Need a transfer tape on a liner that can be contour cut before applying to vinyl

[Splash0321]

I havent searched much but found an oracal product MT80P that is on a liner. Im purchasing a small quantity to try on my graphtec cutter. Does anyone have experience with any transfer tape that comes on a liner and can be cut on a cutter?

Im looking to cut the transfer tape separately and apply it to the decals and have a clean look to it with a reveal of around 1/8".

 

[cmoist]

I have applied transfer tape and THEN cut on the cutter. You can still read registration marks through most transfer paper.

So the process might look like:
-Print artwork
-Kiss cut on the cutter
-Weed, but leave registration marks on the backing paper
-Apply transfer paper
-Run through cutter again to perf cut

 

[Splash0321]

I have applied transfer tape and THEN cut on the cutter. You can still read registration marks through most transfer paper.

So the process might look like:
-Print artwork
-Kiss cut on the cutter
-Weed, but leave registration marks on the backing paper
-Apply transfer paper
-Run through cutter again to perf cut

Thats definitely something I could do and have though of.

There's a couple considerations that are involved which is why I had wanted to do it this way. Maybe someone could change my mind with a better idea..
1. I would be doing this for both printed and unprinted vinyl. I actually outsource the printing and have them do the cutting so I'd have to send my artwork with the registration marks on it for them to print/cut and then weed/transfer tape/contour cut at my shop and hope I dont eff it up.

2. Alot of what I sell would be the same cut files so in my head I thought I could bulk cut the transfer tape and have 100 sets of each design in stock and ready to apply to the printed graphics as they come in. Doing it this way makes it look ultra clean and might save some time since I'd be able to just cut all the transfer tape and stock it, then pull one when needed. Would completely eliminate the need to run any printed stuff through my cutter.

 

[TChamberlin HOP]

I havent searched much but found an oracal product MT80P that is on a liner. Im purchasing a small quantity to try on my graphtec cutter. Does anyone have experience with any transfer tape that comes on a liner and can be cut on a cutter?

Im looking to cut the transfer tape separately and apply it to the decals and have a clean look to it with a reveal of around 1/8".

Hello, I'm not sure if I can help, but our company laminates, slits and die-cuts adhesive materials. We definitely do a lot of transfer tape work. Feel free to reach out if there's anything we can discuss to engineer a solution for you. Thanks.

 

[JBurton]

Im looking to cut the transfer tape separately and apply it to the decals and have a clean look to it with a reveal of around 1/8".

I'm sure you know your market better than I, but would this added cost really help in the end? I mean, so much extra work to make the disposable layer look better seems silly.
Most of masked items that go out actually have more mask than needed, so it can reach the weed border, which gets left about 1/4" wide all the way around the print. Personally, I find it annoying to trim all 4 sides before sticking, or to pull the excess off after, but since they order 50 and store for 5 months at a time, the benefit of them not curling and sticking to one another is well worth it.

 

[Splash0321]

I'm sure you know your market better than I, but would this added cost really help in the end? I mean, so much extra work to make the disposable layer look better seems silly.
Most of masked items that go out actually have more mask than needed, so it can reach the weed border, which gets left about 1/4" wide all the way around the print. Personally, I find it annoying to trim all 4 sides before sticking, or to pull the excess off after, but since they order 50 and store for 5 months at a time, the benefit of them not curling and sticking to one another is well worth it.

I completely agree. And I've been contently doing it the standard way for years. I have guy interested in buying/dropshipping my products that he'd be reselling on his website. He sells vehicle accessories and is getting into the graphics side of things now. I've seen his numbers and he definitely grosses over $1million a year. To add my products to his site means a lot of added revenue for me but he has certain demands/specifications. He sent me a couple "samples" of how he wants the decals made and packaged. What he essentially sent me were to sets of OEM Mopar Hood decals. Both had clear transfer tape that was contour cut to about 1/8 reveal around the decal. The backing was contour cut the same. Decals were taped around a solid core tube, placed in clear polytubing, then in a box. He's looking to market this as a premium product at a premium price and hes agreed to my "wholesale" prices which are only about 10% off of what I'd be selling graphics of this quality for on my own site. He's just incredible at marketing and seo and can get the sales.

Im not super interested in the process but the traffic going to his website and his sales record could serve my business well. Thats the only reason why I'm even entertaining this production process.

 

[Splash0321]

I got in a sample roll of MT80P Transfer Tape today. Ran a few test cuts. It cut perfectly.

 

[bob]

This would seem to be both pretentious and needless. Print the vinyl, cut it. Weed it. Slap on a piece of transfer tape. Trim the thing to the rectangle that contains the image plus an 1/8 or so. Trim it square to the image so its simple to apply the image squarely. Not only is this simpler, it makes the decal orders of magnitude easier to install. Have you ever attempted to apply a decal sporting contour cut app tape? Depending on the shape, the experience ranges from pain in the ass to nightmare.

 

[Splash0321]

This would seem to be both pretentious and needless. Print the vinyl, cut it. Weed it. Slap on a piece of transfer tape. Trim the thing to the rectangle that contains the image plus an 1/8 or so. Trim it square to the image so it’s simple to apply the image squarely. Not only is this simpler, it makes the decal orders of magnitude easier to install. Have you ever attempted to apply a decal sporting contour cut app tape? Depending on the shape, the experience ranges from pain in the ass to nightmare.

Yes and no. I see what you are saying and agree for most signage or standard “decals” that’s the way to go. Do a YouTube search for “jeep hood decal” and let me know the ratio of installation videos you see that do it your way vs the way I’ve described needing it done.

I exclusively do vehicle graphics. More specifically, the kind of graphics that are precisely cut to fit certain parts of the body. Like a hood, but only the center raised portion…decals that perfectly follow the body lines of a vehicle. To have a decal that has the backing cut to the same shape aids tremendously on installation as you can line it all up with the body lines before taping it on. Most OEM graphics I’ve come across are done this way.

 

[netsol]

use clear transfer tape?
I AGREE WITH YOU it will look more like a premium, finished product & that is probably all that is important for your product/business

i wouldn't do it that way (i don't have to!)
but i agree you should

 

[victor bogdanov]

Yes and no. I see what you are saying and agree for most signage or standard “decals” that’s the way to go. Do a YouTube search for “jeep hood decal” and let me know the ratio of installation videos you see that do it your way vs the way I’ve described needing it done.

I exclusively do vehicle graphics. More specifically, the kind of graphics that are precisely cut to fit certain parts of the body. Like a hood, but only the center raised portion…decals that perfectly follow the body lines of a vehicle. To have a decal that has the backing cut to the same shape aids tremendously on installation as you can line it all up with the body lines before taping it on. Most OEM graphics I’ve come across are done this way.

If you are also cutting the backing to shape then you can easily do on a flatbed cutter. cutting the backing and transfer tape in one step.

Print
Kiss Cut
Weed leaving registration marks
Apply transfer tape
"die cut" on flatbed

 

[bob]

Yes and no. I see what you are saying and agree for most signage or standard “decals” that’s the way to go. Do a YouTube search for “jeep hood decal” and let me know the ratio of installation videos you see that do it your way vs the way I’ve described needing it done.

I exclusively do vehicle graphics. More specifically, the kind of graphics that are precisely cut to fit certain parts of the body. Like a hood, but only the center raised portion…decals that perfectly follow the body lines of a vehicle. To have a decal that has the backing cut to the same shape aids tremendously on installation as you can line it all up with the body lines before taping it on. Most OEM graphics I’ve come across are done this way.

If 50,000,000 people do a stupid thing, it's still a stupid thing.

I'm not talking about trimming the mask and backing into a trapezoid or something to better line up with the geometry of the substrate. I'm talking about contour cutting an image of a multi-armed monkey god or any other complicated image.

 

[Splash0321]

If you are also cutting the backing to shape then you can easily do on a flatbed cutter. cutting the backing and transfer tape in one step.

Print
Kiss Cut
Weed leaving registration marks
Apply transfer tape
"die cut" on flatbed

Agreed. A step or two would be saved with a flatbed cutter. If this has some decent success I’ll most likely get one.

 

[guillermo]

I havent searched much but found an oracal product MT80P that is on a liner. Im purchasing a small quantity to try on my graphtec cutter. Does anyone have experience with any transfer tape that comes on a liner and can be cut on a cutter?

Im looking to cut the transfer tape separately and apply it to the decals and have a clean look to it with a reveal of around 1/8".

why don't you laminate them? they will be thick enough to handle for install, specially if they are small, they will look much better, just decide what finish, gloss or matte, or print on something thicker, I use Oracal 3258 Rigil Vinyl 6mil, on this you don't even need lamination.

 

[Splash0321]

why don't you laminate them? they will be thick enough to handle for install, specially if they are small, they will look much better, just decide what finish, gloss or matte, or print on something thicker, I use Oracal 3258 Rigil Vinyl 6mil, on this you don't even need lamination.

We laminate everything regardless and I agree from an experienced installer's point of view that the thickness is enough when laminated. I wouldnt waste the money on material if I could install them myself but these are all shipped out so its really a completely different business than those who make/install locally. 20 years of selling these things online to the end user who is trying to install it themself has taught me that I have to err on the side of caution. Reviews mean everything in the ecommerce world. When an individual trys to install it themself and messes up they'll blame you first and write negative reviews. We laminate and premask everything and have greatly reduced negative reviews.

At the end of the day we all have to be responsible for our own businesses, and I completely agree with what everyone has recommended and would be doing that if I was selling and installing the product. The end user of my product needs as much help as they can get and I can honestly say my product is almost fool-proof and looks immaculate when a customer pulls it out of the box.