Nikkalite Reflective Experiences

[LMSigns24]

Hi Everyone,
I wanted to hear everyone's experiences with using Nikkalite reflective. Good, Bad?? How long has it held up for you? I do ALOT of cop cars, fire Vehicles...I use Oracal and 3M. I used to use Avery until the vinyl was turning black after 2 years. I am also noticing some jobs that the oracal is slightly lifting on ends. I have been using nikkalite to print small jobs like license plates. It prints very nicely. I just do not want to use it on large jobs if it doesn't hold up. I do know it is very brittle.

 

[ChicagoGraphics]

I never had any problems with Nikkalite reflective before, I been using it for years

 

[petepaz]

i have been using it for about 6-7 years with out any issues. solvent and silk screen print. with and without lam.

 

[BigfishDM]

Nikkalite is great stuff!

 

[Gino]

I hear it's good stuff, but we used it some years ago and it was very brittle and not easy to work with. Very unforgiving when weeding and not great for digital printing. However, those were our experiences. Others swear by the stuff. I'm just reluctant to stray from what I'm using presently with a far greater success rate.

 

[Pat Whatley]

My experience could not be more different than Gino's. I absolutely LOVE the stuff. Cuts like butter, weeds beautifully, stretchy instead of brittle. When installing it has a lot more flexibility than any other reflective I've ever used. I've never had a failure or a problem with it. Gino's old and senile, I'd ignore him.

One thing about it....if you're ordering full rolls order it directly from them (http://www.nikkalite.com/). They'll give you a great price and great support.

 

[SightLine]

Our experience is about the same as Pats. Great stuff.

We also do a LOT of ambulance and police cars and go through at least a dozen rolls of it a year. OP - if your roll is brittle you either have their older lower end version or and old roll or something. The stuff we use is some of the softest and most conformable reflective I've come across in years of this. A couple of years ago they introduced a newer more flexible version which is what we use now. Used to use their Flexible Engineering Grade which was also good but a bit more brittle. Oddly their newer one is their M8500 series which is much softer and more flexible then their "flexible" labelled one. Specifically we use M8512.

Only thing I do not like is you will get the occasional splice in a roll. Its tagged along the edge though so you just have to be aware of it coming and make sure to print around it. For the price though, absolutley no other reflective out there can touch it. Not even close.

 

[Gino]

Sight..... now you've made me curious. M8512 is what you recommend ??

 

[SightLine]

Yep. I think that is what BigFishDM is stocking as well. Good Stuff...