laminate or not

[Stacey K]

If you buy a printer, you can expand your business to making banners, signs and lettering local business vehicles also. White Haus is right, I personally have the HP115 which is 54" and I really like it - glad I didn't go smaller. For everything I do, it works very well, but lots of other printers out there! You can get financing through a lot distributors also.

 

[DL Signs]

Un-laminated graphics have no UV protection, so they'll fade quickly. They'll scratch easily, they'll also have no chemical resistance, meaning soaps and detergents, road oils, fuel, pretty much if anything gets on them it'll penetrate the ink, stain it... For interior graphics, banners, posters you can get by without laminating, but not on a vehicle. Cut vinyls are the answer for no hassle stripes and effects, but you're limited to cutting single colors, then putting them together for sales, or installing one color at a time. For printed on vehicles get a laminator, you'll thank yourself when you can do it all, and you won't have customers coming back on you for providing something that didn't last. There's plenty of used ones out there that still have a lot of life left in them, and affordable.

 

[Notarealsignguy]

Or you can take the high road and remind people that those car graphics are very tacky. People will point and laugh

 

[Geneva Olson]

laminate

 

[DL Signs]

I don't think you can make a quality product without laminating it. You have to remember, not all your customers will live in Florida.

Up here in Wisconsin it snows and there's salt and sand on the roads. It is not uncommon to go through a car wash weekly or more if you are a picky person. In rural areas roads can be gravel and dirt. Over the next 24 hours we expect about 12"+ of snow. If it gets cold you get ice chunks, when it warms up, there's mud.

View attachment 164177

I feel yer' pain. I'm up in the middle of the state & we're getting blasted too. Think tomorrow will be a good day to stay home, because, well... I Hate Snow!

 

[Applied Graphics WY]

how are these toyota factory decals made . They are very thin like they arent laminated
View attachment 164173

That looks like cut vinyl, not printed.

 

[Stacey K]

I feel yer' pain. I'm up in the middle of the state & we're getting blasted too. Think tomorrow will be a good day to stay home, because, well... I Hate Snow!

The plow just came through on my country road so I've got the van running and then heading in for a bit. We got about 12" here, how about by you?

 

[mkmie]

how are these toyota factory decals made . They are very thin like they arent laminated
View attachment 164173

Cast cut vinyl overlay.

 

[DL Signs]

The plow just came through on my country road so I've got the van running and then heading in for a bit. We got about 12" here, how about by you?

We've got about 15" so far at our house, and it's still snowing. Plows left over a waist high pile at the end of the driveway when they went through this morning... Yay! I stayed late yesterday and got caught up, installers can't do anything in this stuff, so the shop is closed today.

 

[gnubler]

The "Toyota" example is a 2nd surface imprint, either screen or UV

What does 2nd surface mean in this instance? I thought 2nd surface meant printing/installing film on the back of a transparent substrate like clear acrylic.