Need Help Wall graphics on UV printer

[Danskitt]

Hi guys,

We have just installed a new hybrid Handtop UV printer. I am really pleased with the print quality and want to start printing wall and window graphics on it instead of using our Roland solvent machine. The problem is we generally laminate the prints so they are protected and easier to install but I am worried about laminating Uv prints in fear that they will get problems. I have been told that uv prints don’t laminate and any data sheets I look at for laminate film doesn’t rate for uv ink.

Does anyone have experience with this and can you give me any advice on the best way to proceed?

Cheers


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[Superior_Adam]

We laminate UV Prints for certain jobs. We produce a lot of counter mats and print UV on 040 styrene then laminate with a scratch resistant lam. I typically don't use heat on normal jobs but turn it on for this to help. The best bet would be to run some test jobs and see how it works for you.

 

[F1225hgB42w]

Hi guys,

We have just installed a new hybrid Handtop UV printer. I am really pleased with the print quality and want to start printing wall and window graphics on it instead of using our Roland solvent machine. The problem is we generally laminate the prints so they are protected and easier to install but I am worried about laminating Uv prints in fear that they will get problems. I have been told that uv prints don’t laminate and any data sheets I look at for laminate film doesn’t rate for uv ink.

Does anyone have experience with this and can you give me any advice on the best way to proceed?

Cheers


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We have a CET Q51000H - which is a rebranded Handtop HR8. We print vinyl, banner, wallpaper, etc. on this machine all day. We do laminate but the lamination of the UV print can cause silvering (it's the most noticeable on a gloss laminate). We've tried 3M, Drytac, MacTac, and other laminates advertised for "UV printed lamination" - none have worked as advertised, all show some to a lot of silvering on our UV prints. The only laminate I've seen work well on UV prints are cast laminates which defeat the purpose of low cost vinyl prints on the UV (and the UV isn't the same quality print as our solvents - so why print high quality materials on lower quality prints). We use the uv for printing mainly economy vinyl and either don't laminate it, laminate it with a calendared vinyl and know there will be slight slivering, but it's a lower end product/price point, etc. Anything like high end wall graphics we will print on 3M 480mC on our solvents and laminate with 3M cast laminates - best quality graphics I have found when comparing to probably 50 other shops in the Pacific Northwest. we laminate window perf with a cast high performance optically clear laminate so we don't have any silvering on that product (not that you could tell anyway). You should do some tests, see if you feel the quality of laminate (with silvering) is acceptable, but we feel that if it's got to be high quality we use our solvents.

 

[Danskitt]

Yes, the laminated that we have done get the slivering but after a while that goes away especially here in Sydney where it’s usually nice and warm. My real worry was more about it delaminating especially on dark or black areas. I worry about getting that phone call in a months time that the laminate is coming off.


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[ProColorGraphics]

Hexis has an awesome laminate that has worked great for me. It has a more aggressive adhesive that sticks to the UV inks better. (VCR750 better version, VCR650 cheaper version)It has worked great with my Fuji anyways.

 

[RPM]

We have used Orafol's 215DU laminate on our UV prints and have been very happy with the results. We do use a RS laminator with heat assist.... Will have to check out Hexis though. Have heard good things!

 

[nirupakah]

also using Oraguard DU series laminates (210 DU, 215 DU), the DU series has stronger adhesive so that it sticks well to the UV prints. and adding heat when laminating will generally help eliminate silvering.

 

[mbasch]

The issue with laminating UV inks is the fact that the inks are slightly raised. This is why cast works better than calendared. The higher the ink coverage the higher the chance of silvering. I'd skip laminating. it is one more potential point of failure.

 

[10sacer]

As mbasch just stated - alot depends on the laydown of your ink off your UV printer. Some pass modes will lay down so much ink that it feels like an old thermographic printing and this will cause voids in your laminate. You could always liquid laminate I guess. Another thing to be aware of is if you don't laminate the you need to make sure your cured inks don't stink to high hell in an office environment. I've had UV prints in my car that forced me to roll my windows down.
Laminates tend to create surface tension between the ink and the underlying wall graphic material. If you don't have a strong enough adhesive and there are temp/humidity variations where the wall graphic will go - eventually it will lift the panel off the edge.

 

[DerbyCitySignGuy]

If you absolutely have to laminate, you can always use liquid laminate.

 

[Pauly]

I've done wall graphics with our UV flatbed. no lam. but this is done on actual wallpaper textured vinyl. (i forget the name of it) i have some in my house, no issues at all. been up well over a year.

 

[Christian @ 2CT Media]

Try 3M 8048 or 8050... Conforms super well and has a very aggressive adhesive. I have a ACP panel that we laminated 4pt text and you can feel the center hole ridges.

 

[Danskitt]

Thanks all for your replies.

This is the conundrum I get as it seems to me the laminating and Uv printing aren’t really meant for each other. I feel though that it limits the potential of UV printing for instance printing a sign direct to alu panel, the life will be reduced if it can’t be laminated. Same goes for window graphics and without a laminate the installer would surely scratch it.

The phototex option is a good one for wall graphics though.


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[johnnysigns]

Silvering and UV/lam is always a pesky issue. On one hand the silvering almost always improves or disappears completely, on the other it takes time for that to happen. It's hard to sell a product to someone that doesn't look that great initially on the premise it will improve later.