Photo pillow

Photo Pillow [foh-toh] [pil-oh] [http://www.dictionary.com] is 1. A photographic cushion for the head, also used in home decor especially as a photographic image display. 2. A sealed photographically decorated fabric bag stuffed with feathers, foam, or a synthetic filling and used as a soft support for the head in bed. [ [http://encarta.msn.com/dictionary_/pillow.html Encarta (North American) Dictionary] ]

History

Developed for the wealthy, pillows have been used by many cultures such as Ancient Egyptians, Chinese, and Europeans during medieval times to display artwork and as a sign of wealth and prestige. In Chinese culture, pillows were typically made of wood, jade, bronze, bamboo and porcelain, and were decorated with pictures of animals, plants, humans or even geometric figures [ [http://www.chinaculture.org/gb/en_artqa/2003-09/24/content_37919.htm China Culture.org] ] . After the Industrial Revolution, pillows were mass produced and available for decoration in the average household.

Uses

Today, photo pillows are used as home decoration to display artwork, designs, and photographs. Photo pillows can be placed on sofas, chairs, beds, and lounge seating, to offer both design and comfort appeal. Photo pillows are a popular personalized gift item for special occasions, including weddings, anniversaries, birthdays, etc. Many home decor companies offer photo pillows in which customers can send or upload a photo and the photo will be put onto the pillow.

Types of Photo Pillows

There are three main types of photo pillows, woven pillows, screen-printed photo pillows, and dyed photo pillows. Woven photo pillows are made by a computer weaving machine that scans the photo, forms a weaving pattern, and then replicates the picture by alternating colors of warp and weft yarns. The image is permanent, and yarns are individually dyed giving the pillow an antiqued texture, often in a limited color palette. Screen printed photo pillows are made using screen printing and the heat transfer process to embed the photo onto the fabric. This type of photo pillow has a vinyl like layer over the pillow where the photo was transferred onto the fabric. Dyed photo pillows are made by dye sublimating a photo or other digital image into the fabric. The dye is permanent and this type of photo pillow has a sharper, more vividly colored image and is very soft since the dye sublimation does not alter the fabric texture. The photo pillow was first offered to the public in mass production by [http://www.visionbedding.com/PhotoPillows.php VisionBedding] allowing the public to upload photos and create a photo pillow online.

Photo pillows come in many shapes and sizes, the most common being a square decorative pillow. Decorative throw pillows are functional; however they are commonly used as decoration only and come in many different sizes. Photo pillow shams, or bed pillow covers, are another type of pillow that is used for sleeping on and comes in a rectangular shape. This type of pillow is often removable from the photo pillow case for washing and cleaning purposes.

See Also

Pillow, Dye Sublimation, Screen Printing, Photo Blanket, Throw pillow, Cushion

References