Question Cast all the time?

[Berferful]

Should all vehicle graphics be done with cast vinyl? Not talking about wraps, which is a given. What about printed graphics and cut vinyl lettering on flat surfaces?

 

[peavey123]

Calendared vinyl works well for flat vehicle graphics. I would just recommend using a decent calendared vinyl though such as oracal 3651, 3M IJ35 or 3M IJ40 etc. Basically don't use really cheap vinyls unless you don't like your customer very much.

 

[Modern Ink Signs]

Simple answer for me.

Absolutely!


I could state may reasons. For me the biggest is why sacrifice quality for a few bucks!

 

[Gino]

If you're talking die-cut, then yes..... cast every time. When printing, we only use a good grade calendared for unimportant short term things, as long as it's basically a flat surface and cast when doing anything that counts. Use the appropriate laminate to match your prints.

 

[Johnny Best]

Calendared has its place like the others have stated, 3M 7125 series most of the time, but on cheap signs only being around for a short period Oracal 651.

 

[Solventinkjet]

Arlon DPF-4600LX is a calendared vinyl and is made specifically for car graphics that aren't full wraps. It won't work on rivets or recesses/sharp curves but it works great on everything else. You can always laminate with cast laminate to give it a little more dimensional stability and longevity.

 

[GB2]

Quite a while ago, when I first started in the business, I went to a seminar about this new technology of cut vinyl. The instructor was an elderly fellow that had been in the business for a long time and he advised us never to use any of that intermediate stuff...stick with high performance material and you'll never have a problem. At the time I thought that was crazy, it's 3-4 times the price! Well, when you are doing a job and you figure that your vinyl cost actually turns out to be $1-$3 more per job (just an illustrative dollar amount) then you realize it's almost nothing. To be confident that you are always consistent in what you are using and it's the highest quality product I think it's well worth it. Also you don't need to maintain a dual inventory of intermediate or high performance product. I haven't ordered or used a roll of intermediate cut vinyl in many years.