Abstract: Apparatus and method for pre-treatment of synthetic fabrics, for example brushed polyester fabric, prior to printing to prevent fibrillation effects of the fabric on the print quality. The apparatus comprises a printing pre-treatment location where fabric is treated prior to printing and a heat source applying heat to a predefined printing area on the fabric at the printing pre-treatment location. The heat applied is sufficient to fuse outwardly extending fibers of the fabric back into the fabric using thermoplastic deformation, thereby to produce a treated printing area for printing. The apparatus may be online with a printer or may be offline and the heat treatment may optionally be combined with spraying.