Direct to wall inkjet

[rjssigns]

Anybody seen one of these in action? Wife told me about it after she saw it on her FB feed. Seems they've been around for at least five years, maybe more?
Watched a video of one doing three huge murals on the side of an auto body shop in Los Angeles. Impressive.

Just wondering if they will catch on and what impact it will have on those doing print and stick products.

If I can find the exact video I'll post it.

 

[bannertime]

Hadn't seen it before, but they're for sale on Alibaba.

https://www.alibaba.com/product-det...a2700.7724857.normalList.2.19922797nnu8Hn&s=p

 

[mkmie]

Wow. How about reprints. Yikes.

 

[GaSouthpaw]

I can remember hearing about that tech about 15 years ago (possibly more). Would work great for a flat wall, I guess, but I don't see it being able to handle any sort of curve at all, and I'd think going around corners would be a pain. You also couldn't get all the way to the ceiling with it.

 

[Bradley Signs]

 

[Bradley Signs]

This one's been around forever...

Would take a little while for a full mural

One Color one Font? That's horrible... Doesn't even make me see a grunge style... But... I know there are kidz out there that would buy that stuff!
That's what I get for being old.

 

[rjssigns]

I can remember hearing about that tech about 15 years ago (possibly more). Would work great for a flat wall, I guess, but I don't see it being able to handle any sort of curve at all, and I'd think going around corners would be a pain. You also couldn't get all the way to the ceiling with it.

Good points and maybe why it hasn't made market penetration. The one I saw runs along a track system. Maybe they make track that can be curved? Video showed massive graphics on skyscrapers too.(how do you remove the ink from the glass?) Not sure about any of it, just thought it was neat bit of kit.

 

[eahicks]

Years ago I envisioned a car wrap printer that was like a car wash.....first you apply an ink receptive spray to everything you want printed, then drive through just like a car wash, with large ink nozzles all around. One day maybe??

 

[letterman7]

I remember at least 20 years ago there was a system called "Leonardo" which was basically a paint gun hooked to multiple color cups and a computer. It was on an X-Y gantry held vertically and it was supposed to be able to paint cars, trucks and semi's along with wall murals. Interesting tech for back then - pricey, too. Couldn't see a market for it though... and trying to transport the thing!

 

[Andy D]

Seems like a dumb idea to me...
What about uneven floors? What about all the stuff on a wall that sticks out?
You save some $$$ on material but you have to carry around a heavy printer that could get
messed up in transit.

 

[Billct2]

Yea, I remember that truck painter too...apparently it didn't pan out because we're still putting vinyl on trucks. The same will happen with this thing.

 

[ChicagoGraphics]

I saw a company printing an outdoor wall at the Civic center a few weeks ago in Shenzhen China, the printer they we're using was UV ran up & down on a rail verticaly and had 2 bars horizontal, next time I go there I will try to sneak some pictures of the wall, I already have a warning for taking a picture before, hate to see if I got caught a second time probably take one of my organs, lol

 

[rjssigns]

I saw a company printing an outdoor wall at the Civic center a few weeks ago in Shenzhen China, the printer they we're using was UV ran up & down on a rail verticaly and had 2 bars horizontal, next time I go there I will try to sneak some pictures of the wall, I already have a warning for taking a picture before, hate to see if I got caught a second time probably take one of my organs, lol

Have to run a covert op. .

The more I think about it I believe it has it's place in the market. As far as uneven floors level the track. I'd rather do that than work from ladders, planks, lifts etc... Video I saw had it tracking perfectly over obstructions. Must have some type of laser height sensor?

Now that I know about it I'm going to do some digging into the tech and the who, what, why, where, when.

 

[citysignshop]

The one I saw a video of, maybe 10-15 years ago, I think a Japanese firm developed it, it was printing graphics on the side of a VAN!...yep, just had a wheel that tracked ahead of the printhead, and it would ensure the head ran over and cleared hinges, door handles, etc.
Great, except for durability???? as some have mentioned, do you first spray a primer, then graphic, then a topcoat? sounds like the setup, masking glass etc. could negate a lot of the advantages....but then, we're not competing with a complete wrap; it would be useful for the average box van, semi-trailer etc.....setup, switch on, walk away for a few hours.
no, wait, how about a drone, with spray nozzles and GPS/camera guided positioning.....hmmmm.

 

[Evan Gillette]

I have been intermittently following a direct to vehicle printing technology for several years, but it really hasn't gone anywhere. About 5 years ago an offshore company (cant remember if Japanese or Chinese) brought it over to California and tried to launch but never really got anywhere. At SGIA last year I spoke with a gentleman at the Ricoh booth that was directly working with the technology. From what I remember of the conversation Ricoh had purchased the company to acquire the technology and had another small company developing applications and getting it fine-tuned (that's who the gentleman worked for). The claim was that you could print the side of a semi trailer in a few hours and when you want to remove you use a solvent and just wash it off. Obviously the cost-benefit isn't viable yet or we would see them popping up all over. The application he was showing off at the show was the tire printer linked below. Wall murals are an interesting and more plausible application than vehicles in my opinion. I think the largest hurdle is the combination of durability and removability all with balancing cost and environmental factors. Acid washing down a storm drain would likely be frowned upon.
http://www.ricoh-digitalpainting.com/en/products/tire/index.html

 

[Evan Gillette]

This is the idea:
http://www.ricoh-digitalpainting.com/en/products/var/