Vinyl, Screen-Printing or other?

[JustinTime]

Hello everyone.

First, let me thank the community again for allowing me to join and contribute. I am fairly new to the actual business proper, but I've had an extensive graphics design background as well as CAD/CUT experience and this resource is proving quite exciting to me so thank you.

Let me tell you the story.

I have a client who wants me to design an entire beauty pageant in a nearby town and the theme of this year is Gold to commemorate their 50th Anniversary. While we have already discusses and closed on dozens of different designs and graphics, I have been thinking about trying to apply some custom work to a very nice set of black drapes / curtains that hang in the door to the main seating area.

These drapes are 14ft wide and 10ft tall (Approx) and they're just aching for some sort of gold lettering or designs to really make the entrance pop.

My question is, would it be feasible for me to apply mirrored gold vinyl graphics to these (or other) curtain / drapes and if so, should I go about the standard heat+press process?

If screen printing would be required, what would be the nicest route to take. I am not above trying new things but I've not gotten into screen printing before, although it is a goal of the company down the road a bit. I am also not above outsourcing this part of the job to a more qualified company, should it require it. I'm all about sharing the love and an entire beauty pageant has an awful lot of work needed to get ready.

The deadline is the 4th of July, 2011 and the designs have already begun.

I have a few Roland Vinyl Cutter/Plotters from 24" to 50" and that's my primary forte. I don't have a CYMK printer just yet, so that's not an option unless I outsource.


Again, thank you all for making this community possible.

-Justin.

 

[iSign]

I did a lot of silk screening 15 years ago, including large prints of fabric (awnings & kites) and one of the biggest nightmares was a gold metallic job, because it was a 2 part catalyst, requiring timing issues, and then the screen was an expensive custom oversized screen that the catalyzed ink went off to an un-cleanable state before i got it out of the mesh... and the job never looked that good anyway...

mirror gold is not vinyl, and i wouldn't try to heat any vinyl except that stuff made for heating... and I sure wouldn't try the mirror polyester stuff\

not a lot of helpful info on what you can do, but hopefully some helpful info on things to watch out for...

 

[Farmboy]

You might be further ahead and less in the hole by just purchasing curtains that are already decorated. If you just have to see this through to the end, I would suggest a few bolts of a gold fabric and making friends with a tent company. Your going to want someone with a heavy duty sewing machine.

 

[chasman]

I photographed and shot video of pageants for 22 years and usually they don't want the extra bills of doing something right. Farmboy sounds like the right idrea. cloth applied to the drapes. I also have a few years in the sign biz and I wouldn't touch shiny gold with a 10 foot pole. What pag. is it? Usa, usa teen, mrs. ??

 

[Mike_Koval]

what type of fabric are the drapes? whether you can heat press or not depends on the substrate and also how big the designs being pressed and your pressing capabilities.

there is gold mirror/foil heat press vinyl that can be pressed to cottons, polys or blends. There also is a material called Solar 210 that can be applied to materials that are heat sensitive. It applies at a low temp of...yes you guessed it 210 F. It is only available in a few standard colors however.

Sewing is a nice option as well. screening is possible, but as isign says...its gonna be a tough one.

 

[JustinTime]

First, thank you all for your replies and suggestions. That is why communities like this are invaluable to everyone who take them seriously.

Isign: Yeah, when you put it that way ... It does sound like more of a headache than it's really worth. I was just spitballing ideas on potential extras I could put in the event to make it that much more impressive, but less is sometimes more and I'd rather not have to fuss with all that unneeded work.

FarmBoy: I'm looking into that, if it's cost effective .. I'll shoot the idea over.

ChasMan: It's a local beauty pageant, not really syndicated or anything. One of those "Hometown beauty queen" type deals that everyone here just goes nuts over. Not my thing, but ... ah well.

Mike: Looked into it and I think I'm just gonna scrub the idea. Too much work for too little payout and the client didn't even request it, it was just a "what-if" type job.

Again, thanks everyone for the wisdom.

-Justin.

 

[Mosh]

For this application I would screen print it then apply gold foil to the ink via heat transfer machine. Crap after reading how much work that would be I would just
use some termo film from Fellers and heat set it on.

 

[kage]

yup, me too, Cadcut the foil and heat press it on ..or screenprint an adhesive and heat press a gold foil on would probably look best.
The cool thing about the heat press is you dont have to press the entire image in one shot.

 

[Malkin]

Paint stencil with some sort of spray paint?