Direct to Magnetic Material!!? JV3-160SP &$%$*$

[MarkH42]

I know from searching through this forum that most people suggest NOT printing direct to magnetic material on a Mimaki and prefer to print to vinyl and apply the vinyl to the magnetic material. BUT, I have been told by some people that, if you work the bugs out, it works and the cost savings on the order we just received gives me the incentive to try to make this work.

We have printed on .015 XTRUMag by Magtech and the resolution is fine, BUT the magnetic material puckers in the middle and I am getting head strikes. I have tried 50 degrees celsius down to 30 and, while lowering the heat makes it better, it hasn't stopped it completely. I fed enough material to the takeaway roll to pull tension and that helped, but I'm still getting the puckering. The material thickness is at its highest setting and all magnetic surfaces are covered. The roll is pulling straight. For those of you who have overcome the hurdles to make this work, any tips aside from "print directly to vinyl"? I'm determined to save money, no MATTER WHAT IT COSTS ME! Kidding, but I sure would like to make this work....

 

[J Hill Designs]

.015 isnt the best for vehicle mag's if thats what it is for...

 

[royster13]

Print on un-magnetized materials and then magnetize it....
http://www.magnummagnetics.com/magnetizers/

 

[MarkH42]

Fridge mags

These are refrigerator magnets,not for vehicles.

 

[TheSnowman]

Wow, I use Magnum Magnetic material. You think that doing it after the fact would work? I'd never read anything about that way yet.

 

[Letterbox Mike]

Is it really worth risking a serious headstrike and damaging or ruining one or all of your expensive print heads? With the material and time you're wasting you could just print to SAV and mount and be done.

And jhill is right, if these are vehicle magnets you're doing your customers a disservice by using 15 mil anyway.

 

[Gino]

I'm not sure about the ins & outs of the Mimaki equipment, but don't you find it hard to believe if most people say it's not so, it's not so ??

The time, material and money wasted so far has got to be costing you more than doing it the correct way.

So far, unless you're dealing with a onesie or twosie order, you should print to vinyl and then apply it, unless you have a flatbed, then your method will work absolutely fine.

I agree, unless these are refrigerator magnets or some fact simile, you're barking up the wrong tree in your money saving experiments.

 

[royster13]

Just buy them from a trade supplier like TradeNet

 

[SightLine]

Turn the heater completey off? I tried directly printing mag with our older JV3 a few years back and never got very acceptable results. Never tried it with our JV33 as I'm sure the results would be about the same - poor.

 

[MarkH42]

Stumped

I do know a percentage of savvy printers have overcome the hurdles to print directly to magnetic material, while the majority haven't been able or willing to figure it out. I had hoped to be in that minority that could do it, but I'm afraid, for the time being, I'm stuck in the majority. I do appreciate the input and I knew it wouldn't be easy.

 

[Dave Rowland]

the original mimaki had a metalic front, so the magnetic sticks to it, after that there was a plastic front, this is why i think.

i have printed 30 lots thru a modified JV3-160S... i did raise the heads a lot....

also the ink was Colorific

Generally the ink did quite well, the heat was very important. it stank!

So yes you can do it but i prefer the vinyl route

 

[bob]

I do know a percentage of savvy printers have overcome the hurdles to print directly to magnetic material, while the majority haven't been able or willing to figure it out. I had hoped to be in that minority that could do it, but I'm afraid, for the time being, I'm stuck in the majority. I do appreciate the input and I knew it wouldn't be easy.

The hurdle, the one and only hurdle, is insurmountable. Weight. Trying to feed and move massive weights of media in a mechanism designed to handle relatively weightless vinyl and other lightweight media.

The magnetic characteristics don't really effect anything since the field is minute and the materials over and under which the media is moved are virtually all stainless, aluminum, and plastic. Moreover, shat the magnetic field is tiny means that there is no interference with the electronics.

The thickness of the media is well within the tolerances of most, if not all, printers. No print heads are going to smack the media.

It all has to do with the massive weight per unit of area of the magnetic media. Not only does it put an undue strain on the mechanics, it drags on the feed mechanism such that you usually have to crank up the media feed compensation to ridiculous and unacceptable levels. My experience has been a slippage of one part in ten or worse. That means that what is supposed to be a 10" long print comes out somewhere around 9".

If you know what you're about you can print on vinyl and apply to the magnetic media faster than you can wrangle a roll of magnetic media into your printer.

 

[royster13]

But Bob you can buy complete magnets for less than the sum of the parts.....

 

[AnotherSignManiac]

as many have said don't do it, I don't think the cost of possibly messing up a head is worth it. I would just print on vinyl then put on magnet, OR if there is enough just sub it out to someone who has the proper equipment.

If your able to work out the puckering, possibly try working with your print settings to see if you can get the print more exceptable.

 

[MikeD]

I agree with Gino in stating that unless you are planning on printing tons of magnets it's not worth the effort to go beyond mounting vinyl prints to magnet.
I am printing tons of .030 magnet with two Mimakis, and it took LOTS of R&D time and $ to get there.
If you have the jobs coming in to support it, you can do it. You just have to figure out what parts of that printer are holding it back, and then modify those components....check out BOB's post.