Print and Dye Research Laboratory

Introduction
The Print and Dye Research Laboratory comprises two large 7.5m print tables, one with a stop bar to facilitate repeat printing and five 1m tables. Other major equipment includes a flat-bed heat transfer press, large format rotary press, baking cabinet, steamer, exposure unit for making photographic screens and dye winch. The area carries a large range of dyes and auxiliary products so it is possible to print on all types of fabrics using dye pastes or specialist textile print binders.

The area also boasts a Mimaki Tx1 Fabric Printer combining both traditional inkjet printing technology and textile dyes, it can print designs up to 1.5 m wide on a broad range of fabrics including cottons, silks and velvet. The area houses both PC and Mac workstations which support Adobe Photoshop/Illustrator and Smartprint rip software for developing digital work.

Equipment and Facilities
The dye area which is attached to the print room has facilities to dye all different types of fabrics and yarns. As well as two large dye vats there are a number of dye buckets for sample and small piece dyeing. There is a computer attached to the area and students can either photo transfer their digitally created imagery or screen print it using the specialist print pastes available.