Acrylic Face Mount Materials

[CharlieDK]

I have a job coming up where this guy wants me to scan an old photo of his father into digital format and then print it wide format... this I am already setup however I had my vendor send me samples of Sihl 3699 Photoart and then GF Concept 106 optically clear mounting film. The issue I am experiencing was a little bit of silvering after mounting it with my laminator. After I took the sample piece I tried (have never done this before so I am working on figuring it out before I take the job) is it had a lot of silvering. I didn't try to use any heat assist on the laminator as I originally didn't think it would have been necessary. After I laminated it I hit it with a squeegee and a pretty good pressure and a lot of the silvering went away but there was still some and this really cant be part of a solid process. I did this on like an 8x10 sheet to start but my final product is going to be somewhere around the 3' x 6' mark. I also plan on using this for all of the way finding door signs inside as well and those will be smaller at 6" x 9".

My thoughts are that the gloss media isn't as smooth as it should be for this application and that a thinner and smoother high resolution type surface material would be better. Its not rough but if you look close you can see a slight texture that could be causing the gaps.

So I am looking for a suggestion on process, a recommendation on materials or if someone knows of a thread to review that would be a great start as well. I searched a few terms but after reading through the articles nothing came up to help.

I am using an HP Latex 360 to print.

Thanks!

-Charlie

 

[GaSouthpaw]

3M 8150. Optically clear, and you can wet apply even when using your laminator.

 

[CharlieDK]

3M 8150. Optically clear, and you can wet apply even when using your laminator.

I never thought about doing it in just a single step however my concern is won't this result in a little bit of a transparent print rather than printing on an opaque film?

I was going to throw a sheet of aluminum composite material on the back side anyhow to stiffen it up and because I am building an led halo style light box behind it.

 

[GaSouthpaw]

Laminate with a block out film to prevent light transmission or with a translucent to allow it.

 

[BigfishDM]

I have a combo solution for that application if you are interested. I do a polypro material with my optically clear face mount and the results have been great.

 

[CharlieDK]

I have a combo solution for that application if you are interested. I do a polypro material with my optically clear face mount and the results have been great.

I am interested to see exactly what your talking about if you could provide links to exact products that would be awesome. I am 2-years new into printing so I am trying to build experience and product knowledge. This is quite possible the hardest thing about printing jobs. Any Help is much apprecated.

 

[BigfishDM]

I am interested to see exactly what your talking about if you could provide links to exact products that would be awesome. I am 2-years new into printing so I am trying to build experience and product knowledge. This is quite possible the hardest thing about printing jobs. Any Help is much apprecated.

PM me all your company info and your email so I can get you the info.

 

[jeffdpia]

I have a job coming up where this guy wants me to scan an old photo of his father into digital format and then print it wide format... this I am already setup however I had my vendor send me samples of Sihl 3699 Photoart and then GF Concept 106 optically clear mounting film. The issue I am experiencing was a little bit of silvering after mounting it with my laminator. After I took the sample piece I tried (have never done this before so I am working on figuring it out before I take the job) is it had a lot of silvering. I didn't try to use any heat assist on the laminator as I originally didn't think it would have been necessary. After I laminated it I hit it with a squeegee and a pretty good pressure and a lot of the silvering went away but there was still some and this really cant be part of a solid process. I did this on like an 8x10 sheet to start but my final product is going to be somewhere around the 3' x 6' mark. I also plan on using this for all of the way finding door signs inside as well and those will be smaller at 6" x 9".

My thoughts are that the gloss media isn't as smooth as it should be for this application and that a thinner and smoother high resolution type surface material would be better. Its not rough but if you look close you can see a slight texture that could be causing the gaps.

So I am looking for a suggestion on process, a recommendation on materials or if someone knows of a thread to review that would be a great start as well. I searched a few terms but after reading through the articles nothing came up to help.

I am using an HP Latex 360 to print.

Thanks!

-Charlie

We use either Mactac Opticlear or Drytac material. Yes glossy surfaces do indeed vary greatly (papers are the worst), we use 5mil white polyester which never exhibits any silvering and we have second surfaced pieces as large as 48x96.

 

[CharlieDK]

We use either Mactac Opticlear or Drytac material. Yes glossy surfaces do indeed vary greatly (papers are the worst), we use 5mil white polyester which never exhibits any silvering and we have second surfaced pieces as large as 48x96.

Which one do you prefer to use and which one do you use the most? Assuming one probably costs more than the other.

 

[CharlieDK]

Which one do you prefer to use and which one do you use the most? Assuming one probably costs more than the other.

5mil Polyester something like the SIHL 3746?

 

[chafro]

I use drytac's optimount, have been using it for years. Works very well.


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[jeffdpia]

I use drytac's optimount, have been using it for years. Works very well.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Which one do you prefer to use and which one do you use the most? Assuming one probably costs more than the other.

We use the Sihl 5mil white and MacTac, although the Drytac is virtually identical with a lower price ( depending on how much you use and leverage with your MacTac distributor on pricing). Watch out for the 60" Sihl material since there's not a lot of call for that width, most of what you get is defective in material or coating. I think the vast majority of white PET film comes from China nowadays, nothing domestic.

 

[boxerbay]

use a super smooth media.
use a bit of heat assist on the rollers.
use a bit more nip pressure.