Transparent film for reverse printing with pigment ink

[NewSign]

Hi everybody,

I would like to find a transparent film (7-10 mil) that I can reverse print on it (i.e., print on the back of the film so that the viewers will see the image through the film). I am using an HP Designjet z3100 with pigment ink.

So far I found the Inkpress Transparency Film, but they are not sure if it is OK to reverse print on it.

http://www.inkjetart.com/inkpress_paper/Inkpress_Transparency_Film.html

Another option is Inkpress Backlight Film, but the side to be printed is matte, and they are not sure if it would stick to an adhesive liner:

http://www.inkjetart.com/inkpress_paper/Inkpress_Backlight_Film.html

Could someone advice me on similar films made by other producers, which are: (1) 7-10 mil; (2) has one side glossy; (3) the other side can take pigment ink?

Thank you for your advice!


P/S: Another naive question: can I use a hot laminator to mount the vinyl into a pressure-sensitive adhesive liner by turning the temperature off/down?

 

[chopper]

the only printing that I have done on clear is I just use laminate and printed on it.. oracal 290, and 210, and then I laminated the laminate, worked great, I think this product is 2.5 mils maybe 3 mils thick so with 2 layers it would be 5 to 6 mils thick,
I use my laminator to mount prints all the time, I dont know if this is what you wanted to know I didnt quite understand what you were getting at, hope this helps//chopper

 

[The Big Squeegee]

Welcome from OK.

You do have to use coated films for printing with pigmented inks.
I'm not sure I understand the question. When you reverse print on something you print on the same side of the film but you reverse the graphic so that it looks like you printed it on the back side. Is this of any help?

 

[chopper]

I here ya Dale I was thinking the same thing kinda hard to print on the adhesive side...//chopper

 

[petepaz]

intellicoat has a polycarbonate film that i print on my epson 4800 that works real good
TSG-12
i also just got a sample of something new for the solvent printers works great for back lit work my customer loves it but you top print and laminate
SOL backlit film 8.5 mil got that from D & P media for print

 

[Matt Cuellar]

To my knowledge there is not a reverse-print clear film available for aquaeous inks. We have several clear products for aqueous inks that are front print, but none that are reverse print. I'm not sure about Intelicoat, but you might want to check Omnijet, Sihl, or possibly Kodak. Good luck!

 

[onesource]

 

[petepaz]

my bad
i mis-read your thread
transparent not translucent

 

[NewSign]

Wow, thanks everybody for such a warm welcome!

I would like to make clear my project:

My product needs to meet two requirements: 1) the print is protected by the film; and (2) the artwork can be sticked to a wall or other surfaces. Basically, it is going to be like a backlit print with the printed side attached to a two-sided adhesive, while the unprinted side face out.

I think there are two ways to do this: (1) print on a regular (large size) sticker and then laminate it. (I think what chopper suggest is similar to this); or (2) print on the one side of a transparent film, and then mount that side to a two-sided (large size) tape.

So far I avoid the first approach because I am not too sure about how how much can the lamination film could stick to the sticker, and to make sure that the art-work is bubble-free. If I go for the second, I don't have to care about the bubbles as they will be underneath of the print.

By reverse print, I just mean that I print the image on one side of the transparent film, and then look at the image from the other size, through the film (as in backlit printing). There are two problems with reserve print: (1) I have to invert the image, and (2) the print shows up as if it was looked from underneath! I don't know who producers fix (2) when they make backlit/backlight film.

- I think Dale is right: To pigment print on a film, you have one side coated to print on. Otherwise, the ink won't stick to the film.


- I think Matt is also right: it is hard to find the film for reverse print, except for the film that are made for backlit/backlight printing. But then, the printed side of the film for backlit printing is porous, and thus hard to stick to a mounting system.

@ chopper: What I afraid is that the heat laminator may heat up the inks and the adhesive when I use it to mount the artwork to the mounting paper.


Thanks again for your generous help, and hope to see more advices. This is my first project and really important to me!