How to Print a Photo on a Cotton T-Shirt With Inkodye

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Print a Photo on a Cotton T-shirt with Inkodye

How to Print a Photo on a Cotton T-Shirt With Inkodye

A step-by-step guide to printing a photographic Inkodye print on a 100% cotton t-shirt. Can also be used for prints on pillow cases, upholstery fabric and unprimed art canvas.

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Step 1 of 24
Gather materials for your project. We like using a lacquered piece of plywood as our work surface - it's portable & easily cleaned with a wet paper towel once the project is finished.

Gather materials for your project. We like using a lacquered piece of plywood as our work surface - it's portable & easily cleaned with a wet paper towel once the project is finished.

Step 2 of 24
Choose a brush you'd like to work with. We find that a roller lays down a nice even coat of Inkodye without soaking the material. But any brush will do just fine.

Choose a brush you'd like to work with. We find that a roller lays down a nice even coat of Inkodye without soaking the material. But any brush will do just fine.

Step 3 of 24
Insert a piece of foam core or gator board to maintain a flat working surface and prevent the dye from bleeding to the back of your shirt.

Insert a piece of foam core or gator board to maintain a flat working surface and prevent the dye from bleeding to the back of your shirt.

Step 4 of 24
Choose the placement of your negative on your shirt. You can place it in the center or rotate it to make a more dynamic print. We will do ours off-center and let it bleed onto the shoulder!

Choose the placement of your negative on your shirt. You can place it in the center or rotate it to make a more dynamic print. We will do ours off-center and let it bleed onto the shoulder!

Step 5 of 24

Tip! If you want to print your image full bleed (without extra edges), mask off a smaller area than your negative covers. This will ensure the full coated area will have image printed on it.

Step 6 of 24
Get creative! Mask off an area with blue painters tape to contain the area you'd like to develop. Be sure not to tape the negative down- the tape will stick.

Get creative! Mask off an area with blue painters tape to contain the area you'd like to develop. Be sure not to tape the negative down- the tape will stick.

Step 7 of 24
Use your fingernail to press the edge of the tape down to ensure clean edges in your design.

Use your fingernail to press the edge of the tape down to ensure clean edges in your design.

Step 8 of 24
Finish masking off your print area.

Finish masking off your print area.

Step 9 of 24
Shake bottle well. Pour Inkodye into a bowl or flat non-absrobent surface. Do steps 9-16 & 19 in a room with subdued lighting- exposure to lots of natural light will begin Inkodye's color development

Shake bottle well. Pour Inkodye into a bowl or flat non-absrobent surface. Do steps 9-16 & 19 in a room with subdued lighting- exposure to lots of natural light will begin Inkodye's color development

Step 10 of 24
Coat your brush or roller with Inkodye. Use the edges of your bowl to get excess dye off the brush. About 2.5 tablespoons will coat an 11x11" cotton square.

Coat your brush or roller with Inkodye. Use the edges of your bowl to get excess dye off the brush. About 2.5 tablespoons will coat an 11x11" cotton square.

Step 11 of 24
Coat your material evenly with Inkodye. It can be hard to see since Inkodye comes out of the bottle nearly colorless, but you don't need to soak the material. A thin, even coat will do.

Coat your material evenly with Inkodye. It can be hard to see since Inkodye comes out of the bottle nearly colorless, but you don't need to soak the material. A thin, even coat will do.

Step 12 of 24
Using a paper towel, blot material to soak up excess dye. Tip: Less is more! Material should be fully coated but excess moisture can cause imperfections in prints. Material should not be soaking.

Using a paper towel, blot material to soak up excess dye. Tip: Less is more! Material should be fully coated but excess moisture can cause imperfections in prints. Material should not be soaking.

Step 13 of 24
If you'd like, you can remove your tape now or after exposure. If you think dye may have seeped under the tape, wait until after exposure to remove. We're gonna take the risk!

If you'd like, you can remove your tape now or after exposure. If you think dye may have seeped under the tape, wait until after exposure to remove. We're gonna take the risk!

Step 14 of 24
Pull your shirt tight so that the print surface lays completely flat against the gator board.

Pull your shirt tight so that the print surface lays completely flat against the gator board.

Step 15 of 24
Place negative on top and smooth with your hand. You want your negative to make good contact with your material for best print results. If using an inkjet negative, place the waterproof side down.

Place negative on top and smooth with your hand. You want your negative to make good contact with your material for best print results. If using an inkjet negative, place the waterproof side down.

Step 16 of 24
Pin the edges of your negative down with straight pins to ensure the negative doesn't blow away. Be sure your negative is making good contact and not lifting from your coated material.

Pin the edges of your negative down with straight pins to ensure the negative doesn't blow away. Be sure your negative is making good contact and not lifting from your coated material.

Step 17 of 24
Expose your print in direct sunlight for 10-12 mins. We recommend exposing when the sun is strongest: between 11am-3pm. You may want to expose your print for 30-45 mins. on a cloudy day.

Expose your print in direct sunlight for 10-12 mins. We recommend exposing when the sun is strongest: between 11am-3pm. You may want to expose your print for 30-45 mins. on a cloudy day.

Step 18 of 24
You will begin to see color development within the first few minutes of sun exposure! It may appear to be at its darkest potential after 5 mins, but try to be patient during the entire exposure.

You will begin to see color development within the first few minutes of sun exposure! It may appear to be at its darkest potential after 5 mins, but try to be patient during the entire exposure.

Step 19 of 24
Take your print back indoors and remove the negative in subdued lighting.

Take your print back indoors and remove the negative in subdued lighting.

Step 20 of 24

Tip: You can clean the waterproof side of your inkjet negative with some water and a paper towel to remove any Inkodye residue. Be careful not to get the printed side wet- it can ruin your negative.

Step 21 of 24
Wash your print with Inkowash to remove unexposed dye. We recommend washing it twice. If you have hard water, using a washing soda or Borax will help.

Wash your print with Inkowash to remove unexposed dye. We recommend washing it twice. If you have hard water, using a washing soda or Borax will help.

Step 22 of 24
Wash your print twice on the HOT cycle.

Wash your print twice on the HOT cycle.

Step 23 of 24
Ta-da! You now have a beautiful Inkodye print on a t-shirt. Your print is permanent so you can continue to wash it regularly without fading.

Ta-da! You now have a beautiful Inkodye print on a t-shirt. Your print is permanent so you can continue to wash it regularly without fading.

Step 24 of 24
Now go out and show the world what you made!

Now go out and show the world what you made!

You're Done

Check out other guides by this author!

Los Angeles, CA
lumi.co
Lumi is a design team pioneering the Lumitype process, a revolutionary photographic print process for textiles and natural materials.

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16 Comments
Supplies

2 ½ Tablespoons Inkodye (purchase at lumi.co)

1 Roller or brush

1 A negative (inkjet or laser printed)

1 T-shirt or other garment made of natural material

1 Portable flat surface (lacquered piece of plywood)

Inkowash (or other detergent)

Wash machine

A few paper towels

1 Small bowl or tray

1 Piece of foam core or gator board

Some straight pins

Optional: Blue painters tape

Optional: Latex gloves to keep your hands clean

Jenna Hallock

Wow I've never seen a negative that big before

Jenna Hallock 2 weeks ago

Anne Colvin-Dudek

Well, I got desperate and took it to a tanning bed. It worked!!!

Anne Colvin-Dudek 5 months ago

Carmine Tambascia

It's actually work if the weather is really bad, and so It's could be used an UV- lightbulb and so make it inside?

Carmine Tambascia 6 months ago

luba mclean

Guys ... Help needed! I wanna print a shirt till saturday ... it's a friends birthday! however just shitty weather till then. Can I expose the shirt in cloudy weather conditions too and if no, is there some kind of UV-lamp i could use in this case?

luba mclean 6 months ago

Mary Anne Power

If I am printing on a t-shirt, do I need to put something between the layers?

Mary Anne Power 8 months ago

John Campo

This looks like an awesome product!!!! I just looked it up on youtube and got further clarification. It really is quite simple and I cant wait to try!!!! Good luck on what appears to be an amazing product!!!!

John Campo 9 months ago

Peggy Johnston

How do you make Inkjet negatives??

Peggy Johnston 10 months ago

Michael Remy

@C.Rutt: to trigger the effect, you need ultraviolet light. that only comes from the sun or from special lamps. So in theoie a digital projector might work, but you would have to run it with a special uv-lightbulb. If you try that, and it works, would you let me know? That would be great ; )

Michael Remy 10 months ago

Andrew Hunt

is there a way to do a muti colored print?

Andrew Hunt 11 months ago

Luci Mari

can you mix the colours?

Luci Mari 11 months ago

Christopher Rutt

Can I use a digital projector to project my negative onto my surface without using an actual negative?

Christopher Rutt 11 months ago

Jesse Genet

You buy Inkodye in different colors, the white comes from the material :)

Jesse Genet last year

Christina Bekaroglu

Do you buy inkodye in the different colors or buy white and mix?

Christina Bekaroglu last year

Darcy Bastin

I love this. I'm going to try this out for fathers day. Thanks for the idea and guide.

Darcy Bastin last year

Lumi ☀

Thanks Lukas! We are trying to make it as easy as possible for our customers to use Inkodye and Snapguides has such an amazing step-by-step platform to help everyone out :)

(author) last year

Lukas K.

Kind of promotion, but looks nice!

Lukas K. last year

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Marc Larr

What if I only have cold water available?

Marc Larr 3 weeks ago

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