Opinion on Static Elimination Thing...

[gplough]

Has anyone used this and can say whether or not it's worth $140 bucks?

stopstatic.com/product/wide-format-kit4/

 

[T_K]

I just recently started looking at these, because it's now hot and dry in our area, so lots of static. Combine that with Avery's plastic liner on the laminate, and OUCH!

After looking around, why not just buy the anti-static cord for $66, plus some magnets for $3-5 at a home improvement store? Wouldn't that work as effectively as the kit?

 

[Jonas]

Tried and true for all static problems for me has been static tinsel cord, or static away spray from the grocery store. The antistatic bars for presses could be mounted I suppose, but thats some big money there.

 

[gplough]

Kit

I ended up buying the stop static kit online. Should have returned it because it didn't resolve the issue, it may have decreased the overspray/tracks/static a little but not much. I'm one man show and haven't really had time to mess with sending it back. Manufacturer contacted me several times and asked me to review, I told them it didn't work, sent a pic of how I installed it (twice) and never heard back.

I saw the tinsel on amazon for $30 so I'm gonna give that a shot, thanks for the suggestion. With some magnets it would be less than a third the price as the one that's supposed to be the magic answer.

For me what has worked is wiping the material down with an alcohol/water solution but that's a pain and another step that I'd love to not have to deal with. I also added a humidifier near the material, that alone didn't solve the problem either, maybe it helped a little, not sure.

Love the forum, I can't tell you how many questions I've answered here by just reading posts...

 

[Jonas]

Fabric softener sheets work good too!

 

[lgroth]

Those actually work! Here in Wisconsin winters are brutal when it comes to static. We started using these on both our Roland roll printers and laminator and they made a big difference. We have an Acuity X-2 that has an electric static bar, and when the transformer went out we even used this till we got a replacement. I will say they aren't "as good" as the electric unit, but for the price they do a good job.

 

[T_K]

Fabric softener sheets work good too!

The dryer sheets don't work when you're laminating 100 ft of prints. But on substrate they can.

 

[OzarkDigital]

Those actually work! Here in Wisconsin winters are brutal when it comes to static. We started using these on both our Roland roll printers and laminator and they made a big difference. We have an Acuity X-2 that has an electric static bar, and when the transformer went out we even used this till we got a replacement. I will say they aren't "as good" as the electric unit, but for the price they do a good job.

LGroth: We have a Roland too...what do you mean "We started using them on both our Roland printers and laminator and they made a big difference?"

Did you hang them on the back, touching the media? Wiping them down? What exactly did you do with the anti-static wipes!

Thx! Dennis

 

[gabagoo]

When ever I run alumapanel through the laminator, after it has come out of the laminator, I take my Olfa knife and allow the blade to touch both sides of the aluminum at once along the side, and you get a nice blue spark...then I can handle it without fear of electrocution.

 

[lgroth]

I put the elastic wire across the media opening in the back of the printer, used the magnets that came with the kit to hold it on each end. The magnets are touching the chrome metal of the feed to contact ground, you can also leave some extra wire on one end and attach to a screw if you want, the printers are also well grounded. The media has less than 1/8" to slide under the wire. The elastic wire doesn't have to be touching the media, but the closer to it the better. Here in Wisconsin the winters are terrible for static, even with humidifiers I had a lot of problems, this cured over 90% of them... Still get occasional overspray on a very dry day, but not all winter long like I used to. Nice for under $100.