Avery Printable Fabric for Inkjet Printers, 8.5 x 11 Inches, Pack of 5 (03384)

by Avery

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 11.5 x 9.2 x 0.1 inches ; 5.8 ounces
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B0000C0CJZ
• Item model number: 03384
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (38 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,321 in Office Products (See Top 100 in Office Products)
  • #3 in Electronics > Accessories & Supplies > Blank Media > Floppy Diskettes
  • #5 in Office Products > Office Supplies > Paper > Business Paper Products > Image Transfer Sheets
• Date first available at Amazon.com: July 7, 2004

Product Description

From the Manufacturer

Add an extra-special touch to quilts, pillows, tote bags, and other craft projects with Avery 3384 Personal Creations Printable Fabric. Simply use your favorite creative software to create a custom image or use a free template from avery.com to jump start your creativity. Then print onto this special fabric using a regular inkjet printer. Heat seal backings help this printable cotton bond with fabrics, cardboard, and other porous surfaces using only the help of a household iron. Alternatively, you can choose to stitch these 100-percent cotton panels into your latest project. Either way, you're assured to end up with a unique, professional-looking finished product that can be hand-washed using mild detergents.

What's in the Box
5 sheets of 8-1/2 x 11-inch printable fabric

Product Description

Add an extra-special touch to quilts, pillows, tote bags, and other craft projects with Avery 3384 Personal Creations Printable Fabric. Simply use your favorite creative software to create a custom image or use a free template from avery com to jump start your creativity. Then print onto this special fabric using a regular inkjet printer. Heat seal backings help this printable cotton bond with fabrics, cardboard, and other porous surfaces using only the help of a household iron. Alternatively, you can choose to stitch these 100-percent cotton panels into your latest project. Either way, you're assured to end up with a unique, professional-looking finished product that can be hand-washed using mild detergents. What's in the Box 5 sheets of 8-1/2 x 11-inch printable fabric

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

34 of 34 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Near perfect image reproduction; Best suited for rigid crafts, January 27, 2011

By 

S. L. Smith "SansSerif" (Back Home Again, United States) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Avery Printable Fabric for Inkjet Printers, 8.5 x 11 Inches, Pack of 5 (03384) (Office Product)

(What's this?)

Printable fabric sheets have been around for years, but improvements are being made every year. (There are STILL some really bad ones out there ...) Given the brand name recognition (Avery) and having had less than great results from similar products (I name only one below), I HAD to check out Avery Personal Creations Printable Fabric.

First Impressions:

1) The Product Itself: It is the stiffest fabric paper I have ever used. Instantly, I realized this could be both a huge plus and a big negative; this product is best suited for certain crafts (totes, framed pieces, scrapbooking, anything else where rigid is a good thing) and not for others (wearables, quilts, pillows)

2) The Image: For me, the single most important quality about printable fabric is the image reproduction. (Everything else I can work around, like fraying or thinness.) Granted, results can vary hugely, depending on your printer and the specific printer settings. When I used the "automatic" option for paper type and used the "best" quality option for printing, the end result using this Avery Printable Fabric was hands-down the very best I have ever seen.

Good Things To Know About This Product:

1) It is for Inkjet printers ONLY
2) There is no backing to peel off from the fabric sheet
3) It is Sew-in or Iron-on (unlike interfacings, this can be either/or); "Iron On" means ironing activates the glue, and NOT that this is an image transfer product that uses an iron to put the image on another surface
4) It's available (currently) in only one color - a pleasing white (some other brands offer off-white)
5) This is not an image transfer product
6) When Avery claims "washable", their instructions really state "for best results, hand wash"
7) As with similar products, you need to let the printed image dry for at least 24 hours; even then, some image smearing can occur from simple handling

Personal Tips from Prior Experience With Printable Fabrics:

1) Read/follow all manufacturer's instructions; check website for more info/FAQs or reviews from other customers
2) Place only one sheet at a time in your printer
3) If not using the glue aspect, ie, you are sewing it in, keep in mind future ironing of the finished item - the glue may adhere to parts of the project you never intended - not good!!
4) If using color, try to use new/fresh color ink cartridge
5) ALWAYS do a test using plain printer paper first, to check for correct image placement, to test paper feed, and to test printer settings; know which is the image-side of the product (usually the matte side)
6) If applicable, keep seam allowances in mind
7) If using as an iron-on, make sure to PRESS and not really iron; both the fabric and thus the image itself can distort if you do too much side-to-side ironing. Just press the image with an up and down motion
8) Plan ahead for multiple projects; fit as many images as possible onto one sheet to make the best cost advantage

The Ultimate Test:

Unfortunately, the full test of this product will require months of time and usage to determine:

1) how the image is retained and whether the fabric yellows over time. (I had to throw out several projects where I used Milliken's Printable Treasures because the images yellowed horribly.)
2) how the finished product withstands several washings and ironings (read my notes about HAND washing and ironing above!)

The Downside:

At the time of this writing, Avery has not answered user questions on their website that are over 6 months old. I mention this not as an indication of the product quality, per se, but in case you need more information. You might do better going elsewhere, such as guilds, discussion groups, online user reviews, etc. for answers to any questions.

The Bottom Line:

For some crafts where rigidity can be an asset, and for near-perfect image reproduction, these Avery Printable Fabric cotton sheets are ideal.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Crafting Item!, December 3, 2010

By 

Kellie Pease (Derby, CT) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Avery Printable Fabric for Inkjet Printers, 8.5 x 11 Inches, Pack of 5 (03384) (Office Product)

(What's this?)

I love being able to do different craft items with my kids and when I saw this product, it seemed like it had interesting potential. I had used printable iron-on transfers before, and while they were fine for limited use, they just did not have the look I would want for some item, like a tote bag or apron.

This package is 5 sheets of printable cotton backed with heat seal fabric. The packaging says that you can sew this on also, but since I used the whole sheet at once, I didn't see that happening. I decided to try the transfer on a canvas tote bag. I made my photo full-sized, did a draft quality test print on paper, and decided that it looked good. I then printed the picture onto the transfer at a higher quality set at normal paper setting. When it came off of the printer, I was surprised at how nice my picture printed. It had the look of a canvas painting, giving it a little bit of softness and texture without sacrificing the sharpness of the photo. I was very happy. I let the page sit overnight because the directions were not clear about how long the drying time should be, though it did not appear that it would smudge, even fresh from the printer. When I was ready to apply the transfer, I trimmed the little bit of the edge that was not printed on with a scrapbooking trimmer, though scissors would work fine. I then cropped the corners to round them. No problems, it handled just like heavy paper. Finally, I laid the tote bag on my ironing board, centered the transfer on the bag, and ironed it (no steam, cotton setting) for a minute or so, though it only calls for five seconds. The adhesive set nicely with no glue leaking out of the sides and no lumpiness. The edges adhered well, with no lifting. My kids were amazed that I'd made, not bought, the bag. We are very pleased with the results.

I could picture using this on other items like a canvas apron, a canvas storage cube, or the insert says album covers, pillows, quilts, etc. I would not be afraid to try this on a more meaningful project now that I saw how nice the results are and have a feel for the process. The directions say these are washable (you must wait 24 hours though) but you should apply to the surface before the surface has been washed. They recommend hand washing separately in cold water, no chlorine bleach, and lay flat to dry.

I would recommend this for a fun project with very nice results. I got quality results with ease of use. I was very pleased and impressed even though I frequently do projects like this.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Can be cut with punches!, November 28, 2010

By 

Shala Kerrigan (Anchorage) - See all my reviews
(TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Avery Printable Fabric for Inkjet Printers, 8.5 x 11 Inches, Pack of 5 (03384) (Office Product)

(What's this?)

I don't think this has been mentioned yet, but this can be cut with punches.
For me, the iron-on backing was a little off-putting until I realized that. Since I can use my circle hand punches with it, I'm using it for ornaments as well as little circle patches to mend some of my dad's jackets with and patches my teens can add to their backpacks. If you're reasonably good in your graphics program, you can make all sorts of nifty designs to fit into your favorite punches. I don't have a digital cutter, but if it works with punches, it would probably work well with die cutters and personal cutters as well.
Color prints out well and brightly on it, and the package does suggest hand washing to keep the color well.
As far as cost goes, 3 dollars a sheet is pricey, but for my uses, it's really inexpensive. Buying patches to fix my dad's jackets with can cost 2-3 dollars each for the small patches, and he's very picky about what his jackets are patched with as far as design goes. With this I can make 10 2 inch patches and a whole bunch of 1 inch circle patches on one sheet. My 62 year old dad can have either the cool designs he likes for some jackets or I can do a close color match on others. So it's pretty thrifty for that use.
My teens like the idea of fandom or idea based patches for their bags and backpacks to personalize them.
I'm very happy with this product. Look at product images to see a patch I made using the punch method.