Customer Reviews

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

5 star:		(18)
4 star:		(16)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

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.

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.

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.

I remember when iron-ons were really big in the `70s. I remember you could get the transfers just about anywhere - even cereal boxes and newspapers!

Well, now Avery has taken the iron-on transfer to a new stage with this product. These sheets are courser than normal transfer paper, but they can be attached to a wider array of cloth items.

Now, you will want to cut transfer as close to the picture as possible to avoid having extra white backing around your image. Also, as you would expect with something that just irons on, you will want to avoid putting this on something that needs to be washed more than rarely.

Nonetheless, I do think that this is an interesting new product, one that starts to open up new crafts, ones that are not fully thought out yet. They're not cheap, by any means, but I can see having a lot of fun with them.

I'm an avid crafter and was excited to discover this awesome new product. I've printed photos of my grandchildren and sewn them into pillows, carry-all bags and quilts. I also printed a favorite, inspirational poem onto this product and made a pillow for a good friend going through a hard time. She loves it. The project possibilities are as endless as your own wild imagination.

I will most definitely be buying more Avery Printable Fabric and highly recommend it whether you're an experienced crafter or a novice. It's as easy as printing on paper!!

Used this for a present recently and I really liked how easily it printed no ink bleeding at all and how bright the colors were. Nice idea for homemade craft projects. Will deffinately use again!

This iron-on printable fabric gave me bright colors and clear lettering through my HP inkjet printer. It's easy to use and fused quite well on my item. I used it for a quilt label. I recommend against this application unless it is an item that won't be washed, since it requires hand washing. It was very hard to stitch through (I placed it in the corner and the binding folded over it), so when using again I will be careful to locate it where I don't have to stitch through it. It would likely work well for tote bags or a wall-hanging that would require neither stitching through nor washing.

I was really surprised with the finished product when using these sheets. The color looks great, it does not take long to dry after coming out of the printer and it seems to hold up well after applied to your project. You can do so much with these and cut the fabric in any shape or size that you can think of. You can use any graphic from your computer and the fabric can be applied to almost anything, so your possibilities are really endless - to a degree. My daughters are always coming up with new things to do with this fabric. They can make patches to put on shirts or hoodies, jeans, old bags, everything. They can pick out any design or picture from the internet or from pictures they have storedon their computer and just make all sorts of things. It is a great way to get mor elife out of an older shirt that may have gotten a small hole or tear in it. Just whip up a graphic patch and slap it on over top of the damage and all is well! These are well worth the money when you think of how much you can do with a sheet.

I really love this printable fabric. It runs through the printer just like regular paper and the output looks great. The fabric texture is nice, slightly rough and what you'd expect "printable fabric" to be. The printouts look great, not quite as "snappy" as matte photo paper but definitely better than regular printer paper.

Another reviewer said they couldn't tell which side to print on. One side looks and feels like fabric, the other is slick and appears more "plastic-y" like it's got a coat of adhesive. Obviously you should print on the fabric side.

The big downside is the cost of this stuff--$3 a sheet. I would highly recommend doing a mock-up with regular printer paper and Scotch tape before printing on the fabric.

I love this Avery Printable Fabric for Inkjet Printers. The fabric, coated with a fusible backing attached to paper that allows it to run easily through your printer, is exceptionally easy to use. Images print out in vivid color and as sharp as can be. Even small type is readable and photographs come out crystal clear. After printing, one peels off the backing paper and irons the image onto whatever--I have used it a lot on postcard-sized art quilts. The dye does not bleed even while you are heat setting it and the fusible bonds perfectly with your background fabric. This is one of the few printable fabric sheets that fuses well onto cotton (many transfers are designed for use with polyesters) and I have come to depend on it for many different applications. This is a great product--affordable too--and I hope they never stop making it.