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goldbuckle

New Member
Hello,
I am new to Signs101 and wanted to say hello. I own and manage a commercial printing company in central Georgia. We print in house digital & offset work from 1 to full color and we also have distributed signage for about 10 years (banners, corplast, magnetic signs, etc.). I am considering doing at least some of this in house now and I am looking for advise/help as we grow.

I have an Epson 7600 Ultra Chrome (aqueous/pigment) 24" wide format printer which we use to generate CMYK color proofs for the presses. I know of some shops who print their full color magnets on adhesive backed vinyl and then apply it to the magnetic substrate.

So I want to print the (car/truck) magnets on the Epson 7600. What I want to know is about the Magnum Magnetics material, particularly the 24"x50' 30mil roll states on their website it is for solvent printers...will it not work with pigment/aqueous ink? I would much rather print directly on the magnet if it will work, or would I be better to print on the adhesive backed vinyl and apply that to the magnetic base?

Also I have a laminator to either laminate the finished magnets or just the adhesive vinyl...but is laminating really necessary?

And last but not least what about car magnets round corners vs. square corners? As long as I am using 30 mill does the corners really matter?

Anyway, I have said a lot and hope I get some good response...

PS If anyone needs any offset printing or digital printing done I will be glad to help to return the favor for helping me get started with doing signage in house...

Thanks,
John
 
Fred Weiss

Fred Weiss

Merchant Member
goldbuckle said:
Hello,
I am new to Signs101 and wanted to say hello. I own and manage a commercial printing company in central Georgia. We print in house digital & offset work from 1 to full color and we also have distributed signage for about 10 years (banners, corplast, magnetic signs, etc.). I am considering doing at least some of this in house now and I am looking for advise/help as we grow.

I have an Epson 7600 Ultra Chrome (aqueous/pigment) 24" wide format printer which we use to generate CMYK color proofs for the presses. I know of some shops who print their full color magnets on adhesive backed vinyl and then apply it to the magnetic substrate.

So I want to print the (car/truck) magnets on the Epson 7600. What I want to know is about the Magnum Magnetics material, particularly the 24"x50' 30mil roll states on their website it is for solvent printers...will it not work with pigment/aqueous ink? I would much rather print directly on the magnet if it will work, or would I be better to print on the adhesive backed vinyl and apply that to the magnetic base?

Also I have a laminator to either laminate the finished magnets or just the adhesive vinyl...but is laminating really necessary?

And last but not least what about car magnets round corners vs. square corners? As long as I am using 30 mill does the corners really matter?

Anyway, I have said a lot and hope I get some good response...

PS If anyone needs any offset printing or digital printing done I will be glad to help to return the favor for helping me get started with doing signage in house...

Thanks,
John
Click to expand...

Welcome to Signs 101 John.

Despite the notion that will likely be expressed by some members here, that magnetic signs are temporary signs, I can assure you that most buyers of them do not think of them as anything less than long term signs with a removable feature. They expect that they will hold up to sun, weather, handling, chemicals and abrasion for a number of years. In fact, with reasonable handling, it isn't unusual for the magnetic material itself to hold up to the outdoors for five years or more.

As such, printing with solvent inks or thermal resins is the best choice. With solvent inks, laminating is recommended especially for abrasion and chemical resistance. Printing directly on the mag sheet has two distinct disadvantages ...

  1. It is very hard to handle the weight of the material on a friction fed machine.
  2. Misprints now cost you an expensive substrate instead of a low cost film.
The reason for rounded corners is to reduce the breaking of square corners during removal from a metal surface, especially in cold weather. Once broken, it is much easier for air to get under the signs on a moving vehicle resulting in them blowing off.

Proper Handling of Magnetic Signs

  1. Keep the back of the sign and the vehicle surface free of grit, dirt and grime.
  2. Insure that the sign is 100% in smooth contact with the metal with no air gaps or crossing over moldings or door gaps.
  3. When not on the vehicle, store then on another metal surface or, at least, in a cool flat location. Tossing them on a back seat or in the trunk in hot weather will cause them to waffle and lose their dimensional stability ... after which, they will not adhere properly to metal surfaces.
  4. Avoid use on black or very dark paint where the metal will become hot enough to melt the rubber magnetic sheet in the summer.
Finally, avoid making your signs with large areas of black or very dark colors. Such colors absorb enough heat from the sun to literally melt the mag sheet onto the vehicle.
 
Scott Reynolds

Scott Reynolds

New Member
Ya, pigment is not the best choice for door magnets. Solvent or latex inks would be a much better choice. If your wanting to do out door signage, you can pick up a used solvent printer in the 48"-54" fairly cheap.

No, your Epson will not print on the magnetic material.
 
Wiggum PI

Wiggum PI

New Member
Fred Weiss said:
Finally, avoid making your signs with large areas of black or very dark colors. Such colors absorb enough heat from the sun to literally melt the mag sheet onto the vehicle.
Click to expand...

This is valuable info that doesn't normally get mentioned by suppliers, especially in hot/high UV areas.
 
The Big Squeegee

The Big Squeegee

Long Time Member
Welcome from OK

Definitely round the corners on magnetic material. A corner that comes to a point does not have much holding power and becomes the entry point for air to get under the sheet.
 
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