CJV150-75 Cut vinyl edges rising

[Realigned]

So as the title states I have a problem with the edges of the cut vinyl rising after a few hours, this only happens when the cut is on the printed part.The vinyl used is Avery Dennison MPI 2000 Gloss.And it only started happening recently even though the same vinyl has been used the entire last year.

I attached a picture but its hard to get it show up on camera.

 

[APCInk]

Hello,

This is typically caused because the graphics haven't out gassed fully before weeding the decals out. When the solvent ink hasn't flashed off fully the vinyl is super pliable and thin due to the solvent changing the properties. As the solvent out gasses it will start to return to its normal state and becomes more rigid. As this happens the vinyl will contract slightly and lift. This can be remedied by waiting to weed the vinyl most of the time.

I hope this helps!
Brian

 

[John Miller]

Are the prints laminated? If there is too much tension on the material roll the lam will stretch as it's put on and cause that also.

 

[HaleYeah]

Let them cure before you laminate the decals, the gases from the ink curing are trying to escape either thru the laminate or thru the media.

 

[Lindsey]

It looks like the ink on printed film needs to dry/outgas longer before laminating, contour cutting, or weeding.

But longer drying time may not solve the issue completely.

Dark or saturated colours (like the blue & red) that bleed to the edge of the decal also can be the culprit.

Including a white border (about 1/8" wide) around the perimeter of the decal will help prevent edge curl.

In my experience, regular clients don't mind a white edge at all. Picky designer types may not like the idea of a white border, but if you educate them as to why it's needed, they usually understand and come around eventually.

This may not help you with your current job, but going forward you could try to encourage no bleeds.

 

[Jim Hancock]

Agree with all that you need to wait and let the media outgas, usually for 24 hours - before both laminating and/or cutting. As others have stated, the solvent temporarily changes the vinyl properties, which can cause shrinkage if cutting before it has outgassed. The other thing that occurs is the contour cut blade will force some of the ink down into the cut, allowing the ink solvent to attack the adhesive along the cut line. So, basically - let it outgas for 24 hours after printing if cutting into the ink.

 

[Realigned]

Thank you everyone for the replies, what I dont get why is this a recent problem.We had the same process the entire last summer, print then immediatly cut with no issues.We even tried switching to a new blade thinking the old one was getting dull.

We dont laminate our vinyl, and some clients just dont want a white border on the stickers or labels.And we also do epoxy resin to get domed stickers, so waiting for 24 hours and then doing the whole epoxy applying and curing process delays our production.

 

[L.D]

This normally happens if the blade holder rubs up against the uncured ink on the media while cutting.

There is a option in Rasterlink that allows you to cut first then print. Click on the “Composition” tab and drop the “Cut” File to the bottom.This tells the printer to cut first.

With this method you won’t be using registration marks because it cuts first but you can adjust for that using the “Print origin Adjustment” feature in Rasterlink.