Leather Fabric Samples | Leather Swatch Pack

Leather Swatches

Leather Fabric Samples for Leather Printing

Real Leather

We are now able to offer printing on a variety of leathers, thanks to our new state-of-the-art leather printing technology. This allows us to print onto numerous different leathers with amazing colour reproduction and fine detailing up to 2 pt. Each of our leathers have a different thickness, handle, or texture, yet each and every one of them looks visually stunning once printed.

We don't expect you to just take our word for it though, which is why we have introduced our leather fabric samples. This is a pack of leather swatches that are 5.5cm x 5.5cm (that's 2 inches squared) printed with the classic Contrado sample design which shows both fine and solid details, a variety of colours that are vibrant, rich, dark, bright, and striking to give you as much variety as as possible. This is the best way to show you exactly what to expect, and to help you make the right choice.

With our leather fabric samples, you can not only see the surface textures and the handle of each material, but you can touch it for yourself. You can make a fully informed decision with using the leather swatches before committing to ordering an entire project worth of material.

Easy to find

When you receive your leather fabric samples, you'll see the name of each leather which can be used to look up each one on our website for easier ordering. Just enter the name into the search bar or the list of our whole range to see the properties, uses, and material information.

As well as our fantastic leather samples, you can also order swatch packs for our other fabric ranges too. When you go to add the leather fabric samples pack to your basket, you will also be offered our other swatch packs.

Classic Swatch Pack: A range of man made fabrics, from velvet to voile, and lycra to lace. Our range has over 100 fabrics to choose from
Natural Swatch Pack: A range of natural fabrics, from cotton to linen to silk. A great selection of completely natural textiles
Paper Swatch Pack: As well as fabrics, we offer a variety of papers too. From wallpaper to poster paper, check out this great selection

Discount and Offers for Leather Printing

Purchase a Leather Swatch Pack and receive a $20 gift voucher to redeem against your next order of leather prints.*

*Voucher cannot be used for test prints or samples. Minimum spend: $50. This offer is for new customers only who have not previously ordered with us before. Voucher can only be used once and expires after 30 days.

Frequently asked questions:

How are your swatch packs separated?

The classic swatch pack includes the man-made materials, the natural has only the naturals, and the paper only the papers. The leather fabric samples pack contains only the genuine leathers; as we offer vegan-friendly leatherette options, we wouldn't want to put them in the same packaging as the leather swatches.

Are all of your leathers in the swatch pack?

All of the leathers that we currently offer are included in the swatch pack, and as we introduce more and more leathers they'll be added into new swatch pack versions. We try to ensure that every material is included in the packs at all times, and the date your pack was printed along with the version number will be displayed on the leather fabric samples packaging. If you have any questions about your swatch pack please contact our customer service team via chat who will be happy to assist you.

Why are the leather packs smaller?

The leather fabric samples are smaller for a number of reasons. Leather is a much more expensive material, which contributes to this greatly. If we were to create the leather swatches in the same size, we'd have to charge more for them. There are also limitations to the maximum sizes of each leather we use, dependant on the size of the animal. Smaller leather fabric samples are easier to create.

You have the amazing designs, but do you have the amazing place to sell?

All you have to do is design what you love and we bring your creations to life. We take care of the handcrafting and manufacture, the sales and the shipping. You the designer, control the products and designs from wherever you are, from home, the office, even on the go. Meanwhile, the orders start to roll in and you get commissions fast.

Print Guideline

What's the best resolution to print in?

We print at 200dpi, which is a good combination of quality and file weight. Ideally, your image should be scaled to 100% at 200dpi; this means that no resizing of your file occurs, preventing any interpolation. Our design interface will have a quality marker next to the design that you have uploaded, this will change colour using a traffic light system and display a message. The message will let you know if the resolution is too low or if you have a good quality image.
Which colour model should I choose? RGB or CMYK?

If each individual colour is specifically important to your design, choose CYMK as our setup will print each colour with the closest possible match within our available range. If the relationship between the colours within the image is more important choose RGB; this will reduce all colours equally to fit within our range.
Maximum dimensions

There is no limit on the length of the fabric that you can order. We have a preview design window set up to 5m max to visualise the print, but that's not a print limit. If you'd like to order more, you can increase the quantity (x2 for 10m or x 4 for 20m for e.g.) and then your orders can be as long as you'd like, with a built-in automatic volume discount too. The maximum print width of each fabric can be found on the individual fabric pages or in our design interface.
Do I need to incorporate white space within my design if I want a border or some cutting space?

Yes, that might help you! Always incorporate any extra space or borders into your purchased fabric size. We trim squarely around fabric samples and fabric prints, leaving approximately 5mm white space. Cutting neatly on the line has an additional fee.
What is crocking and why might it occur?

Crocking, which is fading along the creases, often after washing or heavy use, occurs when you digitally print on natural fabrics - more so when dark or dense colours are used. It can be minimised by using a cool hand wash instead of machine washing as the tumbling of the machine is the main cause of this. To avoid entirely, we would advise using a poly fabric.

Do you print on fabric a customer supplies?

Unfortunately not; we like to test meticulously so that we know what gets best results on our fabrics, and our facilities cater perfectly to them. We do however print sublimation paper to order, and if you have access to a heat press you can press your own fabrics easily.
Should I save my file as a TIFF or JPEG?

For multi-coloured or very detailed files we recommend using a tiff format, but they must be flattened. For simple colours and low detail files, a jpeg is fine.
What is the situation with material shrinkage?

Just like many fabric printing processes, there is the potential for shrinkage. Depending on the fabric, please expect and allow between 2-8% shrinkage which you need to plan for in your dimensions. This percentage can vary from print run to print run and between fabrics so we would advise ordering a little more material than you require for your project.
Can I print on both sides of the fabric?

We do not offer printing on both sides of the fabric, as a lot of our fabrics are semi-transparent. As the customer, you can consider the effect of printing on both sides one of our fabrics and contact us, and we will get back to you if it's feasible.
Can I order labels in another fabric? Will you cut them like you do with the normal fabric labels?

At the moment no, our labels are all printed on the same satin fabric. We may introduce more in the future, but for now, this is the best choice. The labels are all cut the same way. You can order the fabric of your choice and make the labels yourself, but we do not cut different fabric into label format.
How is your fabric printing eco-friendly?

With environmental consciousness in mind, our fabrics are all printed using completely water-based inks. This means no chemicals or solvents are used. Our heat fixing procedure fixes the colours and prints, avoiding the downsides of steaming, such as excess or contaminated water returning into the waste system. We have one facility, where we conduct all the printing, production and fulfilment.
Why are there slight colour differences between my orders?

We work at improving our colour profiles all the time. Though rare it may happen that from one print run to another, and there could be slight colour differences, this is normal and part of the process when we are constantly improving. It is extremely unlikely that there will be a huge difference (like orange instead of red for example). Please bear in mind such colour variations can be intensified from fabric to fabric due to the varying grains and textures of the fabric.
How will my image scale?

When you upload your design our system will automatically scale it to fit your chosen fabric dimensions. In the 'Product Image' tab, the displayed dimensions under 'Print Size' will show the dimensions of the piece of fabric that you are ordering. For image/design dimensions you need to see the 'Images and Text Tools' tab. You can see and edit the dimensions of the image under the quality information next to the thumbnail.
Why are there slight colour differences between my orders?

We work at improving our colour profiles all the time. Though rare it may happen that from one print run to another, and there could be slight colour differences, this is normal and part of the process when we are constantly improving. It is extremely unlikely that there will be a huge difference (like orange instead of red for example). Please bear in mind such colour variations can be intensified from fabric to fabric due to the varying grains and textures of the fabric.

Sizing For Hemming And Shrinkage

We have a full Cut & Sew service here at Contrado, and are able to hem your fabric prints for a small additional charge. We create a small one- or two-fold hem that typically uses 5 to 20mm of material, depending on the thickness of the fabric. So, for example, if you want a finished piece of fabric that measures 100 x 100cm, you will need to order a size of 101.5cm x 101.5cm to allow for the hem (on top of that please also allow for shrinkage of min 2%). The thicker the fabric, the bigger the hem will be. You can choose to have your prints hemmed with either Black or White thread. On our silk and other light woven fabrics, one hemmed edge will be straight (vertically down the roll) and the other will be slightly rippled. The hemming material allowances are as follows and you need to make your print bigger to accommodate the hem:

Light Fabrics (20-100gsm): For silks and other light fabrics, we use 6-8mm in the hem (2 fold), so overall width/height will be minus 12-16mm
Medium Fabrics (101-200gsm): For medium-weight fabrics that fray, we use 15-20mm in the hem (2 fold) so overall width/height will be minus 35-40mm
Stiff/Heavy/No-fray fabrics: we use 15-20mm in the hem (1 fold) so overall width/height will be minus 35-40mm

All of these measurements are approximate and can vary. Including with shrinkage, it can mean a fairly significant difference to ordered dimensions, so please plan your print accordingly. Depending on how open the weave is, our fabric can shrink anywhere from 2% to 8% with the average being 2.5%.

How Would you Like the Edge?

We have four finishing options for your fabric order:

As it comes. We cut around your image, leaving a simply scissor cut, perhaps uneven white fabric border.
Hem with thread. We can hem your fabric with a choice of black or white thread. Please allow 1-2 days for additional production time. See below for information on how hemming affects the size of your print. We offer an overlock hem, as well as a folded hem (one or two fold depending on the fabric) however not all fabrics, are suited to both hem types. If you can see both options, it means both are suitable, and you will be able to choose whichever you prefer.
Cut on the line. We will cut neatly on the edge of your design. This means that if you have a border around your design we will cut around that border, if your design takes the whole space of the fabric, then we will neatly cut around the edge of that image. Please be aware, when we cut along the line, we have to cut against the grain of the fabric. This is the standard procedure for fabric cutting. This means that with some fabrics, for example, Georgette and Mulmul, which have a slight wave in them, some fraying will occur. This is unavoidable, as the cut follows the grain of the textile.

All of our fabrics are cut manually by hand, with the utmost care and attention. If your fabric has a slightly uneven look on the edges or a touch of fraying, this does not indicate a flaw in the textile. It is not always possible to achieve a perfect straight cut with certain fabrics, so please do bear this in mind when it comes to your design. If you have any queries or would like to know about our cutting methods in more detail, please get in touch and we will be more than happy to discuss them with you.

For further information about our fabrics see our FAQs.

Delivery time & Costs

Production times

We handmake your item on site, which takes on average 1-2 days. Please check individual production times which are displayed next to the item price on the product page, as this varies from product to product. In rare cases when we need to reprint an item, this may take an additional 1-2 days.

Shipping methods

After your item has been manufactured, we ship your order and send you a dispatch confirmation via email through. Please add on the production time to the delivery time to calculate when your order will be with you. The delivery time will be visible in the basket and check-out page.

You can then enjoy or resell your hand-made products with your very own designs.

You can also read more about our terms & conditions and refund policy.

Make use of our Manufacturing and Worldwide Shipping Experience

At Contrado, every product is handmade on site to ensure the highest quality. We provide a dedicated production service as well as a range of fast delivery options. For the past 14 years, we have printed and hand-made countless personalised products for a wide range of customers all over the world and many of them have become loyal customers who love not only our products but also the care, knowledge and dedication from our staff.

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Leather Fabric Samples Pack

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Leather Swatches