Acrylic ink adhesion

[artifacture]

I have a JFX200-2351EX wirh LUS-150 inks (lus-100 clear). We primarily print on acrylic. Due to the variety of acrylics we print on, it is not practical to get digital acrylic. We also did not opt for a primer channel in favor of an extra white channel. I have the GL-1 Mimaki primer which seemed like the best choice among test patches I saw at Mimaki when I was demoing the machine, but when I tried it today, it still didn't achieve full adhesion. Though I was reading another post here earlier that said you can't test as soon as it comes off the machine so maybe that was why it didn’t seem to work. GL-1 says it’s for metal and glass though, so I don't know. For others using Mimaki ink on cast acrylics, what do you find works best? I can’t afford to buy all the options at $100+ per bottle. I did get the ITNH sample kit, but most were for metals and such.

 

[Smoke_Jaguar]

We run LUS-150 in a JFX500 and LUS-120 in a JFX200 (weird, but the printer came with that ink) and both are a bit dodgy on acrylic. Surface prep and luck seem to be key, promoters might be a good bet. Make sure it's actually rated to work for acrylic and not just a generic adhesive promoter. Companies like Natron and STS inks have formulations for that kind of stuff, haven't messed with them, but might be worth requesting a sample or phoning up a vendor. That said PDS's Red Hot is crazy expensive and we've had very little luck with it. Had some decent luck just cleaning the acrylic with isopropanol and that helps a lot. Ionizer helps as well.

 

[Michael-Nola]

Not Mimaki specific, but some suggestions would be: Always make sure to clean the sheet really well with heavy wiping (ISO alcohol), most of my sheets arrive with residual coatings or grime that prevents adhesion. You can also try upping your pass mode. More passes allow for a different adhesion profile, as each drop cures separately. Lower passes allows the dots to congeal and form a "sheet" allowing ink to be removed in bulk. Make sure you're using double lamp or post curing - never pre-curing. Lastly, depending on ink formulation you can try turning DOWN your curing lamps. You want the ink to come out slightly tacky, not super dry. If it's super dry then the ink is over-cured, brittle, and easier to remove from the substrate. Other than that? I use a solvent or latex printer with reverse mounted clear vinyl.

 

[Smoke_Jaguar]

Hey now, that's my secret fun when purging a head, run 600 dpi, 30 passes and ending up with a rubber blanket I can peel off the print and giggle at unnecessarily.

 

[guillermo]

if is not gloss finish, I will sand the acrylic, that is the best to get a great ink adhesion.

 

[artifacture]

In this very specific case, it would have worked, but on average, sanding is not an option.

In my example last week, I cleaned with isopropyl alcohol, then applied the GM-1 Mimaki primer, let it dry, then printed.

 

[Smoke_Jaguar]

I still have about 12 bottles of PR-200 primer from machines I've converted back to ink (the stuff nukes printheads) and it works semi-decent as a brush-on primer. Expensive, if you buy it at retail, but does the job in some cases.

 

[Mrkopr]

I run Mimaki 6042 new and old and we run on acrylic gloss black clear etc I have tried it all and have found that BOSTON INDUSTRIAL SOLUTIONS M87 primer and they sent a small bottle of M74F with it that works great. Also works great with stainless steel and most anything, the trick is leaving it for 2-3 minutes before printing. I let stand a day before i send out. They also make a glass and crystal product. I have tried many products and have 15 years in the business. Good Luck. https://bostonindustrialsolutions.com/?s=primer
Also I have found that using the clear as a primer works better for many my projects, I run the primer just to keep the heads active but rarely use it for actual projects.

 

[edcooleyar]

We use AP3155 from supply55. Stinks, goes on kind of greasy but works well and does not leave streaks when back printing.

 

[Smoke_Jaguar]

$107/liter isn't terrible. Which ink you using it with? LUS-150/120/etc?

 

[Tipgypsy]

Is LUS-150 similar to LF-140 on the older machines ?

 

[Mrkopr]

$107/liter isn't terrible. Which ink you using it with? LUS-150/120/etc?

I use LUS 150 on our 6042 MKIIe and LH 100 on our old Mimaki 6042 (the OG lol still running strong) works great with both, like I said the trick is to let it stand for at least 3 min, then you have roughly 24 hours to print. The glass primer, I wipe on and let stand at least 1 minute and print soon after.

 

[artifacture]

I have a sample of the Boston Industrial primer on the way. They're the only company willing to send samples apparently.

 

[Smoke_Jaguar]

In the case of adhesion promoters and primers, a little goes a long way. That said, they can make pretty small bottles for samples as well.

 

[artifacture]

In the case of adhesion promoters and primers, a little goes a long way. That said, they can make pretty small bottles for samples as well.

1 liter was the minimum the others offered. “We’ve sold it for this purpose for years” was the best he could offer in support of my application.

 

[tclayton]

How did the M87 work? I have been formulating UV inks for years. Without primer or surface prep, standard acrylic requires a special formulation of UV ink with minimum shrinkage otherwise tape test is essentially zeros.

 

[Smoke_Jaguar]

Yeah, getting good bite on acrylic is tricky, something to give a bit of bite is always a good thing. Had surprisingly good luck with LUS-120, but we leave it covered until we start printing with the film.

 

[Mrkopr]

How did the M87 work? I have been formulating UV inks for years. Without primer or surface prep, standard acrylic requires a special formulation of UV ink with minimum shrinkage otherwise tape test is essentially zeros.

It works great, the best I have tried on the market. I run 100's Products daily using different substrates and have been for 15 plus years, Patent Plaques for big corps, uspc.com, this product is the best. You can read all about it on their website, remember to let it set, 3min, then run, I usually (unless it's a rush) let stand 24 hours and then clean and ship. The glass I let set up a couple minutes and then clean an hour or so after. The people at Boston can guide you like they did me, very responsive, and helpful.

 

[Mrkopr]

Is LUS-150 similar to LF-140 on the older machines

$107/liter isn't terrible. Which ink you using it with? LUS-150/120/etc?

In comparison to GM1 500ml at 86.00 it's a good buy. (ITNH price) you get twice the product for 21 more dollars.