Is a digital botanical print a bad thing?

No. It is simply a different product, often beautiful and usually much cheaper. The problem only comes when it is described as eco printed or hand printed.

Why do eco prints cost more?

Each one is laid out and printed by hand, some attempts don't work, and the result can't be reproduced. You are paying for that handwork and for a piece that won't exist twice.

Can a digital print copy a real eco print?

Yes. A photograph of a real eco print can be printed onto cloth, and it will show the same fine details. The giveaway is that the same marks then appear on every copy, and often repeat within the cloth.

Real Eco Print or Digital Print? How to Tell

1. Look for repeats

Digital and screen prints come from one image, so the same leaf in the same pose tends to appear again, often at regular intervals. In an eco print every leaf is different, even from a single tree, and no arrangement can be copied exactly.

2. Check the edges and veins

A leaf pressed into cloth prints unevenly. Look for fine dots along serrated edges, veins that print strongly in one place and fade in another, and small gaps where the leaf didn’t quite touch.

Close view of leaf prints with a line of fine dark dots along each serrated edge. — Fine dark dots along each leaf edge, where the teeth of the leaf touched the cloth.

3. Look for ghost marks

Because the cloth is rolled up with the leaves, a leaf can also mark the layer lying against it, leaving a paler, mirrored ghost nearby. Soft blooms and halos, where colour gathered around a leaf, are also common. They are hard to plan, and they are part of the character of a real eco print.

Close view of a pale round leaf print on coral-red cloth with a dark ghost mark beneath it. — A pale leaf print with a dark ghost mark beneath it.

4. Turn it over

Thin silk lets any print show through, so a visible back proves nothing by itself. Look at how the back differs. On an eco print the two sides often show different strengths and different marks, because each side touched something different. The back of a digital print is usually a flatter, paler copy of the front.

5. Read the label and ask

Words like “botanical print”, “leaf print” or “nature print” say nothing about how a piece was made. Polyester cloth usually points to a digital or transfer print, because plant colour takes best on natural fibres. Ask the seller a few simple questions:

What is the cloth made of?
Which leaves were used?
How was the print set?
Is this exact piece the one I will receive?
Can you send a close-up of the print?

Someone who makes eco prints can answer these without hesitation.

Eco print and digital print side by side

	Eco print	Digital print
Image made by	A real leaf touching the cloth	Ink, from an image file
Repeats	Never exactly	Usually
Edges	Uneven, with halos and fine dots	Even, unless copied from a photo
Cloth	Natural fibres, often silk or wool	Any, often polyester
Colour	Plant colour, varied and hard to predict	Any colour, the same on every copy
Price	Higher, each piece is made by hand	Lower, it can be reprinted

None of these signs is proof on its own. Taken together, they make the difference easy to see. For more on the craft, read what eco printing is and how it works, or see our recent pieces.

How to tell a real eco print from a digital print