Magnet Material

[EZ Ink]

Recently purchase a roll of 30 mm magnet material for car signs fromm JDS, supplier Magun Magnetics. I saw on the description that I might be able to print on it, so I called Magun Magnetics,

The tech informed me that I should be able to use my Mutoch VJ 1324 Wideformt printer, but the material would not feed, because the magnet would stick to the front part of the roller. He suggested that I would need to cover the feed portion of the printer so the magnet would not stick to it.

Well tried non magnetic materilal and also taped to cover the area, but no luck, I would butt up the non magnetic material next to roller, but it apears the roller would not feed the material forward. I did print on the material though, the material did not move forward, so the ink just printed over the same spot.

Any one been successful in printing on this material on a Mutoh printer? If so what did you use as a work around to keep the magnetic from sticking and feeding foward.

Thanks.

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[ikarasu]

Just because it's printable, doesn't mean you should.

You're better off printing on vinyl and applying it to the magnet - The material never feeds properly... And theres a huge chance for a head strike, and a head strike / rub on magnet causes so much in damage, that its not worth it.


But if you insist on it... What we did was tape some .010, or .020 styrene to the metal parts the magnet sticks to. We didn't do it on a Mutoh, but it should work on any printer - A thin piece of plastic works a lot better than a thin piece of tape / vinyl. Tape a sheet on the feeding, and the outfeed (if outfeed is metal) so it doesnt get stuck - Never put it under the print zone though

 

[EZ Ink]

Will continue to printing on the vinyl and then apply it. Was hoping to cut out a step. Yes, I have replaced print head, not somethijng, I would look forward to do again. Thanks for the input.

 

[MarkSnelling]

You can buy a magnetizer and unmagnetized magnet. A magnetizer looks like a 6" paint roller but instead of a nap roller it looks like a roll of quarters. After printing, you flip the print over (print down, magnet up) and you just "paint" the back of the magnet with the magnetizer in straight rolls....then you have a magnet. It is pretty cool. If you do a lot of it, it could be a helpful...otherwise farm the work out to a wholesaler or print on vinyl.

 

[Solventinkjet]

Other than feeding issues, one head strike on magnet could cost you $$$$ for a printhead. Not worth it in my opinion.

 

[RabidOne]

Just because it's printable, doesn't mean you should.

You're better off printing on vinyl and applying it to the magnet - The material never feeds properly... And theres a huge chance for a head strike, and a head strike / rub on magnet causes so much in damage, that its not worth it.


But if you insist on it... What we did was tape some .010, or .020 styrene to the metal parts the magnet sticks to. We didn't do it on a Mutoh, but it should work on any printer - A thin piece of plastic works a lot better than a thin piece of tape / vinyl. Tape a sheet on the feeding, and the outfeed (if outfeed is metal) so it doesnt get stuck - Never put it under the print zone though

We did something similar with our HP 550 and R2000. The initial part of the feed/outfeed has a piece of banner wrapped to it and for us that was enough to stop the magnet from sticking.

 

[EZ Ink]

Thanks for all your inputs.

 

[DJAvocado]

We duct taped some cardboard strips to the back of our 1624, feeds in without sticking and never caused us a head strike. So maybe give that a try

 

[cmoist]

I'll add that in my opinion, printing directly on magnum does not give as good of a finish as printing on vinyl. Early on, we thought the same thing as you - skip a step, save some money. In the end, we decided to print on vinyl, laminate the vinyl, then apply to magnetic sheet, then cut. We've been doing it that way for years now.

 

[DJAvocado]

I'll add that in my opinion, printing directly on magnum does not give as good of a finish as printing on vinyl. Early on, we thought the same thing as you - skip a step, save some money. In the end, we decided to print on vinyl, laminate the vinyl, then apply to magnetic sheet, then cut. We've been doing it that way for years now.

That definitely will work and provide a very nice product. But you have a whole other expense with the vinyl at that point. We just directly laminate the magnet so we have no issues achieving gloss or matte finishes.