Static Cling - Heavy Ink Coverage Problem

[Idea Design]

Hi all -

I'm trying to print a full bleed really heavy coverage static cling material. I'm having a problem that seems to be roller marks from the grit rollers showing up in the ink.

The design is black on the top and a shade of purple on the bottom and the roller marks are very prevalent in the ink.

I'm not at the shop to provide a picture of what's going on, but does anyone have any clue? I'm using a profile that I found works on most every media, high post heat, but can't figure this out. I've used multiple profiles trying to cure the problem but to no avail.

I'm running out of media and I need to get this job out. Any suggestions are much appreciated.

ValueJet 1204, Mojave Digital Media Static Cling (White)

 

[iSign]

interesting seeing this post right now... I just got off the phone with Advantage sign discussing some static cling considerations & one this I just learned is that using solvent inks, it is not advisable to do full coverage (and i don't know if you are) because the solvents attack the material, all the way through to the side on the release liner, interfering with it's ability to retain a static charge, thereby compromising it's critical characteristics.

I am posting this partly to share a caution that was shared with me, but also to learn if others have experience to refute this notion.

Last comment... edge printing is another way to get your job done, particularly if it is a spot color job. of course printing & media costs would be higher, so on a large job, I doubt switching your production plans would be an option... but if it was a smaller order, the higher costs would have a lower impact...

or, you could do what i'm doing & get a Stouse quote too

 

[mark in tx]

I will second iSign on not doing full coverage on static if it can be avoided.

Can you remove the grit rollers? If not, then redesign or sub it out.

 

[Sticky Signs]

My best luck with static cling is to reverse print on clear cling and put a white vinyl backer on it.
I have printed dash cards (they go inside your car windshield) on white cling however they always seem to leave ink residue behind when you remove them. The dash cards where printed on rite media cling.

 

[Letterbox Mike]

We print a fair amount of static on our Mimaki printers with decent success. The stuff is really finicky to print, I'll say that for sure. I think the solution we ended up with was to reduce the print heater temp to about 30, but jack up the pre heater and post heater to 50. The ink still is a little mottled looking, static just doesn't accept ink too well, but from a few feet away they're perfectly acceptable.

Regarding Doug's concern about solvent ink causing the static to lose it's charge, I've not heard that, nor have we experienced this with our own jobs. We did have one customer complain that the static was hard to get off the windows after a year or so, but we figured out this was because the glass was tinted and the solvent ink softened the tint, "welding" it to the static vinyl. So be careful if the glass is tinted.

 

[iSign]

My best luck with static cling is to reverse print on clear cling and put a white vinyl backer on it.
I have printed dash cards (they go inside your car windshield) on white cling however they always seem to leave ink residue behind when you remove them. The dash cards where printed on rite media cling.

My current challenge is sticking prints inside, facing outside. I have some edge ready white material & an unprinted swatch seems to stick fine face down or face up... but my supplier says it should always be used with the unprinted side contacting the glass. I would much rather print these on my mimaki, but the stick inside, face outside challenge means i'd have to reverse print on clear (if the printed side can't be the side against the glass?)... and since I don't print white with my Mimaki, I was wondering about the white backer idea too this morning... so what works for that, like a 2mil high performance vinyl?

...reduce the print heater temp to about 30, but jack up the pre heater and post heater to 50.

Wait, how many heaters do you got? sounds like 3, but there's only 2 right? Just wanting to get this squared away because I still might be trying this myself soon...

Regarding Doug's concern about solvent ink causing the static to lose it's charge, I've not heard that, nor have we experienced this with our own jobs.

just to make sure i was clear, my supplier said, leave some white unprinted areas... he said this decreased static charge issue might happen where the ink is only, so it's not to say solvent printed static cling printing isn't ok... just to advise against FULL coverage.

 

[Letterbox Mike]

Wait, how many heaters do you got? sounds like 3, but there's only 2 right? Just wanting to get this squared away because I still might be trying this myself soon...

JV33 has 3 (big improvement over the JV3!). On the JV3, I'd just turn the print heater down to about 30-35 at most. But we never print static on it anymore...

just to make sure i was clear, my supplier said, leave some white unprinted areas... he said this decreased static charge issue might happen where the ink is only, so it's not to say solvent printed static cling printing isn't ok... just to advise against FULL coverage.

makes sense, I see what they're saying. I know for sure we've sent out several sizeable orders with 100% heavy coverage without any issues. We made sure they were fully dry, and we run a Digi-Dri dryer on them as the come off the printer too so between that and sitting around for a day or two drying they're pretty cured, I could see where there would be issues if the ink wasn't fully dry, but I can't completely wrap my head around why heavy ink coverage would deplete the static charge. I'm not a scientist by a long shot so I'm not saying they're wrong, I've just never experienced it.

FWIW we usually print Solvex white or clear static.

 

[HaroldDesign]

I have success with the 1604. I use General Formulations cling. It's sort of moddled looking, but only upon close inspection. If your overall color is good, I'd start by reducing the ink limit in the profile by 25% and see what happens. Eleven Ten had some great cling, but I don't know where to find it anymore.

 

[Charlie J]

I've found that as the static cling vinyl gets past its shelf life it will have the problems you've described when printing.

 

[Idea Design]

Thanks for all the info. I needed to get these out and there was no time to source them, so I went ahead and ran them.

Just information for those interested. They ended up being 5.5" x 7.5", I turned them and ran 20 (4 wide, 5 up). After the initial row of graphics had passed, the roller marks in the ink disappeared nearly completely, as though the media in constant motion helps to alleviate this problem. Post heater is turned up to about 50 I believe in this case, but I forgot to look at the driver.

I won't have information on the "staticability" of these for some time to come, but I am going to keep some of the misprints and cling them to various windows with varying amount of sunlight abuse.

I'll report my findings.

Thanks to all who was interested and helped out with this topic.

 

[SE SignSupply]

I've found that as the static cling vinyl gets past its shelf life it will have the problems you've described when printing.

Yup, 3 month shelf life on most cling. We sell the General Formulations which seems to work well as long as we keep the turns up.

Ryan

 

[Steve Werner]

I have to second the opinion of SE Sign, I sell the GF static cling also and as long as it's not old material it works very well. That being said, if you're looking at a demanding product application and want to do heavy coverage just use a pressure sensitive vinyl with removable adhesive. A bit more expensive but generally bullet proof.

 

[k6media]

Ever thought of digitally printed Rollerblinds on the inside?

Print on mesh material and mount inside a rollershade mechanism. The benefit of the graphic advertising as well as cutting down on some sunlight.. AND it's interchangeable..

just a thought =)