UV Transfers Onto Wood With PET Film

[Heebeegeebee]

Our shop has a UCJV300 and we are trying to master a method of heat transfer onto wood. The image is printed onto a PET film, and then an adhesive layer is screen printed onto the back. The image can then be heat-transfered onto wood and the PET film peeled away. We have had great success with this so far but are struggling to achieve the high gloss that we've seen in other applications. We are doing test after test after test and have gotten some nice results but we're still not achieving the sheen that we've seen others achieve. Is anyone else familiar with this process and able to offer some advice?

Things to note:
1) We are aware of how to properly set up a glossy clear print in terms of resolution, UV mode, etc.
2) We have been playing around with printing the clear gloss simultaneously and retracted.
3) We have been doing tests with reduced ink densities and increased UV intensities but have not found a magic combination.
4) We are dead set on mastering this method and are not looking for alternative print methods.

 

[damonCA21]

Clear laminate on the other ones you have seen maybe?

 

[Heebeegeebee]

Clear laminate on the other ones you have seen maybe?

No, they are extremely glossy right from the peel of the PET.

 

[White Haus]

No, they are extremely glossy right from the peel of the PET.

And you're sure they were printed on the same printer?

I take it you have clear ink on your unit?

 

[Heebeegeebee]

And you're sure they were printed on the same printer?

I take it you have clear ink on your unit?

Quite certain. If not the same unit, definitely another UV printer.

Yes, we have clear ink channels.

 

[VizualVoice]

just spitballing, but could it have something to do with the surface texture (or lack thereof) of the PET film? Like whatever texture is on the film will be transferred to the face of the final print once it's peeled, right? So maybe you need "smoother" film to get a glossier result.

I'm guessing you're trying to get into the whole DTF UV craze, right?

 

[Heebeegeebee]

just spitballing, but could it have something to do with the surface texture (or lack thereof) of the PET film? Like whatever texture is on the film will be transferred to the face of the final print once it's peeled, right? So maybe you need "smoother" film to get a glossier result.

I'm guessing you're trying to get into the whole DTF UV craze, right?

No it wouldn't be the film because if we only screen print onto it, we get a nice glossy print. If we UV print, the gloss is not as nice.
And no, we are not looking to do DTF UV. This is a different process.

 

[VizualVoice]

ok, well it was just an idea. Can you tell or show more about what you ARE doing with it? Just out of curiosity. Sounds like an interesting project.

 

[Heebeegeebee]

It's a method typically used for printing skateboards. The image is printed onto PET film, and adhesive is printed onto the back, and it's then heat transferred onto the board with a specialty heat transfer machine. Traditionally, most of the images were screen printed, but now there are a lot of printers using UV.

Here is a link to a video of the film being applied to a skateboard.

 

[SGC]

It's a method typically used for printing skateboards. The image is printed onto PET film, and adhesive is printed onto the back, and it's then heat transferred onto the board with a specialty heat transfer machine. Traditionally, most of the images were screen printed, but now there are a lot of printers using UV.

Here is a link to a video of the film being applied to a skateboard.

Being the resident skateboard printer of the forum, and someone who owns a UCJV300, you’re not going to get the high gloss you seek from the LUS inks. The Mimaki ink sets are just too matte.

I have a high gloss film that does nothing for the Mimaki inks, but makes my special rigid inks out of my Roland look like laminated solvent ink.

It’s one of those is what it is scenarios.

 

[SGC]

 

[Heebeegeebee]

Being the resident skateboard printer of the forum, and someone who owns a UCJV300, you’re not going to get the high gloss you seek from the LUS inks. The Mimaki ink sets are just too matte.

I have a high gloss film that does nothing for the Mimaki inks, but makes my special rigid inks out of my Roland look like laminated solvent ink.

It’s one of those is what it is scenarios.

Good to know!
Just to clarify, are you running these rigid inks on your Mimaki or do you only print this type of thing on your Roland?

 

[SGC]

Good to know!
Just to clarify, are you running these rigid inks on your Mimaki or do you only print this type of thing on your Roland?

I run LUS170 (STS) from my UCJV.

if you’re out of warranty, I’ve heard through the grapevine Marabu’s third party LUS-170 is glossier. By how much? Who knows.

If you’re out of warranty I’d talk to a company like CMYK engineering to see if they have a Gen 5 compatible semi-rigid/rigid ink that cures glossy.

The old Roland UV ink formula is solvent based, so it itself is glossier than the new higher stretch options like Mimaki’ LUS170/200. I run a specific epson DX rigid ink to get my high gloss, as even the OEM solvent style from Roland isnt glossy enough.

There might be conversation to have on if the other LUS models for the flatbeds / GEN 5 makeup could be slid into the UCJV to achieve better gloss. I haven’t seen those ink types in person, so I don’t know if gloss goes up as the stretch level goes down. In my head, you’d buy third party 170 chips (they’re fairly cheap), and load that ink of choice (flush prior).

It’s just an interesting road to travel.

 

[Heebeegeebee]

Very helpful, thanks. Have you, by chance, tried the LH-100 inks from Mimaki or is your UCJV still on warranty? I ask because it's a rigid ink as well. Like you said, who knows if the gloss goes up as the stretch goes down, but I'm just trying to eliminate as many variables as I can.

Does the high gloss you acheive with your inks eliminate the need for printing a clear layer or do you still print a clear gloss layer? (Not sure if you would even have a clear channel on your Roland)

As a sidenote, do you use the STS brand in your UCJV just for cost savings or do you see an advantage to printing with it?

 

[SerjantIV]

I had better luck when I lightly sanded the wood first and made sure there was no dust or oils. Pressing evenly right after printing helped the transfer stick way better.

 

[SerjantIV]

I had way better luck after switching to a gloss PET film instead of matte. Satin might work too depending on the texture you’re going for, but gloss seemed to give me stronger adhesion and less blurry edges. I ended up using https://www.synponh.com/products-item/pet-transfer-film/ and the results on wood were smoother, especially on sanded plywood. The thinner types didn’t work as well for me—they curled a bit under heat.