Fabric & Textile Printing in Dubai
Sun Studio does direct UV printing on fabric pieces and panels at our Al Quoz studio in Dubai, for interior designers, hospitality fit-outs and upholsterers across the UAE, and for event builders. The cloth lies flat on the flatbed, and UV ink is laid onto it and cured on it. That suits decorative and interior textile (panels, hangings, upholstery pieces, banners and event dressing) where the print is looked at, not laundered. One example is the printed linen shoji screens and ceiling panels for a Japanese restaurant at Four Seasons, each panel printed to its own dimensions.
What this is not: fabric printed by the metre on rolls, T-shirts or garments (that is DTG or DTF work), or dye sublimation. We do none of those. The difference from sublimation matters: UV prints on fabrics sublimation cannot touch, and it changes the hand of the cloth where it lands. The section on UV printing or dye sublimation, further down this page, shows which one your job needs, and it is the first thing we work out.
Send a fabric swatch: the weave changes everything. One printed fabric panel, a sample set or a full fit-out schedule: no minimum order quantity.
What we can print
The weave and the fibre decide the result more than the colour or the artwork do:
- Cotton and canvas: a stable, absorbent ground that takes ink well.
- Velvet and heavy furnishing fabric: where the pile changes how the ink sits and the result reads as rich.
- Silk and fine cloth: delicate, and worth sampling first.
- Polyester and blends: including the fabrics used for event dressing.
- Felt and PET panel fabric: the material behind most acoustic panelling.
- Cut panels and pieces: printed flat before being made up.
- Banners and hangings: decorative rather than long-term exterior.
Printing capabilities
On textile the useful capabilities are about control rather than effects:
- Direct UV printing Cured onto the cloth itself.
- Full colour Photographic artwork, pattern and brand graphics.
- White ink So colour holds on dark and coloured fabric, which sublimation cannot do at all.
- Printing on natural fibres Cotton, canvas and velvet, which sublimation cannot print.
- Controlled coverage Laying enough ink for the image without stiffening the cloth more than the piece can take.
- Panel and repeat layouts Artwork set out across several pieces.
- Large fabric panels Printed flat on our IQDEMY EVO 2500, a belt flatbed 2.5 metres wide. Send each finished size and we confirm the fit.
- Sample first The norm on textile, because hand and colour are both fabric-dependent.
UV printing or dye sublimation
These are the two processes interior and event fabric is most often sent to, and they are good at opposite things, so the choice comes before the quote. Our guide to UV, screen, pad and sublimation printing compares them in more detail.
Which process your fabric job needs:
- SEG, lightbox and tension fabric: normally dye sublimation on stretch polyester, which we do not do.
- Fabric printed by the metre on rolls, and flags: a roll printer.
- T-shirts and garments: DTG or DTF.
- Velvet, linen, canvas or cotton interior panels, or white on dark cloth: direct UV printing, which is what we do.
- Cloth that will be laundered regularly: dye sublimation.
Dye sublimation
Dye is transferred into polyester fibre with heat, so it becomes part of the fibre. The hand of the cloth is unchanged, the colour is deep, and it washes and wears like the fabric itself.
The limits are absolute rather than a matter of degree: it needs polyester or a polyester-coated fabric, and it cannot print white or place a light colour on a dark ground. Cotton, canvas, velvet and silk are out of reach.
Direct UV printing
Ink is cured on top of the fibre rather than dyed into it. That means it prints on almost any fabric, including cotton, canvas, linen and velvet, and it can lay white, so a design can sit brightly on dark cloth.
The trade-off is the hand. Cured ink on the surface stiffens the area it covers, so heavy solid coverage on a soft fabric changes how it drapes, and it is not the right choice for something that will be laundered repeatedly. For decorative and interior textile that is usually a fair trade. For garments it is not: T-shirts and clothing belong with a DTG or DTF printer, and fabric by the metre with a roll-to-roll textile printer.
Who this is for
Textile work reaches us from:
- Interior designers: bespoke fabric panels and hangings within a scheme.
- Upholsterers and furnishing makers: printed panels made up into pieces.
- Event and exhibition builders: dressing, backdrops and flat fabric panels for stands. SEG and tension-fabric stand graphics are normally dye-sublimated on stretch polyester, which we do not do.
- Hospitality: decorative textile in restaurants and hotels.
- Artists and studios: printed cloth as a medium.
- Acoustic and panel manufacturers: printed fabric facings.
What to send before we can quote
A swatch tells us more than any description of a fabric can:
- A fabric swatch: the single most useful thing. Weave, weight and fibre are all visible in the hand and none of them are in a photo.
- The fabric type: cotton, canvas, velvet, silk, polyester, blend.
- Panel size: the finished piece dimensions.
- Quantity, and whether artwork repeats or runs across panels.
- The artwork, and how much solid coverage it has.
- What the piece becomes: a wall panel, an upholstered piece, a hanging, a banner.
- Whether it will be washed: this changes the recommendation fundamentally.
- Indoor or outdoor.
Not sure which file to send? Our artwork preparation guide covers file formats, vector conversion and what each surface needs.
How it works
A swatch if possible, plus fabric type, panel size, quantity and artwork.
We check the fabric and the artwork together and advise whether UV or sublimation is the right route.
We print your actual fabric so you can feel the hand and see the colour before committing.
Panels are printed flat, checked and packed for making up.
Printed textile we have produced
Sun Studio work, printed direct onto the cloth in Al Quoz.
Technical considerations
Fabric is expected to move, drape and be touched constantly. A cured ink film sits on top of it, and everything follows from that relationship.
What decides the result:
Hand and drape
Weave and texture
Flex and creasing
Washing
Colour on dark fabric
Stretch
Sampling
Common questions
Do you print fabric by the metre, rolls or T-shirts?
Is there a minimum order, and how long does fabric printing take?
Do you supply the fabric?
How large a fabric panel can you print?
Will the fabric still feel soft?
Can printed fabric be washed?
Can you print velvet and silk?
Should I send fabric flat or made up?
Do you need a fabric swatch?
Have fabric to print?
Send us a swatch if you can, along with the fabric type, the panel size and the artwork. We will print a test so you can feel the hand and see the colour, and tell you honestly whether UV or sublimation is the right route for the piece.
Fabric & Textile Printing projects
Real Sun Studio work involving this service. See the full portfolio.
Technology used
IQDEMY EVO 2500: the belt flatbed used for textile panels and soft material. See the full printer fleet.
Sun Studio belongs to the same Dubai group as PRO TECHnology, which distributes IQDEMY equipment in the Middle East, so read our view of the machine with that in mind.