Bumper Stickers curling at edges

[Pideas]

Hi,

I'm running a few hundred bumper stickers for a client on my HP Latex 300 printer. We are using the InstantOne Matte adhesive stock. The image is full bleed and heavy coverage. Does anyone have any suggestions on how to keep the stickers from curling at the edges? The size of the bumper sticker is 4x8". We print and then cut off line.

Thanks.

 

[SignMeUpGraphics]

I've seen this happen on solvent, but not sure about latex.
How long are you outgassing before contour cutting?
Are they laminated?

 

[toucan_graphics]

the problem is most likely related to out-gassing. Print them and wait a day before trying to cut them.

If waiting a day to cut them doesn't correct the edge-curl, check your profiles. Use of incorrect profiles can cause over-saturation. The excessive ink overloads the face film resulting in too heavy a concentration of solvents.

With latex inks, over-saturation is not usually the problem, but rather heater settings.

A heat setting that is too high might cause thermal marks to appear on the substrate as vertical bands or even bubbles in some colors or it may wrinkle the material. Using the correct ICC profile with the proper heat settings is extremely important in getting a quality print and avoiding reprints and wasted material.

Hope this helps.

 

[AF]

The only way the latex ink is the culprit is if it isn't fully cured. Try cranking the heat up to max and possibly add an interpass delay to ensure it is baked completely before laminating. The print should look dry. If you get condensation on the print due to environmental factors, you would benefit from both fixing the environmental condition and letting the prints air dry completely. I have never had a failure of the laminate if the latex ink is fully nuked coming out of the printer. My laminated products see extreme conditions so if there was any chance for peeling it would happen very quickly. It never happens because the ink is always fully cured before laminating.

If you even remotely suspect the ink isn't fully cured, the laminate will fail without question since the latex ink is oily when not cured.

Being as you are using a budget material, there is the possibility of plasticizer migration. You will recognize this as wavy lines in the print from the pinch rollers. Alcohol the material before printing to rule this out.

 

[Pideas]

I've seen this happen on solvent, but not sure about latex.
How long are you outgassing before contour cutting?
Are they laminated?

These are not being laminated. The customer did not want lamination. I try to wait a full day before cutting the labels.

 

[Pideas]

the problem is most likely related to out-gassing. Print them and wait a day before trying to cut them.

If waiting a day to cut them doesn't correct the edge-curl, check your profiles. Use of incorrect profiles can cause over-saturation. The excessive ink overloads the face film resulting in too heavy a concentration of solvents.

With latex inks, over-saturation is not usually the problem, but rather heater settings.

A heat setting that is too high might cause thermal marks to appear on the substrate as vertical bands or even bubbles in some colors or it may wrinkle the material. Using the correct ICC profile with the proper heat settings is extremely important in getting a quality print and avoiding reprints and wasted material.

Hope this helps.

I will experiment with the heat. I don't have an official ICC Profile for this media but it's worked with my other prints that aren't bumper stickers. This HP Latex is very particular about saturations and heat settings. The wrong settings could cause a lot of issues especially if you don't have an official certified HP profile for the media.

 

[eahicks]

The answer lies within the question....full bleed and over saturation. Fix or change your profile, or leave 1/8" white border at the edge.

 

[bigben]

your problem is heat and/or your ink limit. The waiting idea will never resolve it because there is no outgas with latex.

Check if your print have an oily feeling and/or if your fingerprint appear on heavily saturated parts. If yes, your ink isn't fully cured. Crank up the heat like other suggested. Your print should be bone dry right at the exit.

 

[BigfishDM]

Hi,

I'm running a few hundred bumper stickers for a client on my HP Latex 300 printer. We are using the InstantOne Matte adhesive stock. The image is full bleed and heavy coverage. Does anyone have any suggestions on how to keep the stickers from curling at the edges? The size of the bumper sticker is 4x8". We print and then cut off line.

Thanks.

I hear that a lot on this material, the release liner is thin. You need a heavier release liner to prevent the curling, I happen to have a very thick release liner that will prevent curling. 54"x150' is $128