Printing on Oracal 651, white vinyl...

[ocean502]

Hi All
I ran out of my digital media, and needed stickers done. They were a one time use, and not something that needed last for years. I just wondered if anyone knew if printing on white vinyl, (not digital media) would fade faster. I almost like the quality better, and is waaay cheaper. Thanks...

 

[Circleville Signs]

It's not an issue of fading so much as an issue of the media not being properly coated to take the ink. it will be fine for short term use, but i would never put something out there for long term use that wasn't properly coated for eco-sol ink.

 

[CS-SignSupply-TT]

For promotional signage and laying on coroplast, you should be quite happy. NOT for box trucks and car wraps

 

[ocean502]

Thanks so much!!

 

[Finishline Signs]

We have done it before in a pinch. As they said use only for short term items.

 

[MikePro]

solvent printer? sure no problem!
highest amount of passes possible, and slow speed, to make sure the ink has extra time to stick/dry along the way.

if possible, pre-clean your material with ~60% isopropyl alcohol. As the material may not have been handled as carefully as printables... don't want some random finger/hand smudges in the roll to ruin your print!

 

[royster13]

The surface of 651 is dirty compared to proper media.....

 

[TyrantDesigner]

My wholesaler tried about 4 months to get 651 to be printable (on those days they were slow enough to be wasting ink to keep the heads going clean) ... never did get them to take ink 100% accurately or to last a long time ... heck, laminate cost more than the vinyl so that is a waste right there. As others have said, probably only do the short term thing with them ... 651 as it stands is only really ment for short term to begin with ... well, that or interior signage.

 

[mopar691]

so besides the adhesive and handling to prevent contamination your saying 3651 and 651 is completely different vinyl?

I call shenanigans on that thought.

Last oracal rep I talked to told me it was the same with them differences. But as normal I could very well be wrong. I can find no documentation to prove they are any different though.

 

[Mosh]

The cheap oracal media print is cheaper than 651 so can't figure this one out...but in a pinch go for it.

 

[TyrantDesigner]

From what I could tell, even when cleaning the vinyl beforehand the 651 she was trying to print with kept getting these random pin pricks of ink seperation ... looked a lot like when you drop milk into coffee for the first time ... oh well. We also tried printing on a clear for a sample for a customer ... never did work right as well. Could just be the oils in the media. Could just be crappy intermediate showing how crappy it is for solvent printing.

 

[mopar691]

Well I did find something about Surface treatment. Makes it smooth - consistent from what I can read. I guess tomorrow I will have to grab a few pieces and see what the surface difference is myself.

 

[TyrantDesigner]

Not sure about the surface difference. Idealy it doesn't really matter since if he's looking at a 6mo or less vinyl job, 651 will be passable for that sort of a job. I just know I wouldn't use it on anything that needs to be 100% professional looking for a long time.

 

[bob]

651 is as printable as any most other vinyl with solvent, any sort of solvent, ink. Special coatings on vinyl are usually not necessary since the vinyl itself is inherently soluble by the solvent ink.

The biggest difference betwixt 3651 and 651 is the white point. 3651 is a warmer white than 651. If you doubt this slap a piece of each on a chunk of white Coroplast. The 3651 is clearly visible against the Coroplast while the 651 not so much.

If I'm putting a print on Coroplast I'll almost always use 651 unless the print completely covers the substrate.

I have never seen any particular difference in print quality, white point notwithstanding, between 661 and 3651. Your mileage may vary.

 

[phototec]

651 is as printable as any most other vinyl with solvent, any sort of solvent, ink. Special coatings on vinyl are usually not necessary since the vinyl itself is inherently soluble by the solvent ink.

The biggest difference betwixt 3651 and 651 is the white point. 3651 is a warmer white than 651. If you doubt this slap a piece of each on a chunk of white Coroplast. The 3651 is clearly visible against the Coroplast while the 651 not so much.

If I'm putting a print on Coroplast I'll almost always use 651 unless the print completely covers the substrate.

I have never seen any particular difference in print quality, white point notwithstanding, between 661 and 3651. Your mileage may vary.