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Printer for stickers/decals

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hazelsmrf

New Member
Hi everyone, I signed up to hopefully get some opinions or advice on equipment for decals. I'm a graphic designer, and for the past year I've been selling my stickers online. So far my setup has been pretty basic, no large format printing, I have a standard Brother inkjet printer that I print on weather resistant vinyl, and then cut out on a craft grade cutter (Klic-n-Kut Zing). This works but it's incredibly time consuming and requires a ton of manual work. Printing out an 11X17 sheet on my printer, cutting it out on the cutter, rince and repeat 100 times. Time for something that I can "set and forget" and don't have to constantly babysit! As of right now with my limited setup I am making about 2000$ per month. So, not huge amounts but this is an amount that I could easily double or triple if I had a more automated system in place.

My options as I see it, would be a wide format printer and separate cutter, or a print & cut all in one. I understand that a lot of people don't recommend the print & cut as when it is cutting you aren't printing. I am not sure that would be a big issue for me, I do not have print shop volumes. Also space is a factor, I work at home out of my home office, I have a dedicated room but there is no way I would be able to have a 50+ inch printer (nor do I have any reason to want one). A 15-30 inch would suit me just fine. Also due to space constraints, the print & cut models seem very attractive!

Finally, my product line. Currently I offer some matte vinyl stickers, and some waterproof polyester labels. I am looking for a system/material that would allow me to make waterproof labels that would survive in the dishwasher, as a big part of my clientele are mothers and labelling baby bottles and lunch boxes, baby drool etc are something I need to keep in mind. I have not so far had luck with *inkjet* substrates and waterproofness, but I am not using professional wide format printers. What would you recommend for waterproof stickers? They don't need to last forever but they should be able to last through 10-20 passes through the dishwasher. I'm not sure if there is a solution that does not require lamination, because lamination would make having an all in one print & cut system pretty useless.

I really need something that I can use at home, contracting the printing out is not really an option as I do want to be offering personalized labels and those need to be one-off runs. Oh and something that does not require ventilation because it's my basement home office and there are no windows even.

Thanks for reading the wall of text, I'm overwhelmed and would LOVE to have your perspective on this!
 
reQ

reQ

New Member
I am a Roland guy. And for the money i would buy used spi300 for couple thousand bucks to start with. Very basic & nice enough machine. It will be HUGE improvement in your case and should last you for a long time with proper maintenance.
 
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hazelsmrf

New Member
reQ said:
I am a Roland guy. And for the money i would buy used spi300 for couple thousand bucks to start with. Very basic & nice enough machine. It will be HUGE improvement in your case and should last you for a long time with proper maintenance.
Click to expand...

Awesome, thank you! What do you imagine the workflow would be for a waterproof decal? Print on the spi300, remove for lamination, then return for cut? Or is there a material that exists that would survive through some dishwashing trips without lamination? Currently my labels are printed on polyester stock and a color laser printer, they don't require lamination. I haven't yet found an inkjet substrate that didn't fade significantly in the dishwasher though. Which made me wonder if maybe a thermal printer would make sense? Lamination seems like it would be a pain to do, but I've never tried it with a machine.
 
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kanini

New Member
Keep in mind that the Rolands uses eco-SOLVENT inks and many vinyls contains pvc. I for sure would NOT want to make decals that comes close to small childrens mouths and dishwashers/food etc. with that ink. So be sure to check regulations etc. or you could be heading for trouble.

With that said, definately a print&cut if you have limited space and that is a great setup to start with. Roland is a workhorse and as reQ said a used SP300 or VS300 would be a very versatile machine that you can print on many materials with.
Don't think there's many materials that will survive dishwashers without lamination for longer use. The inks do hold up a couple years outdoors so they are water resistant but don't know how they would hold up in a dishwasher. Good luck!
 
P

player

New Member
Why does lamination make having an all in one print & cut system pretty useless?

You can remove, laminate, then put material back, and then cut on a print/cut system.

You can also roll or spray liquid laminate, and/or get a 30" cold laminator from UStech.
 
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hazelsmrf

New Member
Sorry I didn't mean useless like that, I just meant that any convenience of having a hands off workflow and being able to just let the machine run at night would be lost by having to laminate it before putting it back to cut. The idea of having the machine automatically print and cut without further action on my part was very attractive! Plus if I have to remove it anyways, I wonder if I would save money by having a printer and a separate cutter... but then again, space constraints may come into play. I would likely have room for both a printer and a cutter if I moved my regular desktop laser and inkjet printers into the hallway.

Would laminating eco-sol inks solve any issues with it being suitable for lunchboxes etc? I have looked into other makers of personalized labels and I know at least one mentioned specifically that they used eco-solvent inks with a laminate. I do not know what printer or what material they were printing on, they just mentioned "vinyl".
 
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hazelsmrf

New Member
I was looking at the Summa but it seems that people have a lot of issues with them.

The Gerber Edge looks like it would work, and my labels may survive the dishwasher without being laminated.

Cost wise, the Mutoh Valuejet/ valuecut in 24" are attractive too, are they considered very inferior to the Roland?
 
reQ

reQ

New Member
There are people who like Roland or Mimaki or Mutho etc... they are all great machines. They are different in some aspects, but at the end of the day they are all great printers.
 
signage

signage

New Member
If you are looking for a plug and play printer, then you are not looking for any professional printer. The Summa's work fine once you learn how to run them, people even have problems with any of the inkjet large format.
I would be me concerned with the decals being approved for use around kids food! jm02
 
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hazelsmrf

New Member
Hmmm fair enough. What ink / materials do you think they use on food labels then? Surely there is something out there that is safe.
 
Gino

Gino

Premium Subscriber
I don't know what it would be called in Canada, but down here the Federal Food Administration would shut you down in a minute, if they knew you were making things of this nature. You have to be inspected, certified and have the safest proven machinery and chemicals on the planet, to run legally. You are most likely running an illegal business and flying under your country's radar, case you are so small.

The process of doing what you want is no all in one printer set up to fit in with your bedroom decor. You need licensing, constant inspections and up to date certifications.
 
reQ

reQ

New Member
i think ppl misunderstood you what kind o labels you are doing lol. The way you explained, it looks like you sell stickers for moms to put on feeding bottles and all other crap that goes in kids' mouth lol
 
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hazelsmrf

New Member
No nothing that goes in their mouth, labels for lunchboxes and containers, or baby bottles (on the outsides!) for daycare.
 
Gino

Gino

Premium Subscriber
Those companies you have listed have more than likely bought and paid for the rights to use certain logos. Have you ??

Going in a clothes washing machine is not the same as going in a dishwasher as you mentioned several times. Has nothing to do with going in their mouths. The inks must be 100% safe for dishwasher use as inks and certain media can break down and go on to other surfaces. Especially at those temperatures. Only an idiot would print something on an inkjet printer and sell it for some of the uses you mentioned.

Do I hafta be nice in the way I say this. No way, no how.

It's hair brained ridiculous ideas like this that put so many rules and conditions on the books. We all hafta pay the price because of people like you. :frustrated:

When lead was used in our paint, it was fabulous paint, but too many stoopid people painted toys and furniture with it and then the kids chewed on these things and window sills and now they took the lead outta everything. Your irresponsible method here will eventually drop more rules and regulations on us, too.

I dont care how much you make selling your trinkets and sh!t, don't play in the big leagues until you know what you're doing.

If I hear another person say....... well, ya hafta start somewhere.......... where/how do you think we all found out ?? It wasn't by just running by the seat of our pants and hoping you don't get caught.
 
reQ

reQ

New Member
Licensing is another question of course. But how can you control people where they will stick the decal you purchased from you? Unless yes, you specifically advertise that they are for lunch boxes and blah blah blah.
 
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