Question What's the deal with 60" vinyl?

[Signed Out]

Everything has moved up to 64". Why?

Do any vinyl manufactures make 64" rolls of media? Tons of 60" rolls available. But they are a true 60" (at least I think) so making a 10'x5' sign is still not as simple as an 8'x4' sign.

Or are we expected to perfectly laminate 60" lam to 60" vinyl? And then perfectly mount that to the substrate?

Am I missing something? Do any manufacture's 60" rolls come in a bit bigger? Any 62" or 64" rolls available?

 

[bigbrandprint]

1600mm rolls have been around a long time which means can get a true 5' with bleed etc no problem.

 

[Signed Out]

1600mm rolls have been around a long time which means can get a true 5' with bleed etc no problem.

Thanks didn't know this. I'm not seeing this size available in the American market though, did find some on a german webstie. Is this size readily available in the states?

 

[Robert Gruner]

Everything has moved up to 64". Why?

Do any vinyl manufactures make 64" rolls of media? Tons of 60" rolls available. But they are a true 60" (at least I think) so making a 10'x5' sign is still not as simple as an 8'x4' sign.

Or are we expected to perfectly laminate 60" lam to 60" vinyl? And then perfectly mount that to the substrate?

Am I missing something? Do any manufacture's 60" rolls come in a bit bigger? Any 62" or 64" rolls available?

Signed Out,

Most adhesive backed vinyl is extruded 54" as anything wider than 4' is too difficult for installers to work with; however, some vinyl mfgs. are now extruding 60" cast vinyl which allows car wrappers to wrap entire car hood without having to tile. On the other hand, 64" wide banner vinyl is a standard as it allows users 2" on either side of 5' banner for creating pole pockets.

 

[bannertime]

We do 63in 13 oz banner which allows us a 1.5in bleed/hem so we only have to trim two sides on a 5 foot banner. That alone is worth it to us.

 

[Signed Out]

Signed Out,

Most adhesive backed vinyl is extruded 54" as anything wider than 4' is too difficult for installers to work with; however, some vinyl mfgs. are now extruding 60" cast vinyl which allows car wrappers to wrap entire car hood without having to tile. On the other hand, 64" wide banner vinyl is a standard as it allows users 2" on either side of 5' banner for creating pole pockets.

Not so sure on all of this. I mean colored wrap film comes in 60" and our installers don't have a problem with it. I understand about seamless hoods. But why not 61"? While not as popular as an 8'x4' sign, Xx5' signs are pretty standard. Tons of 63" banner available as you mentioned, which makes sense. To me 60" vinyl doesn't make any sense?

 

[Signed Out]

We do 63in 13 oz banner which allows us a 1.5in bleed/hem so we only have to trim two sides on a 5 foot banner. That alone is worth it to us.

I have a one track mind today, yea this is probably the main reason for 64" printers. Should have titled the thread, What's the deal with 60" vinyl?

 

[bannertime]

To me 60" vinyl doesn't make any sense?

I've always said that 60in digital vinyl is stupid. We've had 54in for years and years that made 4ft signs super easy. Yet we can't get like a 61 or 62 inch to make 5ft signs just as easy?

 

[flyplainsdrifta]

its a shame that manufacturers cant just get together and make standard roll sizing. 30, 40, 54, 63, 80, 102, 126. boom.

 

[bigbrandprint]

Thanks didn't know this. I'm not seeing this size available in the American market though, did find some on a german webstie. Is this size readily available in the states?

I can't believe its not available in the US market thats madness. Its quite commonplace here in UK / Europe (not all the manufacturers but enough)... i guess it could be something todo with you working in imperial while we work in metric? Just like We get full 50m rolls but when i buy some US brands its 50 yards which is 46m or whatever.

When i bought my first machine Mutoh Valuejet 1604 over 10 years ago one of the big deciding factors was that it was 1600mm wide and we have plenty of 1600mm vinyl and banner suppliers.

I just a quick look at gerber for you as i know their connection with spandex over here that supply imageperfect. I don't think there range is that great over the pond and the max width was 54"

 

[dypinc]

I hear you. I have been complaining about this for years. 60" Substrate, but the vinyls MFGs can't get it through there heads we need at least 61" vinyl. Why do they make 54" vinyl then when they know that Substrate come in 48". What are they thinking? There is General Formulations 275 that comes in 62" but no cast that I know of.

 

[cstone94]

For the life of me, I do not know why all PSA manufacturers stop at 60" width. I hate having to tell clients that ask for a 5' x 5' + vinyl graphic that "welllll, it will be like 4' 10" even though the printer can accept 64" wide media.

 

[BIG EASY DOES IT]

The real question is what's up with 54" banner material. 36" banner comes at 38" 48" banner comes at 50" 60" banner comes at 62 or 64 depending on brand. But 54" banner comes at 54" exact.????????

its a shame that manufacturers cant just get together and make standard roll sizing. 30, 40, 54, 63, 80, 102, 126. boom.

This would be horrible for the reflective traffic market. Those sizes are crazy. 30" is the only size where you wouldn't be wasting material on every print.

 

[dypinc]

The real question is what's up with 54" banner material. 36" banner comes at 38" 48" banner comes at 50" 60" banner comes at 62 or 64 depending on brand. But 54" banner comes at 54" exact.????????

Oh don't get me started on 38" Banner. That is another hugh sore spot. Clients order 36 x 72 to 120 all the time, and expect a 1.5" hem. So how in the hell are you going to get the 3 inches needed with only 38". Do the waste on 54"? Another one I have been complaining about to MFGs for years. Just quoted a job today for 36 x 72 banners. Also included the less costly version if they went with 35". Always have to do this when 36" is spec if over 60" long. Another one the MFGs can't seem to get through there heads.

 

[ikarasu]

Its getting harder and harder to get other sizes. It's like companies want to standardize to one size...

3ms cut vinyl... 7720, 7715 series only comes in 48" now. The black is available in 24,30,48,60 still... But even white they want a custom fee to order in 24" or 30" rolls. They Wanted $955 to buy a single 30" roll I of white vi tl because it was "custom size"... Or I could buy a 60 from grimco for $800 and get it slit....it's dumb.

Reflective too... None of them come in 54"! Even 680 vehicle wrap is 48" only. 3M just released a few different anti graffiti wrap overlams that they said were for vehicle wraps and worked really good with 180...but it's only available in 48", not 54.

We only bought a 54" laminator because in Canada there isn't much choice for 60" materials... There's a few but most vendors don't stock it, so it's a 1-2 week wait where as 54 is same day. It sucks because we find 60" has the least amount of waste for certain things.

 

[Christian @ 2CT Media]

Oh don't get me started on 38" Banner. That is another hugh sore spot. Clients order 36 x 72 to 120 all the time, and expect a 1.5" hem. So how in the hell are you going to get the 3 inches needed with only 38". Do the waste on 54"? Another one I have been complaining about to MFGs for years. Just quoted a job today for 36 x 72 banners. Also included the less costly version if they went with 35". Always have to do this when 36" is spec if over 60" long. Another one the MFGs can't seem to get through there heads.

Why do you give them a 1.5" hem, the standard is 1" and you gain no additional strength with the extra .5"?

 

[Christian @ 2CT Media]

Its getting harder and harder to get other sizes. It's like companies want to standardize to one size...

3ms cut vinyl... 7720, 7715 series only comes in 48" now. The black is available in 24,30,48,60 still... But even white they want a custom fee to order in 24" or 30" rolls. They Wanted $955 to buy a single 30" roll I of white vi tl because it was "custom size"... Or I could buy a 60 from grimco for $800 and get it slit....it's dumb.

Reflective too... None of them come in 54"! Even 680 vehicle wrap is 48" only. 3M just released a few different anti graffiti wrap overlams that they said were for vehicle wraps and worked really good with 180...but it's only available in 48", not 54.

We only bought a 54" laminator because in Canada there isn't much choice for 60" materials... There's a few but most vendors don't stock it, so it's a 1-2 week wait where as 54 is same day. It sucks because we find 60" has the least amount of waste for certain things.

Not True, Oracal has a 54" conformable air release reflective. Avery has a Antigraffiti 6060 up to 60" that is very flexible.

 

[ikarasu]

Not True, Oracal has a 54" conformable air release reflective. Avery has a Antigraffiti 6060 up to 60" that is very flexible.

We mostly do work for municipalities and government, our area they always spec 3M products pretty much exclusively. We don't use much Avery...just a few random colors of their cut vinyl, or when the product makes sense and we can convince people to make the switch.

The 6060 would be nice... but it's rated at 3 years only? That might be good for boxtrucks or something that gets tagged a lot, but most of our wraps with a anti graffiti requirement/spec are utility boxes that they expect to last 7-10 years. Right now we use 8528 from 3M.. 9 year expected life, and while it's not an "anti graffiti" film per say, it's what 3M tells everyone to use because it's classified as "Graffiti resistant". We've had a ton of boxes tagged and they wash off easily with it...so right now it works good.

But now that 3M came out with some wrap grade anti graffiti... our fear is that our customers will start speccing that stuff instead, and since it's only made in 48".... it kind of screws us over. We're pretty happy with 8528, but as soon as we get a requirement that needs 8588, we're screwed.

Theres still some manufacturers that have the bigger rolls, but it seems like companies are starting to limit their offerings... such as 3M's 772x series only being standard in 48" now.... You'd think their cut vinyl would be standard in at least 30, and 48.

The 54" Oracal is good too - but IIRC it's non removable? We do lots of police vehicles for 2 different cities... they both also spec 680. so again, a non option


I know if you look you can find bigger sizes for everything, the problem is it's not really "Standard" so while one brand may have it, another doesn't. I don't see why avery / Oracal can produve 54" Reflective and 54" anti graffiti overlam, but 3M doesn't. I can get if people do not buy it... but 3M Says 8588 Is to be used with 180 and 480... which is mainly purchased in 54" rolls, it just doesn't make sense! I suppose it mainly applies to 3M (Not sure if Avery / Oracal do the same?) But if you're pairing media up... Pair it up with the right size! I can't buy a 48" roll of 180 locally here... I have to wait a week and a half and order direct from 3M, but wait 2-3 weeks for Grimco to order direct and ship it to me... no one stocks the stuff.

 

[bigbrandprint]

How much is a 60" roll of 7 year printable white vinyl and a matching roll of overlaminate stateside?

 

[rjssigns]

How much is a 60" roll of 7 year printable white vinyl and a matching roll of overlaminate stateside?

I use Arlon 6000XRP with 3220 laminate. 54" kit is just over $900. There is no 60" kit so you need to buy vinyl and laminate separately which comes to $1250.