Question Printers and Vinyl for die cut stickers

[MiguelGonzalez]

Hello guys, I'm currently using a chinese eco-solvent mainly for banner and signs and i want to get a new printer Epson sc40670 or the Roland Sg2 specifically for stickers but weeks ago i let my personal stickers (5"x2" with small letters) printed on this exact epson machine near our location. The thing is that the edges are pixelated, which i think is because i exported my Vector file as tiff at 300dpi and later found out that vector files shoul be exported as pdf or eps and will it make a huge difference if i export it as pdf instead of tiff. And into the main questions :

1. Which printer would better suit my needs Roland sg2 or epson sc40670. I will be mainly printing stickers with small details and want a vibrant colors that wont fade easily even without laminates. And what are the cure time for these printers

2. Vinyl and overlaminate: Currently I'm using 3M Ij15-20 with 3m overlamintes and with my Graphtec ce6000-60( the version i got has perf cut feature) the machine cant fully cut through the linear of the laminated vinyl, is it because i am using 45angle blade or the plotter is not good enoug for die cuts or should i change the vinyl I'm currently using Or should i go with fc series as I've seen people on youtube doing perf/die cuts with ease with fc series whic has a higher force. And how often does the blade need to be replaced

 

[FireSprint.com]

We run a ton of sticker on our Canon Colorado. We get very good fine detail.

While you're working on getting set up, we'd love to print for you wholesale.

FireSprint: Customer Registration

Customer Registration

www.firesprint.com

 

[Goldenstateprint]

Hey Miguel, i have the Graphtec FC-9000 and I replace my blades and cutting strip about every 5-6 months. The time interval between replacing those for you will depend on the volume of your cutting and how you plan to cut your stickers, I use a two-pass method and die cut them off the rolls. I dont have the Epson sc40670, i have the s80600, curing time is 24 hours, i dont laminate either and the inks dont fade easily, ive had a decal on a friends truck w/o laminate for about 9 months now and it still looks brand new.

 

[MiguelGonzalez]

Hey Miguel, i have the Graphtec FC-9000 and I replace my blades and cutting strip about every 5-6 months. The time interval between replacing those for you will depend on the volume of your cutting and how you plan to cut your stickers, I use a two-pass method and die cut them off the rolls. I dont have the Epson sc40670, i have the s80600, curing time is 24 hours, i dont laminate either and the inks dont fade easily, ive had a decal on a friends truck w/o laminate for about 9 months now and it still looks brand new.

Thank you, I'm a bit concern for the Epson because I've seen several posts stating that the ultrachrome gs3 inks scratched off and fades easily and dang the ink curing time is long

 

[ikarasu]

Epson ink curing time is 6 hours... Not 24.

I find the ink is pretty scratchable compared to latex no matter how long it dries... I played with not laminating, but imo it's too scratchable when you're handling the print (ie stickers). For non laminated I'd go with a latex printer.

 

[MiguelGonzalez]

Epson ink curing time is 6 hours... Not 24.

I find the ink is pretty scratchable compared to latex no matter how long it dries... I played with not laminating, but imo it's too scratchable when you're handling the print (ie stickers). For non laminated I'd go with a latex printer.

Thank You

 

[weyandsign]

We have an SG. When it had the TV1 inks, the heads always got dirty right away. Using TV2 inks the heads are always very clean. It does not seem to scratch too easily. But long term I don't know because I laminate everything.

 

[karst41]

HP Latex Printer 365 model.
Graphtec FC 9000-140
GFP Laminator with top heat assist and rear take up rollers.
Flexi Subscription

With Latex Printing you can go straight to Cut on the graphtec
or you can go straight to laminating.
All arguments just ended unless to step up to UV Printing.

Good Luck

 

[ikarasu]

Latex has its downsides as well, so it's not a "argument".

A year ago I was just starting out.. and wasting 3 ft of material everytime I printed was killing me on vinyl usage. And all I did was small stickers... So the graininess compared to the Epson was very noticeable.

So I got an Epson... I ended up using the Epson everyday, even when I got busier... I went weeks without using the latex so I sold it.

I miss being able to touch the prints... Even 10-20 hours after it's dried, even days .. if you touch black you get finger prints in it. The latex never did that... I could man handle the prints and they'd be perfect.

Now that in doing 50-100 ft a day, and im mainly doing wall graphics.. I wish I had my latex again. I won't touch textured stuff because I don't feel like non laminated solvent is "good enough". So everything I do is laminated... When half of it doesnt need to be.
Im looking into getting a 700w next time there's a deal on. Stickers on the Epson, wall graphics on the latex.... Both have their places, and both have areas they excel at.


You can't go wrong with either though. Both are technically good enough all around printers, I'm just picky.

 

[MHester]

HP Latex Printer 365 model.
Graphtec FC 9000-140
GFP Laminator with top heat assist and rear take up rollers.
Flexi Subscription

With Latex Printing you can go straight to Cut on the graphtec
or you can go straight to laminating.
All arguments just ended unless to step up to UV Printing.

Good Luck

HP 365, Graphtec 8600, GFP lamiator, Flexi. Got it all and love every bit of it. Print, laminate, cut, no need for drying or offgassing. Latex inks don't scratch, no need for laminating. Happy girl here

 

[MiguelGonzalez]

Epson ink curing time is 6 hours... Not 24.

I find the ink is pretty scratchable compared to latex no matter how long it dries... I played with not laminating, but imo it's too scratchable when you're handling the print (ie stickers). For non laminated I'd go with a latex printer.

Hi, Just curious to know your work flow and if the grainy print image attached are normal bescause yesterday i went to a shop near me who owns epson s40670 and i brought my file as an .eps and they cant rip it (dont know what rip software they were using) so they import the file to photoshop and saved it as tiff which i think will effects the output and the print result is so grainy and the edges of the text are blurry or is it normal to be this grainy (image attached).
The print quality in this video is ideal to me,

 

[Zoogee World]

Not 100% sure, but that looks more like either a profile issue or the printer needs some alignment work.

 

[Geneva Olson]

Hello guys, I'm currently using a chinese eco-solvent mainly for banner and signs and i want to get a new printer Epson sc40670 or the Roland Sg2 specifically for stickers but weeks ago i let my personal stickers (5"x2" with small letters) printed on this exact epson machine near our location. The thing is that the edges are pixelated, which i think is because i exported my Vector file as tiff at 300dpi and later found out that vector files shoul be exported as pdf or eps and will it make a huge difference if i export it as pdf instead of tiff. And into the main questions :

1. Which printer would better suit my needs Roland sg2 or epson sc40670. I will be mainly printing stickers with small details and want a vibrant colors that wont fade easily even without laminates. And what are the cure time for these printers

2. Vinyl and overlaminate: Currently I'm using 3M Ij15-20 with 3m overlamintes and with my Graphtec ce6000-60( the version i got has perf cut feature) the machine cant fully cut through the linear of the laminated vinyl, is it because i am using 45angle blade or the plotter is not good enoug for die cuts or should i change the vinyl I'm currently using Or should i go with fc series as I've seen people on youtube doing perf/die cuts with ease with fc series whic has a higher force. And how often does the blade need to be replaced

I have an HP315 latex printer. colors are always vibrant but I do laminate them. For die cuts, if a customer can wait, I farm them out to firesprint. especially if they are a difficult cut. I let them do it. I HEAR that the new roland is the best machine for the jobs now. It also prints white ink. Every printer has its pros and cons though. HP latex printers don't have a curing time because they have a heater and it dries as it's printing. Laminatiion just adds an extra layer of protection to prints.

 

[Geneva Olson]

HP 365, Graphtec 8600, GFP lamiator, Flexi. Got it all and love every bit of it. Print, laminate, cut, no need for drying or offgassing. Latex inks don't scratch, no need for laminating. Happy girl here

Latex inks do scratch. (EEK) . Alcohol will rub it right off. Lamination adds the uv protection to it.

 

[Jetpack Stickers & Labels]

Latex inks do scratch. (EEK) . Alcohol will rub it right off. Lamination adds the uv protection to it.

My own experience is the opposite. FWIW, I laminate everything, so it's not exactly relevant, but here's a video with scratch and alcohol on HP Latex:

 

[highrolling24]

I have found that when I had grainy prints with my old mimaki jv3 that it was my heat settings, either to much heat or not enough to let the ink flow a little. I agree with Zoogee world that it is a setting on your printer. I would try playing with the heat settings, i think its to hot and not flowing out. Worth a try. Please let us know if you figure out your problem.

 

[MiguelGonzalez]

I have found that when I had grainy prints with my old mimaki jv3 that it was my heat settings, either to much heat or not enough to let the ink flow a little. I agree with Zoogee world that it is a setting on your printer. I would try playing with the heat settings, i think its to hot and not flowing out. Worth a try. Please let us know if you figure out your problem.

Thank you, and in your experience what color code do you use for deep black that doesn't have red or blue tint . I tried C60%, M50%, Y50%, K100% output black is deep and rich but due to the intensity of the ink, when in contact with other colors, the ink formed unsmooth and wrinkeled edges.

 

[cbdigital]

A little late to the party, but have you tried using a 60-degree blade?