meandmyminions
New Member
Just curious on what prints on ACM. I notice we outsource and order some of it from time to time. I'm just wondering what machines print on that type of material.
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Just curious what prints on ACM.
- Thread starter meandmyminions
- Start date
GaSouthpaw
Profane and profane accessories.
Flatbeds.
flyplainsdrifta
New Member
we did for a spell, but after hearing horror stories from vendors like "operator just threw a board in there not paying attention to the warp and ruined $15000 in printheads", we stopped doing that. most flatbed printers can do it, some better than others in terms of ink adhesion. but i'd say the majority is just mounting vinyl to it and going from there. a lot safer imo. i mean i was taping down all corners and then to go and have to run them 2 sided is playing with fire.
SignMeUpGraphics
Super Active Member
Never had any issues with warping ACM on our flatbed either... sounds like poor quality panels, as the vacuum on the bed is plenty strong to keep it flat for printing.
I would be willing to guess that warped ACM was from improper storage of the panels and most likely using the cheapest one out there which usually equates to thinner aluminum and less rigidity. Store them flat, not on edge. As for adhesion, you can get ACM panels that are processed with digitial printing in mind that accepts ink easier so there's less problems with ink adhering or contaminated surfaces.
The key part of your comment was:
flyplainsdrifta
New Member
no these were ones made for digital printing, we just have a hybrid and not a true flatbed and i was less comfortable throwing them thru that.
haha yes. i am aware.
We run them through our fb500. I find full color prints look dull on it . We do some 4x8s, but mostly it's screen printed real estate signs, with the names/numbers printed via the flatbed when orders come in.
The only time there's a head strike is when it's a reflective condo board... The guy who was pre-sheeting them used too much pressure, and the boards are so thin.... So they'd bend in the mid. Now I get our sign applicator to do it on the rolls roller, and we haven't had a problem since .
The only time there's a head strike is when it's a reflective condo board... The guy who was pre-sheeting them used too much pressure, and the boards are so thin.... So they'd bend in the mid. Now I get our sign applicator to do it on the rolls roller, and we haven't had a problem since .
flyplainsdrifta
New Member
the prints looking not great was the biggest reason we stopped. we did them on our 700 and the color just never looks as good as it does with vinyl mounted.
meandmyminions
New Member
LOL
meandmyminions
New Member
Hi Joe, Noticed the Denco footer. We order a lot from you guys. Just ordered some ACM from Denco yesterday and some other materials.
meandmyminions
New Member
I noticed the small dots on some printed ones we ordered. I would call it more of a soft grain you get like in photography. Thought huh. Not noticeable from far away probably but up close I thought hmm that's kind of shitty. I'm guessing maybe it wasn't taken into a vector program like Illustrator, etc. I don't know though I have no experience with printed ACM / printing on it.
Yes, the flatbed prints are pretty dull. It's ok on Coro... but still not as good as our solvent/Latex. It looks great if you laminate it... but that kind of defeats the purpose of direct to substrate printing for us, and of course using a film lam on UV ink is kind of iffy, especially if it's a full bleeded print. We do it sometimes, but de-lamination has always scared us! Our flatbed is 99% used for real estate signs / temp signs now. I like the technology, but it just doesn't look as good. I hope HP's Latex printer is as good as it's being hyped about!
Thanks for the business! Just don't load it on a printer and ruin $16000 worth of print heads
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flyplainsdrifta
New Member
yeah was hoping to see it at isa but it looks like we;'ll have to wait
Christian @ 2CT Media
Active Member
Talk to your dealer, they may be able to get you to the special invite viewing
10sacer
New Member
I would venture that any flatbed UV printer can print to it. I would be leery of running it through a hybrid printer for fear of hitting head if someone wasn't paying attention as it travelled past tension bar. Better question is how long will it adhere to it and how easy is it for the ink to scratch off.
Nothing worse than running some and loading them in a truck to deliver and pulling them out with long scratched in the surface where a piece of sand - or whatever - scored the print. There is also a digital grade of ACM that will provide better adhesion. Anything that warps was cheap Chinese stuff that was stored vertically and got heat to it.
I've seen prints off a Durst that you can't scratch off with a nail. Someone was developing epoxy-based inks that would stick to anything a while back, but I can imagine the printhead nightmare that would cause.
Nothing worse than running some and loading them in a truck to deliver and pulling them out with long scratched in the surface where a piece of sand - or whatever - scored the print. There is also a digital grade of ACM that will provide better adhesion. Anything that warps was cheap Chinese stuff that was stored vertically and got heat to it.
I've seen prints off a Durst that you can't scratch off with a nail. Someone was developing epoxy-based inks that would stick to anything a while back, but I can imagine the printhead nightmare that would cause.