Fuji Acuity

[Ponto]

We made the leap to an Acuity LT with the Colorgate
RIP and while the quality is impressive I can see that part of the "learning curve" will involve substrate preparation.........are there any simple rules to follow that some seasoned users are able to share...??? I'm likely going to reprint a current job with vinyl using our Roland to overlay the "wipe" marks left behind on the omega bond that I just printed on the flatbed......thanks in advance for any quick tips......

JP

 

[animenick65]

If this is your first flat bed, remember that your printing direct now. If you've been slinging vinyl and applying printed graphics to substrates up until this point, then surface prep was minimal. Hand prints or things of that nature didn't matter. Now that you are printing direct, the quality of your substrates as well as how they are handled all come into effect. You'll need to educate your suppliers on the fact that you have a flat bed now. They'll either need to handle your products better, or you'll need to switch suppliers/substrates.

 

[StarSign]

A mr clean magic eraser is a good friend to have. We mix a solution of 16oz 91% isopropyl to 16oz of water put in a spray bottle to prep most surfaces. Good luck on trying to get your suppliers to handle you substrates better....too many hands to control. I will keep the tips coming.

 

[the graphics lab]

Depending on your ink set, durability will be all over the place-we use the KO. Nearly everything we have requires an adhesion promoter. We use the ZE-1000 on just about everything. If you apply that wrong, you will get streaks all over the place. There is a you tube video on how to apply it.

If your sheets have a film on it with the brand logo, you need to clean that really well. We have had the logo show through flooded colors. We leave the machine on all the time. Remember to reopen the ink valves if you need to do maintenance on a single color. If you forget, the print will look fine in the beginning, then ink will just pour out from the head and cure. Techs do this all the time. If a fiber gets on a print head( which is very easy), it will drip ink onto the substrate and cure so remember to clean the area where the carriage comes to a stop on the opposite side of the machine. That area collects a lot of dust and hair.

I have found that if your black is too rich, you will get halos around your letters when you laminate. I try to use a 15 15 15 100 percentage.

When printing on flexible material or even thin rigid, lower the lamp strength. It may look fine when you start, but thermal expansion will cause the heads to hit the material when it becomes wavy.

The LT has only one print head per color-we have 2 per color and nozzle outs can really be bad. They will sometimes drop out mid print and it seems to be hit or miss. You will really need to keep the area clean and print as much as you can.



Other than that it is a great machine. Although every single printhead has been replaced, but I think Oce has it figured out now.

 

[Ponto]

Thanks a bunch for the quick responses,......the KI inkset seems to grab any print surface (some coro prints earlier were twisted and bent without ink failure and 1/2" crezon is a breeze) ...I suppose cleanliness is next to go......well you know.....I'll keep on testing......

JP

 

[RoCo]

A mr clean magic eraser is a good friend to have. We mix a solution of 16oz 91% isopropyl to 16oz of water put in a spray bottle to prep most surfaces. Good luck on trying to get your suppliers to handle you substrates better....too many hands to control. I will keep the tips coming.

As far as our suppliers, I told them exactly that. "Either ship our material in pristine condition or we will refuse it and you will have to eat the shipping both ways. If you want our business, do it right the first time and you won't have to do it again. We'll be happy, continue to order from you, and you'll make money. It's simple. Any time I waste cleaning your footprints, handprints, dirt and dust off my material costs me money."

There is no reason media to arrive all beat up. If the supplier wants to blame the shipping company, I'm not listening because it's up to the supplier to educate the shipping company just as it's my obligation to educate my supplier. These days, as the consumer you have more power than ever to demand what you need to keep you in business. If you order 50 sheets of styrene and 10 sheets are dirty, gashed, or otherwise unusable that's 20% of the shipment!