Direct printing to Coro

[Enola]

I had some coro signs printed (full color artwork) with a HP flatbed printer. They faded completely away in about 6 months. I'm talking the image completely disappeared.

So, is this normal?

 

[Gino]

Sometimes. Lotsa variables.

• Location.
• Sun facing which way.
• How many pass.
• Type of latex printer.

There could be more, but that should be enough for starters.

 

[Solventinkjet]

We printed some parking signs with a Mimaki JFX200 demo machine for our next door neighbors on aluminum sign blanks about 4 years ago. No clear coat or lam. Just ink on substrate. They are still up and have no apparent fading and they are facing south up here in the mile high city which is notorious for lowering ink life expectancy. I would say it has to do with the ink the HP uses.

 

[Enola]

The results look like they were printed with our old designjet with dye inks and left out in the sun.

To mention, I've had quite a few vinyl prints from the same vendor without a lick of issues (for many years).
Other than the substrate, I don't know what she may be doing different.

Thanks for the feedback. I will try to get more info.

 

[Pauly]

I see this all the time with signs. It's the ink.
Not all ink can survive the outdoor sun. But it's usually good if you get 4 years or more from it. not 1 year or less.

 

[ikarasu]

Sometimes. Lotsa variables.

• Location.
• Sun facing which way.
• How many pass.
• Type of latex printer.

There could be more, but that should be enough for starters.

Pretty sure it's a UV printer, not latex! I can't see latex fading that quick.

UV is pretty bad in terms of lasting in the sun. 6 months seems a little low... But they could be using the cheapest coro, and aftermarket inks, etc.

We printed on some lexan, and 3 years indoors and it's starting to peel away. Direct to print is neat, and has it's uses... but if you want long-term signs, you need to print on Vinyl and laminate it, or screen print.

Not sure how flatbed latex handles long-term, Didn't even know they had one until I googled it!

 

[Enola]

Can I assume the vendor is using a different machine/ink if this isn't happening to prints on vinyl?
Here I was blaming the substrate, rather than the process.

 

[Enola]

Sometimes. Lotsa variables.

• Location.
• Sun facing which way.
• How many pass.
• Type of latex printer.

There could be more, but that should be enough for starters.

• NY
• North and South. Both have almost disappeared in 6 months
• I never pass unless on the interstate. (don't know, but the prints were a rich color originally???)
• HP

 

[Quark]

There are no flatbed latex printers out there yet

 

[Billct2]

Should last longer that that. Like you said even my aqueous HP prints will last longer than that

 

[theyllek]

The only time I've had that happen with UV inks is when we were using a thirdparty ink in our Jeti's at my previous job. Construction guys we did the signs for brough the sheets of coro back and you could barely tell we had printed on them! We dumped that ink soon after and went back to OEM.

I've direct printed to Coro on my HP FB700 here and signs have been outside over a year with no noticeable fading and they are yellow background with red lettering. They've even held up after getting ran over a few times by semi's :/

I would guess bad ink on the prints.

 

[Enola]

There are no flatbed latex printers out there yet

It must be a UV printer then.
I'm positive the vinyl prints I get are from a HP latex (she made a big ta ta when they got the new printer). I assumed the flatbed was a latex.
My bad.

The only time I've had that happen with UV inks is when we were using a thirdparty ink in our Jeti's at my previous job. Construction guys we did the signs for brough the sheets of coro back and you could barely tell we had printed on them! We dumped that ink soon after and went back to OEM.

I've direct printed to Coro on my HP FB700 here and signs have been outside over a year with no noticeable fading and they are yellow background with red lettering. They've even held up after getting ran over a few times by semi's :/

I would guess bad ink on the prints.

Yes, THIS.
You can barely tell you printed on them.
LOL. I mean "OUCH"

 

[ikarasu]

What did they say when you asked them?

I'm going to bet its a HP flatbed (Or a knock off flatbed) and aftermarket inks. Could also be a really really dirty substrate... What kind of signs? Was it all red? Red tends to fade pretty quick, but still... a few months is too soon.

 

[Pauly]

i have a corflute (the actual name, not brand name) outside my shop for a few years in direct sunlight. Yes its faded, but you can't tell it's that minimal. it's been there for 3 years.
Printed on my Arizona flatbed. OEM inks. That's another reason i wont go 3rd party inks. People can tell me how much cheaper they are and how good the colours can be, but the testing done vs OEM stuff is far off.

There's no flaking, no real visible fading (only i can tell) It can last another year. It's out temp sign, because we haven't put up a big sign on the shop yet, But thats printed and ready to go up next week

 

[Enola]

What did they say when you asked them?

I'm going to bet its a HP flatbed (Or a knock off flatbed) and aftermarket inks. Could also be a really really dirty substrate... What kind of signs? Was it all red? Red tends to fade pretty quick, but still... a few months is too soon.

It is indeed a UV flatbed (no reply on the inks)
Signs were coro, and they were multi color. Everything disappeared pretty uniformly. LOL

 

[ikarasu]

They could be using a cheap chinese flatbed. Or aftermarket inks.

We use a FB500 from HP. It's a $70,000 printer though. A lot of companies buy cheap $1000-5000 flatbeds from China... the ink sucks, the print quality isn't great... and you get issues like yours.

We do a ton of signs on the flatbed, In the year and a half I've worked there... not one was returned. That being said, I live in vancouver where it rains 300 days of the year, so not too much sun. I'd look for a different supplier, especially if they wont rectify it.

Generally coro signs are considered temporary for us... But still, 6 months is bad for a full fade.

 

[Lane J]

I had the same issues with UV prints on coroplast. The ink would basically start to peel off completely around the 5 - 6 month mark.

It was explained to me that the sunlight will make the coroplast brittle when exposed for long periods and the ink would lift off the surface. Dibond, and MDO prints seem to be unaffected though, less flex to those substrates. This was with our Agfa Jeti. We since upgraded our inks to G4 and it seems to stick a lot better. Our test samples have lasted 8 months so far without peeling.
Something about newer UV inks having to meet stricter environmental guidelines in Europe. Our old Fujifilm (oce) Acuity ink has some serious bite to it. I still don't recommend direct print coroplast signs for long term outdoor use (over 5 months).

 

[supersignmart]

I had the same issues with UV prints on coroplast. The ink would basically start to peel off completely around the 5 - 6 month mark.

It was explained to me that the sunlight will make the coroplast brittle when exposed for long periods and the ink would lift off the surface. Dibond, and MDO prints seem to be unaffected though, less flex to those substrates. This was with our Agfa Jeti. We since upgraded our inks to G4 and it seems to stick a lot better. Our test samples have lasted 8 months so far without peeling.
Something about newer UV inks having to meet stricter environmental guidelines in Europe. Our old Fujifilm (oce) Acuity ink has some serious bite to it. I still don't recommend direct print coroplast signs for long term outdoor use (over 5 months).

Lane are you still using the G4 ink, if so any issues?