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how do you attach your printed vinyl to take up?

M

max

New Member
okay crazy question. i know someone has come up with a easy to use jig that takes your printed vinyl when it first starts to come out of the printer and attaches it to the take up reel ( so you dont have to wait for enough printed vinyl to come off the printer to reach all the way down to the take up so it can be attached to the reel). In other words an extension that runs from the platen down to the take up.
i have been just using a spare piece of vinyl but was trying to imagine a better idea.
thanks so much for any tips
 
Tim Aucoin

Tim Aucoin

New Member
I wait till it reaches the take-up reel then tape it on. Takes maybe 4 minutes to print that much (on my Latex anyhow)! What's the rush? :wink:
 
Ditchmiester

Ditchmiester

New Member
I agree with Tim. I start a job and come back in about 5 min and then just hook it to the roll. Doesn't seem to be a pain for me.
 
T

trimitbyrich

New Member
I print mostly 54 and some 39 inch banner material. I attached a tail of 54 inch banner material to several cores. The tail is exactly the distance from the edge of the printed vinyl to the core on the take up reel and is attached with banner tape to the core. I have about 5 of these and just keep reusing them. I load them on the take up reel before I start and just tape the end of the banner to the end of the sheet I'm printing on. No need to wait! Saves lots of time. You have to figure how many times a day do you need to start a print each day. Five times? That's 20 mins a day just waiting to attach it to the take up. Plus now be honest, how many of us started a print then got distracted and forgot to come back to it. If it weren't for someone else walking by and catching it, it would have been too late. The whole reason I came up with the idea was coming back to a print laying on the floor.
 
Border

Border

New Member
trimitbyrich said:
I print mostly 54 and some 39 inch banner material. I attached a tail of 54 inch banner material to several cores. The tail is exactly the distance from the edge of the printed vinyl to the core on the take up reel and is attached with banner tape to the core. I have about 5 of these and just keep reusing them. I load them on the take up reel before I start and just tape the end of the banner to the end of the sheet I'm printing on. No need to wait! Saves lots of time. You have to figure how many times a day do you need to start a print each day. Five times? That's 20 mins a day just waiting to attach it to the take up. Plus now be honest, how many of us started a print then got distracted and forgot to come back to it. If it weren't for someone else walking by and catching it, it would have been too late. The whole reason I came up with the idea was coming back to a print laying on the floor.
Click to expand...

Great idea :thumb:
 
M

MikeD

New Member
easiest for me is to load the take-up with a remnant roll of the same width material that I will be printing and tape the leading edge of the fresh material to it. Same process when cutting too.
I have just waited 4 min in the past, but if it touches the floor it can get dusty or even worse it can buckle the media under the print head.
 
Tim Aucoin

Tim Aucoin

New Member
trimitbyrich said:
I print mostly 54 and some 39 inch banner material. I attached a tail of 54 inch banner material to several cores. The tail is exactly the distance from the edge of the printed vinyl to the core on the take up reel and is attached with banner tape to the core. I have about 5 of these and just keep reusing them. I load them on the take up reel before I start and just tape the end of the banner to the end of the sheet I'm printing on. No need to wait! Saves lots of time. You have to figure how many times a day do you need to start a print each day. Five times? That's 20 mins a day just waiting to attach it to the take up. Plus now be honest, how many of us started a print then got distracted and forgot to come back to it. If it weren't for someone else walking by and catching it, it would have been too late. The whole reason I came up with the idea was coming back to a print laying on the floor.
Click to expand...

I have no clue what you mean by this? :ROFLMAO:
Okay... BUSTED!!! That has happened to me a time or three in my years!
I love your idea... might just have to give it a try! :thumb:
 
Kentucky Wraps

Kentucky Wraps

Kentucky Wraps
Yeah, there's that high possibility if someone forgets to tape it up while it's printing (customer comes in or calls, etc) then you have the "OH SHOOT!!!" moment of clarity and visions of crumpled vinyl transferring ink to itself or worse...causing a head strike...with each pass. Your heart races as you somehow twist and contort your body through the obstacle course aka your shop, bracing yourself for what horrific sight you will barge in on.
 
M

MikeD

New Member
Kentucky Wraps presented my fears pretty clearly. Head strikes can be expensive if you need to re-print, or replace a print head. I also prefer the operator spend that 4-5 minutes loading another printer, plotter, weeding or masking.
Another point about waiting is that you really should pause the print job while you tape the substrate to the core; I have inadvertently slightly moved the substrate up and bowed it under the print head when trying to tape to the core when the head is moving resulting in a head scrape and reprint... not any more though.
 
xxaxx

xxaxx

New Member
I have the printer in my view from my desk, so its just work as usual until its time to walk over and tape it up really quickly. Every once in awhile I get distracted on a design and forget but as soon as I hear the take up reel spinning i look over and see it needs to be taped up. Not really an issue.
 
MikePro

MikePro

New Member
sometimes i'll tape it to the printer itself, so that it drapes down image-side-in, to give myself a bigger window of time to get around to taping to the roll.
 
signworldusinc

signworldusinc

Merchant Member
We just forward the media til it gets to the take up reel and use double-sided hem tape to attach the media.

-Signworld team
 
JBusch260

JBusch260

New Member
Yep.

Kentucky Wraps said:
Yeah, there's that high possibility if someone forgets to tape it up while it's printing (customer comes in or calls, etc) then you have the "OH SHOOT!!!" moment of clarity and visions of crumpled vinyl transferring ink to itself or worse...causing a head strike...with each pass. Your heart races as you somehow twist and contort your body through the obstacle course aka your shop, bracing yourself for what horrific sight you will barge in on.
Click to expand...

Agreed. I made one expensive mistake when I was a rookie in the printer's chair. Got up, got distracted with a customer, made an expensive mistake. For my personal preference, waiting for it to be adhered is great because 1) I don't waste that material again 2) keep an eye on the initial quality of print 3) gives me another extra 5 minutes to cruise through the Signs101 boards. ;)

Mimaki JV33-160
 
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