Inkjet printing for signs

[jmaneira@eximvaios.com]

anyone out there making succesfull inkjet signage without the problems of durability and water resistance? what printers are you using and what ink combinations.

[dands50@hotmail.com]

John I don't know if you are going to recieve any other input other than this one for you see this forum is used for guys that have cnc macnines mostly routers some with laser or plasma cutters. Even though alot of us do signs this forum is for the shopbot cnc machine.Try going to www.signwarehouse.com they sell the type of printers and ink you are looking at. a good printer large format will cost you about 12,000 to 18,000 US $ David in Wyoming

[laff_riot@charter.net]

VersaCamm SP300 from Roland - Uses Eco-Solvent Inks and prints direct to any vinyl. UV, water and abrasion resistant to the point that your destroying vinyl to scratch the image.

The clincher for me was it contour cuts. For extra protection you can laminate and then contour cut. On my third roll of 50 yd material with minimal learning curve. Note - you will be operating in HQ mode when perfection is required.

The other clincher - in HQ mode avg costs are less than a dollar per foot - in Standard .68 per foot.

I was a lil taken back by the speed - but it is only a 4 head - the 6 head model is faster. After weighing out the print cost, laminating and hand trimming I still come out faster on this new system.

14K in house, installed with 2 days of training which you cannot afford to pass up... I speak from a vast background of pc hardware and software experience. If you want more info I will put you in touch with Bob Pullen - great rep for the product.

[prosigns]

I use a Roland Soljet 500 Printer/cutter. 3 year outdoor durability without lamination. Sometimes I cut CNC signs on the Shopbot and then apply vinyl and or print/cut vinyl to the routered sign. All in the same format so everything fits. Great system.

[ckurak]

Gary,

Another thought about vinyl on raised lettering...

What about applying the vinyl to the material BEFORE routing, possibly covering it with "application tape and release liner"? (I'm looking at a 2003 Gregory Signmaking Materials and Supplies catalog, p.24.)

My thought is that the release liner may keep the edge of the vinyl crisper during the routing process. Once the routing is done, remove the liner. Also, one could spray paint the background a constrasting color BEFORE removing the liner. This way the liner would serve two purposes.

Then, possibly, a clear top coat to seal the edges?

[prosigns]

I don't think the vinyl will survive the router bit. It takes a razor sharp edge to get a clean line with vinyl. The edge of the vinyl will peel away from the substrate and leave a bad cut. If you apply the vinyl after routing you can nest the lettering on the vinyl using much less material. I kinda like the look of slightly outlining the vinyl in the routing process. Gives it a finished look. If you want to use an "APPLY FIRST" method I would suggest paint. (I used charcoal Stain on this project).That works well and also can be a good look. My 2¢.

5533

[ckurak]

Gary,

Thanks for the reply. Nice looking sign, by the way!

One further question though, where do I find a reflective exterior paint? I am trying to do signs that include house numbers that will reflect (e.g., ambulance, fire, and police spotlights, etc.). Local ordinance requires the reflective quality.

[prosigns]

I don't know of any reflective paint. They use to spray signs with crushed glass in the paint to make them reflective, but that is illegal these days. The only way I can think of would be reflective vinyl cut on a plotter. Do you havve access to a plotter? I've never tried it, but can the shopbot be set up to cut the vinyl?

[buddyr]

Glass beads are used on road and bridge projects. They are manually placed in the paint after the paint has been applied. I don't if they will work for your application.

This is one supplier:
http://www.byrnesignsupply.com/GlassBeads.html

[artisan]

There is also a vinyl product which can easily be cut and applied to a project that meets the codes. Every city has dozens of vinyl sign shops that could probably work with you. You can buy it pre-cut and apply it yourself, or have them do it for you. Plus, I'll bet you they'd love to talk to a ShopBot owner about dimensional letters...D

[jay]

I was very interested in the question about applying the vinyl to the material BEFORE routing, possibly covering it with "application tape and release liner. Yesterday I was asked by a local sign company to do just that. I told them I was not sure how well the vinyl would survive. They said try it then we will know if it works. The gold metalic looking vinyl was applied to some 1" Gatorboard then application tape and release liner. I used a 1/4" down cut spiral at .7"/sec at 16,000 rpm. It cut like a dream. Nice crisp edges on the vinyl and foam. Oh, I left tabs every 10" on the sign letters so they could just use a razor knife to release the letters. The tabs sure made it easy to transport the finished product back to the sign company. The release liner looked a little fuzzy but remove it and you will find a great cut.

Now we know.

[prosigns]

Darrell
3M makes a reflective vinyl. That's what I was refering to. I do street signs using that material. High intensity white background and then apply Green translucent copy over that , cut on a vinyl cutter. Takes minutes to do.

Buddy
We use Diamond grade 3M vinyl for Road construction signs. The state requires we use only Diamnd grade 3M. Every year I have to submit a spec sheet to the state (Illinois) to prove I am using the correct material. When I was a kid I remember road signs w/what looked like glass reflectors to make the letters/numbers. I see state road signs in Iowa that have reflective letters cut out and applied to the sign rather than just reflective film.
Jay
That sounds like a cool idea. I've got to try that. For letters where you want the color to bleed off the edge, that sounds like the way to go. Thanks.