The New Age Of Digital

If you missed part 1 click here or part 2 click here

After seeing the huge area required to print the traditional way it is almost comical to see what is required now.

The new way to print

So there you have it. One day, that whole big plant will potentially be reduced to this.

The following picture is from the colorist room where designers scrutinize color match so that each run is the same.

color guide

 This shows fabric patterns that are being tested for color, match and scale that are still on the drawing board.

Now the work begins

So now it was the time of discovery, did I really know what I was doing and would my work translate into what their designer needed.  (Read “nail-biting time”)

Amazingly, for the most part I got it right. LOL

We made a few minor adjustments on pattern match and it was time to make a strike off to see how it would really look on fabric. YIKES! This was really happening. What if we all hated it? What if we all loved it? What if , after all of this, we couldn’t meet the dead-line?  So many “what ifs”.

I’m seeing my work on their computer system for the first time.

Do we hit the print button or not?

PRINT!

And out rolls the first ever strike off of the new

CINDY BARGANIER FABRIC COLLECTION

Springtime Fun from Cindy Barganier Fabric Collection

What would you call me?

Ocean Stripe from Cindy Barganier Fabric Collection

FIRST 3 PATTERNS AS WE SAW THEM FOR THE FIRST TIME

Bear in mind that this is being done on the cheapest fabric with no sizing or finishing which is what makes the color pop.

Sadly, this little guy didn’t make the cut. He was pixelated and couldn’t be fixed.

NO GO

What do you do when the pattern you had planned on featuring won’t work? You pretend like you are back in college and you stay up until the mood strikes and you design a new pattern from scratch that will work. You then send it to the mill in the wee hours, get it approved as soon as the doors open, run the strike-off, get customer approval and print all within a 12 hour period so that you hit your dead-line.

Then one day the UPS man arrives and he hands you the first bolts.

Cindy Barganier Fabric Collection

So you jump in the car and head to 30A for the installation.

before

A week ago this was a closet. I found a carpenter who could go to Florida in one day to remove the doors, remove all of the shelving and rods and build a daybed with raised “tables” at either end.

Then sweet Marilyn Heard and George Evans went down with us to transform it into a daybed extraordinaire.

We worked, and we worked..

and then we worked some more

No, you aren’t seeing things. Yes, it is midnight and yes, we are all working in pajamas. LOL

We are the crazy ones who are most creative at night. That’s why we move into the houses for concierge move in services.  It’s going above and beyond.

We didn’t have all of the lamps and accessories yet but this will give you a good idea of where we are headed.

Bespoke Daybed in Amber fabric by Cindy Barganier

Amber Fabric by Cindy Barganier

Then we moved on to the next room where the Ocean Stripe fabric was being used.

Ocean Stripe in teal and blue

Thanks to a little Pinterest inspiration I used the fabric on Yolo Board inspired headboards and added individual lights for nighttime reading enjoyment.

Ocean Stripe by Cindy Barganier

We haven’t gotten to accessorization yet but do notice the adorable vintage bathing suit sheets peeking out from the shams.

 While ya’ll hit the waves, I’m just gonna hit the bed.

I’m done.

Thank you to another precious client who “gets it” and let’s us do our thing.

We loved working with you and can’t wait to hear your squeals tonight.

If you would like to say, “That was fun!” at the end of your project contact me at

www.cindybarganier.com.

New Fabric Line Hits The Market!

What artist wouldn’t be happy with a post that opens with a picture like that!

This was not planned to happen this fast but when a client sees your designs for fabrics,  flips and says,

“I want to use it”

you find a way to make it happen- right?

It was a case of right time, right place, and, God’s favor.

One of the plants that prints for Duralee is experimenting with digital printing as opposed to hand printing and they needed a guinea pig. I had a mountain of fabric designs that had so many colors they HAD to be printed digitally and I needed a printer. God put us together.

I warn you, this is going to be a long post so I will break it up into bite size pieces but I think you will find it fascinating.

hand screen printing

Traditionally, fabrics have been made a couple of different ways. The oldest method and most expensive is custom, hand screening where two people walk opposite each other down a long table filled with fabric and drag a wooden squeegee over screens made of silk to push dye through the silk. There is a different screen for every single color. For instance, if the pattern has red flowers with brown stems and green leaves, the guys walk the length of the table applying the brown first, one repeat at a time, for the entire 60 yards of fabric. Then they remove that screen and get the one with the flowers on it and do the same thing applying the red, then grab the third screen and apply the green etc, etc, etc.  It is very labor intensive and one little mistake can ruin an entire run.

silk screens

fabric ready for screening

rows and rows of screens for different fabrics or papers

Then some amazingly smart person figured out how to cut the patterns onto large drums and have a machine do the work of the sqeeggee men.The color is laid simultaneously as the fabric passes along the conveyor belt.

This is what the drums look like. This would be the “screen” for one color.

rotary printers

The bolt of washed fabric, called grey goods at this point, is feed onto the conveyor belt very carefully so that it is precisely timed to arrive at the next color station after the previous part of the pattern has been printed.

Now this is where it starts to get really fun. Can  you see that each tube or drum has a different part of the over-all design on it? One has the tree trunk, another the branches, another the leaves, then the birds etc.

You can literally just walk down the ramp and watch the pattern come to life right in front of you.

I have always loved factories. They fascinate me.

In person, you can look through the end of the tube and watch the color squirting through the openings.

first one color

then another

until finally

you have the finished deal

Doesn’t that just make you want to cheer???

final product

I think this is a Schumacher pattern but I am not sure. This machine squares the fabric up and heat sets the dye.

yuk, it’s stiff

As it rolls off the belt it is inspected for appropriate color, pattern match etc and adjustments are made. The fabric is very stiff at this point. You would not want to sit on it.

This machine is called a calander and it adds finish. Two rollers, one with heat and pressure and one with cold, squeeze the fabric as it goes through. To make a chintz the skids shine it like a spit-shine.

being prepared for sizing

It will next be sent basically to a VERY hot steam bath where any excess dye will be washed away and sizing will be added to make the fabric soft and pliable.

We will continue our lesson on how fabric is made tomorrow.

If you would like to say, “That was fun!” at the end of your project contact me at

www.cindy barganier.com.

Related articles

• Digital Fabric Printing (interiorsbyelement.com)