you how a print will come out against the different surfaces and compositions of each fabric.

Once you have found a fabric that you like, you can use either the fabric name or the fabric ID number to search and find it in our full fabrics list. Simply type into the search bar and the list will filter down to your chosen textile.

We endeavour to have most of our fabrics included in the swatch packs where possible. As we regularly add new fabrics to our collections, in rare cases some swatch packs may not include the newest fabrics. We are unable to top these up once produced. If you are missing a fabric, do not hesitate to contact our customer service team via web chat or email. They will be happy to look for an alternative solution for you.

Introducing the Contrado Fabric Swatch Packs:

The Classic Swatch Pack
This selection features our wide range of man made fabrics. From stunning polyesters and luxurious lace to sumptuous velvets and contemporary neoprene. There are so many unique choices, that you might find yourself ordering a bundle of fabric samples to try out.

The Natural Swatch Pack
The natural selection features our collection of beautiful natural fabrics. Featuring the likes of organic cotton, half-panama, linen and real silk, these naturally gorgeous fabrics will breathe new life into your creations.

The Leather Swatch Pack

The leather swatch pack is made up of 100% real leather. Our specialist printing method gives high-quality colour reproduction and fine detailing up to 2 pts. With leathers from both goat and cow, you are bound to find something that has the grain and the texture that you are looking for.

The Paper Swatch Pack
As well as fabrics, we also offer a bespoke range of customised papers. Thick and luxurious paper with a textured face, glossy satin finished paper and even a selection of wallpapers; you will love how your designs look printed on these chic paper options.

Please note: you cannot customise your Fabric Swatch Pack. Each fabric sample is ready printed with a full colour, detailed design.

For a full list of the fabrics that we have to offer and their names, in multiple languages please click here.

ID reference numbers

When you get your pack in your hands, you'll see there's an ID reference number on each fabric swatch. Use this number to look up each individual fabric on our website. Just enter the number into the search bar on our full fabric range list to see the properties, uses and fabric information. You can also enter the name of the fabric, as an alternative to using the ID number.

Discount and Offers for Fabric Printing

Purchase a Fabric Swatch Pack and receive a £10 gift voucher to redeem against your next order of fabric prints.*

*Voucher cannot be used for test prints or samples. Minimum spend: £25. This offer is for new customers only who have not previously ordered with us before. Voucher can only be used once and expires after 30 days.

Reviews for Contrado Fabric Swatch Pack

Rated 5.0/5 based on 219 customer reviews view all

Fabric swatches

Many different fabrics printed showing full range of possibilities. Order dispatched promptly.

Rated 5 / 5 stars - by

Chris M , 16/04/2019

great fabric collection

spoiled by choice - order some of my artwork to be printed on soft velvet - can not wait to see the results.

Rated 5 / 5 stars - by

Manuel N , 31/03/2019

Just what I needed

The quality of the material and the service are both great. As i am just a beginner the material is fantastic for all sorts of projects the mixed bag helps so I can practice

Rated 5 / 5 stars - by

Donna T , 28/02/2019

Fabric swatches

......useful. Definitely would recommend for new clothing business start ups for idea on which fabrics to go for.

Rated 5 / 5 stars - by

Anneka , 14/02/2019

Great Products

Received my sample pack and was delighted.

Rated 5 / 5 stars - by

Karen H , 06/02/2019

Fantastic idea!

Ordered this as I am new to sewing and sorry from your usual fabric like cotton, canvas and linen, I'm at a loss to which type of fabric would suit which fabric. This is amazing, and gives a clear idea of what is the best fabric to use, and is really good quality too.

Rated 5 / 5 stars - by

Mandy F , 05/02/2019

Super fabric, colour a surprise.

Test print on very nice silk satin. Colour more intense and darker than my design, but in the end I like your version better than my original. But I do need to add a white border. Good experience. Shall be back.

Rated 5 / 5 stars - by

Ann D C , 15/01/2019

Excellent service.

I was delighted to receive the pack of fabric samples and have to say the quality was outstanding.

Rated 5 / 5 stars - by

Margaret R , 19/12/2018

Excellent service and product quality

I can characterise a flawless shipping service as well as the very pleasant surprise of the quality of the fabrics as well as the result of printing. as negative only I would just comment on the cost of shipping the samples as other companies send them for free. However, I certainly look forward to our future cooperation.

Rated 5 / 5 stars - by

Manolina K. , 17/12/2018

very useful

selection of fabrics to allow choice of material for purpose. prevents expensive mistake by ordering fabric that looks right but doesn't actually feel or behave in the desired way

Rated 5 / 5 stars - by

Helena D , 07/12/2018

Excellent in all respects

I ordered a fabric swatch and then went ahead with the printing I required. It was very helpful to have the choice of fabrics in the swath as it was a for a particular stage effect with lighting. The final printed panel was of excellent quality, good value and delivered quickly and on schedule.

Rated 5 / 5 stars - by

Judith B , 26/11/2018

Swatches

Fantastic product and service

Rated 5 / 5 stars - by

Pam B , 22/10/2018

Frequently asked questions:

Are all the fabrics inside the swatch packs?

You can choose from the Classic, Natural and Paper swatch packs. We have a wide range of fabrics to print on and the packs show the whole range. All examples are included, apart from a few specialist fabrics, such as the 3mm felt and our needlepoint tapestry. These are hard to accommodate due to their format mass, but you can order tests prints directly of each.

Is it clear which is the heavier of the fabrics?

We think that by having the samples and simply handling them personally will tell you so much about our range of custom fabrics, including the weight, and texture. If you can't decide by handling the fabric, then you can check out the specific fabric product page on the website for further details, or make a custom test print.

Is the print example a good representation?

We think that the print example is a very good representation. We use a design that has solid full colour and fine detail. The samples give a full representation of what the print quality is like on each textile. The surface textures very useful when deciding which to pick. You can try a test print as the next step in your selection.

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

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.

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.
Which colour model should I choose? RGB or CMYK?

If each individual colour is specifically important to your design, choose CYMK as our setup will print each colour with the closest possible match within our available range. If the relationship between the colours within the image is more important choose RGB; this will reduce all colours equally to fit within our range.
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.
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 boarders 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.

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.
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.
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 to order a little more material than you require for your project.
Can I print on both sides of the fabric?

We do not offer printing on both sides of the fabric, as a lot of our fabrics are semi-transparent. As the customer, you can consider the effect of printing on both sides one of our fabrics and contact us, and we will get back to you if it's feasible.
Can I order labels in another fabric? Will you cut them like 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.
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 fulfillment.

Sizing For Hemming And Shrinkage

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 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 chose 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 bare 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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Your Guide To Fabric Printing