In the past I have printed on Oracal Oralite 5600 using my Roland RS-540 with great success, but recently the material seems to have some kind of residue on it that is causing problems. I have tried to wipe the material down but that is not always successful, and can be a real hassel with longer prints. I was wondering if any others have had this problem, or can give me your input an the reflective that you are using.
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Reflective for Printing
- Thread starter bcpop
- Start date
OlsonSigns601
New Member
That is what we did here.
It worked out great and we got to use the same quality reflective we had used for years. Its been 2 years and still looks good today.
Although reflective is pretty thick as it is, adding a layer of vinyl and laminate means its really thick.
That is really the only down side.
The upside, is that if your print gets screwed up its not nearly as expensive to replace as the reflective.
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Gino
Premium Subscriber
We've noticed that on some of the reflectives, there seems to be some residue or something left behind more today than years ago. It happened years ago, but didn't seem as pronounced. One thing we do is when cleaning with the alcohol, you must wipe and wipe and wipe until it dries while wiping. You can't let the alcohol dry on it's own or it will play tricks with certain printing systems.
Another question for you ... and Mosh. When you print to the laminate and then adhere it over-top of the reflective, do you laminate it again to protect the print ?? Otherwise, wouldn't your print be exposed to everything ??
Another question for you ... and Mosh. When you print to the laminate and then adhere it over-top of the reflective, do you laminate it again to protect the print ?? Otherwise, wouldn't your print be exposed to everything ??
I have never printed to clear and then laminated it to the reflective, and I really don't want to go this direction. I do a lot of municipalities, and long, printed graphics have become really popular with them here. I just don't really have the time to add the extra steps to the process if I can avoid them.
OlsonSigns601
New Member
We printed on Clear, Laminated then did a contour cut around the graphic.
Cut Reflective, then applied it to the car, then applied the clear over the reflective.
It was more time, but like I said, we didn't have to order any special reflective and what we put on we know is a good product. (Oralite 5600).
I'm just saying if you have the time, its a cheaper option to go than printed reflective.
Besides that, I'm not even sure how the plotter would pick up the registration marks on reflective.
Cut Reflective, then applied it to the car, then applied the clear over the reflective.
It was more time, but like I said, we didn't have to order any special reflective and what we put on we know is a good product. (Oralite 5600).
I'm just saying if you have the time, its a cheaper option to go than printed reflective.
Besides that, I'm not even sure how the plotter would pick up the registration marks on reflective.
Mosh
New Member
Pretty much end up with two layers of clear and one reflective, works pretty well. I only have a call to do ths 3-4 times a year so can't justify sitting on a whole roll or printable reflective. I have some Police cars been on there 5-6 years with no complaints.
I do street signs this way as well, I do those alot more often, works great on H.I. reflective blanks.
I do street signs this way as well, I do those alot more often, works great on H.I. reflective blanks.
ProWraps
New Member
no way it would be cheaper by the time you factor in all the labor to make that mess.
you can buy 680cr by the yard, and we contour cut it on our graphtec 8000 all the time.
OlsonSigns601
New Member
All depends, not everyone runs a huge shop and pays hourly.
Sometimes you've got more time than money and sometimes you've got more money than time. At the time I had more time than money.
In stock we had the clear, we had the lam, we had the reflective and I had the time.
Sometimes you've got more time than money and sometimes you've got more money than time. At the time I had more time than money.
In stock we had the clear, we had the lam, we had the reflective and I had the time.
Gino
Premium Subscriber
That's my theory.... I'd rather have 90% of something, than 100% of nothing.
Even in a bigger shop, which we're not..... they get slow times and instead of laying someone off, they will do things they don't normally do to keep the high costs down in the lean times. Gotta do what ya gotta do to put food on the table.
300mphGraphics
New Member
Hmmm, wipe it down with alcohol, might save my large roll of reflective which has been spotting when printing. Also sometimes get a haze like a static problem. Both of those have caused me to switch to Oralite 5600 which prints without issue and no trouble with contour cuts and reading the registration marks.
Kentucky Wraps
Kentucky Wraps
Yep...same prob with Avery too. Oralite 5600 and Avery 6200. Gotta clean it with alcohol before printing...stupid. The 3M scotchlite didn't do that...but haven't used it in a while.