What are peoples go to vinyl and Laminate combo for small vehicle decals

[Signature Sign Guys]

Hey All,

We have been trying to a find nice inexpensive vinyl to use for vehicle decals. We have used IJ35c , MPI2923 and orjet 3169 and paired each with what our suppliers have said is the correct pairing. All seem to have failed within months. (small curling around edges) we figured out that we were over saturating or having to much tension while laminating so we changed both of those. We thought we fixed the issue but we are now having jobs start to come back and we are fed up with our suppliers giving us the run around since they keep suggesting these vinyls. Can someone recommend a good combo that is inexpensive?

 

[Dan360]

We try to use cast for anything going on a vehicle, but if they're not willing to pay for that then we'll use 40c. A little more expensive than 35 but we've found it to be a safer option.

Are they putting them on themselves? Could be they're not cleaning well enough. We've used 35 in the past for a couple and haven't experienced what you're seeing.

 

[2B]

Regardless of the type, any calendared film will curl ALWAYS!!!

for the budget projects,
* Put a CAST lam on the cal print film
* have a white border on all prints, no full bleeds.
* use a different media, we have had good luck with POLYMERIC as a budget substitute for true cast

BigfishDM should have some products to fit your needs

 

[BigfishDM]

Hey All,

We have been trying to a find nice inexpensive vinyl to use for vehicle decals. We have used IJ35c , MPI2923 and orjet 3169 and paired each with what our suppliers have said is the correct pairing. All seem to have failed within months. (small curling around edges) we figured out that we were over saturating or having to much tension while laminating so we changed both of those. We thought we fixed the issue but we are now having jobs start to come back and we are fed up with our suppliers giving us the run around since they keep suggesting these vinyls. Can someone recommend a good combo that is inexpensive?

Spend the money for the right material which is cast vinyl and you will not have these issues. It appears to be more money upfront I understand that, but in the long run you will save thousands of dollars on re-do's and failed jobs I promise! I do have my kits finally in and they sell for $900 for 2 mil cast vinyl and laminate if you wish to give that a run. It's not the cheapest, but it's a better version of Arlon SLX.

 

[Pixels Are Bad Mmmkay?]

We use strictly cast media and laminate on vehicles, either Orajet 3951RA w/ Oraguard 290 laminate, or 3M IJ180C w/ 8518 laminate. Needless to say, we never have issues with the vinyl curling, or any real issues, for that matter. If you do insist on going cheap, I'd recommend nothing less than something like Orajet 3551RA with Oraguard 215 laminate or an equivalent film/laminate combo.

 

[myront]

ditto
3M IJ180C w/ 8518 laminate

 

[Signature Sign Guys]

Regardless of the type, any calendared film will curl ALWAYS!!!

for the budget projects,
* Put a CAST lam on the cal print film
* have a white border on all prints, no full bleeds.
* use a different media, we have had good luck with POLYMERIC as a budget substitute for true cast

BigfishDM should have some products to fit your needs

we will try using the cast lams for our prints, and I know alot of calendard vinyls will start to shrink and curl but we are seeing these issues happening within months. We also picked these vinyl because they say they are meant for fleet vehicles which we are doing, nothing wrapped over complex curves. basically sticking them on the door. We never have issues with our signs using this material just when we stick them vehicles.