Woven Monkey is launching a service offering craft customers the ability to produce products on a range of polyester-based materials, including silk simulations and stretch fabrics. The move follows an investment by the Ilkeston-based company in an Epson SureColor SC-F-7200 dye sublimation press supplied by reseller RA Smart.
Woven Monkey sells via its website which features a recommendation from design guru Laurence Llewellyn-Bowen. It also promotes its services using social media and blogs. Most of its work is short run, typically under 10m2.
MD Ed Morton said: “With this SureColor F series technology we print onto paper and then heat transfer the image and the ink is absorbed into the material. It is much easier to control than direct to textile and there is less risk with issues like shrinkage.
“The FC-7200 gives us a much wider range of textiles to work with and it eliminates any fear of the image fading when washed. Our vision is to expand into stretch fabrics, including clothing and to make use of the wide range of polyester based materials which today are hard to distinguish from natural products like silk, linen or cotton.”