flat bed printed on acrylic can you take the ink off?

[Geneva Olson]

I have a customer who brought me a sign they got through amazon that was printed incorrectly. There is a letter e that is the wrong color. It's white and it's supposed to be black. Originally we told him we would be able to remove the e because we thought it was vinyl. It's not. It's printed onto the acrylic.

Is there any product we can use to remove the ink without scarring the acrylic?

Any ideas are greatly appreciated.

 

[Gino]

Razor blade will work. Done it myself a few times, just be careful, use the right angle and be sure it's a metal blade.

 

[netsol]

if you don't have a perfect touch, you may need to finish with VERY fine sand paper (up to 2000 grit) and/or a good plastic polish

 

[Pauly]

You can use acetone, it would lift the ink right off. But as soon as it evaporates,the ink sticks back to the acrylic and makes it even harder to remove.

 

[Geneva Olson]

You can use acetone, it would lift the ink right off. But as soon as it evaporates,the ink sticks back to the acrylic and makes it even harder to remove.

we were concerned that the acetone will cloud the acrylic. is that a possibility?

 

[Gino]

It can cause a haze.

 

[JBurton]

With any of these methods, make sure your customer knows you aren't responsible for damage to their panel. I'm guessing they need it now, otherwise why don't they have it replaced?

 

[Pauly]

we were concerned that the acetone will cloud the acrylic. is that a possibility?

It can,
You can also try isopropyl

 

[Geneva Olson]

With any of these methods, make sure your customer knows you aren't responsible for damage to their panel. I'm guessing they need it now, otherwise why don't they have it replaced?

Glad you asked. The customer purchased the sign from amazon. They printed it incorrectly. it's a black and white logo and the letter e was printed in white and should have been printed in black. It's odd that they misprinted it that way. but I didn't ask. When I found out that it was printed on, I contacted the customer to let him know that he should probably ask the sign company that printed it to correct the mistake by printing a new one. He said that the sign company gave him a full refund. It's essential unusable to him so hes willing to let us try.

 

[Adam Vreeke]

Was it first surface printed? If so, could you match a vinyl and just put a vinyl e over it? Otherwise, I pool iso alcohol (reduces scratches in my experience) on and scrap with metal razor. pretty much what Gino said, correct angle, steady hands, and a bit of guts. Sometimes I can break the ink layer, just a little scrape in the middle of the letter with an exacto and then pull off with tape.

 

[Geneva Olson]

Was it first surface printed? If so, could you match a vinyl and just put a vinyl e over it? Otherwise, I pool iso alcohol (reduces scratches in my experience) on and scrap with metal razor. pretty much what Gino said, correct angle, steady hands, and a bit of guts. Sometimes I can break the ink layer, just a little scrape in the middle of the letter with an exacto and then pull off with tape.

its second surface print. are you putting alcohol on the ink only to break up the ink?

 

[Adam Vreeke]

its second surface print. are you putting alcohol on the ink only to break up the ink?

I pool over and around it, so it gives some lubrication for the blade that it is not catching on the acrylic and helps glide the blade over the surface until you feel the edge of the ink. It also helps keep the chipping in one place, although it is very messy. But I use UV inks, so if it is eco solvent or latex ink, it may go a bit differently.

 

[signheremd]

We use orange plastic blades and Alcohol - either isopropyl or denatured (depending on the ink chemistry, if one doesn't work the other does). Let sit for a minute or two and keep it wet and watch for first sign of wrinkling and then it comes off like a decal.

 

[BabooDIG]

We use orange plastic blades and Alcohol - either isopropyl or denatured (depending on the ink chemistry, if one doesn't work the other does). Let sit for a minute or two and keep it wet and watch for first sign of wrinkling and then it comes off like a decal.

This is the way.

 

[guillermo]

I will cut out that same letter in vinyl, weed it in negative, (mean you take the letter e out) and stick it on top of the printed "e" then, just paint it with black...................

 

[DL Signs]

How hard it comes off depends on the acrylic and ink. Usually it's not that hard to get off, just do like everyone else says, blades, lube, and be gentle so you don't scratch it up. Warning though, if you use alcohol, just keep it away from the edge of acrylic, if it was flame polished it'll craze. Sad part is you won't know if it is till it happens.