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making custom decals with Epson 9880

Desertups

New Member
I've been running my Epson 9880 for the last month or so and am making magnetic signs, banners, etc and am starting to get requests for other things that might be feasible with some decent cutting equipment. So, my question is: what is a good cutter that will allow me to cut out decals printed on clear or white vinyl? Any software that needs to go with that?

Appreciate the info.
 

wes70

New Member
just a thought....how long would those magnetic signs last since they are made from epson?

You would be surprised how long the signs will last. I have some laminated epson test prints that have been outside facing south for 3 years and no fade / no de-lamination.

If laminated properly the prints will outlast the magnetic substrate.
 

Desertups

New Member
I have been making magnets with the epson for the past couple months and it works pretty well. Coating the vinyl with the aquajet coat II stuff which seems to work pretty well and then slap it on a magnet. I've been doing some testing on the first one I made and its been holding up very well. We'll see how it does during the monsoons and the rest of the summer heat (I'm in Tucson), but so far so good. Road dirt washes off very easily.
 

PartyMatt

New Member
man, if i knew my epson 9600 could make banners & magnets that last, i wouldn't have bought my Roland sp540 :(

I looked pretty hard at aqueous printers before I bought a Mutoh. A 44" Canon would have only cost $5000, while the Mutoh was over twice that much. However, after running the numbers the conclusion I came to was . . .

The cost of the printer doesn't matter.

HUH??? Whadayamean "cost doesn't matter?"

Take the Mutoh VJ1204 I bought. It cost $11k delivered. I expect to use it for the next five years, so it costs $2,200 per year to own this printer. Assuming my store is open 360 days per year that's $6.11 per day. Considering that media and ink cost at least $0.50 per sq. ft., if I print 13 sq. ft. per day my consumables cost more than the printer.

. . . and that's where aqueous printers bite the big one. The consumables are horribly expensive. On the Canon printer I looked at ink costs about $475/liter vs. $272/liter for Mutoh eco-sol ink. Coated banner material was about $1.40/sqft, where the Mutoh can print on cheap vinyl banner scrim that costs $0.20/sqft. Add to that the fact that aqueous print needs to be laminated for outside use which adds another $0.25/sqft. Also the heads on an aqueous printer need to be replaced regularly at a cost of hundreds of dollars.

If you are printing for outdoor use, and want to be price competitive with other shops, you need a solvent printer. The Roland was the right call. :thumb:
 
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