Which wide format inkjet printer is best for printing textile samples, wallpaper designs, on fabric, cloth and other material?

Encad's textile printing system was one of the earlier inkjet printers to call attention to printing on textiles. In the ensuing years other brands came out with more sophisticated printers for textiles. Thus Colorspan also makes a textile printer (Colorspan DisplayMaker FabriJet XII), picture here is from ColorSpan, a new version of the ColorSpan DisplayMaker XII, adopted to handle fabrics.

Mimaki, Stork, Encad, and ColorSpan all make high-regarded equipment so it is a tough choice to chose among them. But each printer has its definite pros and cons. You can also print on silk, cotton, and other textiles with an Hewlett-Packard DesignJet printer. Other kinds of prints will also handle textiles.

This report also lists sources of fabric which can be printed upon by your large format inkjet printer, such as textiles from 3P.

The FLAAR report on "Inkjet printing on fabrics" also includes results of our recent use of the HP DesignJet 5000ps to print on cotton, polyester, and mesh. The results were so attractive we included them in the art exhibit we organized for the archaeology museum on campus.