Vinyl Decals fading from general wear

[ATW]

Good afternoon,
My main use of vinyl is for decals that either go on to water bottles, coffee mugs, thermos containers, and hard hats.

My issue is that they fade over time due to the fact that the decal gets handled a lot. Such as a water bottle. It'll get held often and then thrown in a back pack or the dishwasher. Hard hats sometimes get worn out by constantly be taken on and off.

Now my question to anyone out there is if you had any luck with a certain vinyl that seems to hold the ink for extended periods of time. I ask this because i know i can laminate, but, I've seen decals out there that are not laminated and seem to last quite a bit longer then mine when applied at the same time.

Also, do you suppose a calendared will wear better then a cast?

Currently i am using Mac Tac Calandered and it wears better then oracal Calendared.

If there is a vinyl out there where you have had good luck please let me know.
I'm constantly searching for a better product.
Thanks

 

[Billct2]

Those decals that last longer may not be inkjet.
You want them to last longer you'll have to laminate.

 

[BIG EASY DOES IT]

Laminate Laminate Laminate. The others don't lamintae because they have a better set of inks for the job. Changing your vinyl is not going to magically make the ink any better. You have to laminate.

 

[artofacks1]

I printed alot of decals on my edge fx and placed them on cups, water bottles and glasses to decorate. No laminate just print to vinyl and place. It has done great not one faded decal or bad ahesive. Its been at least 7 months since we started the test.

 

[ATW]

The ink huh?
That is an unexpected answer. Although, makes sense now.
Currently i use a Roland Sp300 and use ECO-SOL MAX inks.

Perhaps i can get a laminater or use a spray. I often do thousands of stickers at a time.

Thanks for the responses

 

[ATW]

Today i went and bought clear sheild gloss and will try this out and see how it works.
I will post results soon.
Thanks.

 

[Christian @ 2CT Media]

Look at a thermal resin printer if you want durability and no laminate. Or if you stay solvent/latex a cheap 30" liquid laminator will speed things up for you.