Can someone give me a little 101 on SAV?
Here's the background –
I used to use HP's Prime Matte Air SAV and their Polymeric Overlam because it's surprisingly cheap and works great for everything we do (primarily generic display boards/yard signs/stickers)
Then a rep from a local independent supplier comes by. They primarily sell MacTac and Drytac media.
He was telling me that the issue with HP's SAV is that the manufacturing contract changes every year or so, meaning the vinyl isn't always going to be the 'same thing'.
I try to support local/independent/small business whenever possible so I start buying media from his company.
He recommended MacTac RB428 as an alternative to the HP SAV.
At first it was about the same price and I didn't have any problem with it, but within the last year the price has skyrocketed to almost 2x what I was originally paying and it doesn't make sense to use it any more.
I've started using GF 214 and it's been great so far.
Here's what Im curious about –
Is there that much of a difference between brands when it comes to basic SAV?
The only reason I could see there being issues with HP's vinyl 'changing' every so often would be if we were a large company that relied on using the exact same material for the exact same products on the exact same printers etc.
Is GF 214 so much cheaper because GF is a lower quality brand?
Or is MacTac just a more specialized/expensive company that has been more affected by the supply chain/inflation/labor issues?
The rep for this local distributor has always been helpful and nice so I want to keep buying from him, but I can't justify paying $270 for a roll of SAV that's just going to be used for foam boards and yard signs.
For comparison HP Prime Matte Air GP is $217 a roll, and Im paying $160 for GF 214.
Here's the background –
I used to use HP's Prime Matte Air SAV and their Polymeric Overlam because it's surprisingly cheap and works great for everything we do (primarily generic display boards/yard signs/stickers)
Then a rep from a local independent supplier comes by. They primarily sell MacTac and Drytac media.
He was telling me that the issue with HP's SAV is that the manufacturing contract changes every year or so, meaning the vinyl isn't always going to be the 'same thing'.
I try to support local/independent/small business whenever possible so I start buying media from his company.
He recommended MacTac RB428 as an alternative to the HP SAV.
At first it was about the same price and I didn't have any problem with it, but within the last year the price has skyrocketed to almost 2x what I was originally paying and it doesn't make sense to use it any more.
I've started using GF 214 and it's been great so far.
Here's what Im curious about –
Is there that much of a difference between brands when it comes to basic SAV?
The only reason I could see there being issues with HP's vinyl 'changing' every so often would be if we were a large company that relied on using the exact same material for the exact same products on the exact same printers etc.
Is GF 214 so much cheaper because GF is a lower quality brand?
Or is MacTac just a more specialized/expensive company that has been more affected by the supply chain/inflation/labor issues?
The rep for this local distributor has always been helpful and nice so I want to keep buying from him, but I can't justify paying $270 for a roll of SAV that's just going to be used for foam boards and yard signs.
For comparison HP Prime Matte Air GP is $217 a roll, and Im paying $160 for GF 214.
