What is a seamless print?

A seamless print is a rectangle or square (the tile) that repeats your motifs without any visible seams or interruptions. It is a combination of design and technology that removes any visible lines or overlapping patterns in an image, creating a smooth and uninterrupted look.

When a print is not repeated seamlessly it creates break lines or areas with incomplete motifs. The trick to a good seamless print is creating a repeat that’s well-balanced and not too noticeable. Every print designer creating a seamless repeat will check this occasionally while creating the repeat. Squinting your eyes while looking at the repeat is a handy trick to check if the repeat is well-balanced or needs more work.

Tossed repeat
Lotta Lorier Print Design uses the tossed repeating method for its organic and non-linear design feel. With the tossed repeat you get to create your own flow within the print, as long as every motif on the top of the file is duplicated to the bottom and every motif on the left side of the file is duplicated to the right side. With abstract prints the off-set tool in Photoshop is a handy tool to create the seamless pattern.

Types of repeats
There are lots of different types of repeats:

• Block repeat

• Offset repeat

  • Brick repeat

  • Half brick repeat

  • Drop repeat

  • Half drop repeat

• Mirrored repeat

• Diamond repeat

• Ogee repeat

• Toss repeat

• Stripe repeat

• Dot repeat

• Plaid repeat

• Tossed repeat.

Pattern Preview in Photoshop
Photoshop 2021 has a new feature for print and textile designers: Pattern Preview. It makes creating seamless patterns a whole lot easier. With Pattern Preview turned on every motif that runs off the edge of the original canvas/pattern tile is automatically repeated on the other side of the pattern tile. Prints initially created with Photoshop Pattern Preview should always be modified with the Pattern Preview mode turned on, as they seem to be cut off the art board without.

Examples
Below are some examples of seamless tossed repeating prints by Lotta Lorier Print Design.