Which brand of printable wrap vinyl do you prefer and/or avoid? 3M, Orajet, Arlon?

[VinylSticks]

I am ready to try some new wrapping products. I am looking at the following materials: 3M IJ180c, Orajet 3751 RA, and Arlon DPF 6000 XRP. Do you use any of these? Do you avoid any of these? Any experiences you may have working with these products is greatly appreciated. Up to now, the only wrap vinyl I have ever worked with is 3M IJ180cv3. I use a Roland Versacamm VS640. Thanks!

 

[eahicks]

Only use 3M 180-CV3 here...That Oracal has very aggressive adhesive and hard to work with IMO. Never used Arlon. Avery's wrap vinyl used to be my go to, but got kinda crappy for a while.

 

[2B]

One of our machines is also the Roland VS640 with LmLc

3751RA is our preferred vinyl - seems to offer the best color output and the least amount of color shifts within the roll. plus it has a much better price point than 3M
granted there are others that are a little easier to install, Avery in particular, but we figure if we only stock the same material manufacture then we have a better chance of consistent coloring across all of the prints and it gives us better buying power with the supplier.

 

[rjssigns]

Been using Arlon 6000XRP for a few years now. We print for another shop and their installer loves it. Huge savings over 3M's 180 kits too. We've used Oracal 3751 kits and those were good also. YMMV

 

[AaronSSsignsKC]

We use all 3M 180 its just seems to be the most versatile film like other people have said i think arlon is to aggressive, 3m just seems to be the most installer friendly material but that doesn't mean most pocket book friendly.

 

[reQ]

ij180cv3 here. Very easy to work with.

 

[AllianceDG]

From an installer perspective I prefer Avery, it has a very low initial tack and most conformable in my opinion. The easiest if installing alone. However I get defective rolls occasionally which I've never gotten from 3m. They all print a very similar quality from my experience.

 

[heyskull]

We are using 3Ms ij180cv3 here.
I have tried Arlon 6000XRP but the savings in material soon gave way to the fact that it took almost double the time to fit!
Also we had some issues with the Arlon de-laminating.
Honest try them both but you will not believe how much easier 3Ms ij180cv3 especially with the controlac and bubble free goes on.

SC

 

[ExecuPrintGS]

Oracal 3751RA - it is a little less installer friendly in that the adhesive is a lot more aggressive on the initial tac, but once we got used to it its fine.

 

[BigfishDM]

Another option you may want to consider is Tape Technologies' SD10560119. It's a 2.4mil with air egress and comparable to 3M's IJ180c. PM me if you'd like more info.

The Tape Tech material is NOT CAST FYI, you cant compare calendared with cast.

 

[Solventinkjet]

As a supplier I definitely see more people preferring 3M. That being said, the Oracal and Arlon brands are quality products and much cheaper usually. If you can get used to the differences in initial tac for the cheaper options, you can save a lot of money. My boss always says, "3M = 3 times more costly". I know for sure that Oracal sends out usable samples. Wouldn't hurt to try it out and see if you like it.

 

[reQ]

Funny thing is, here in Canada, i can get 3m cheaper compare to Oracal. Avery is roughly same price as 3m. Never used arlon

 

[Jester1167]

When deciding on a wrap material don't forget to include removal in your calculations. Often times those films that are more aggressive on installation are even harder to get off. We had 2 vans that were 4 years old and took 2 days to remove each. What a nightmare.

Those removals using 3M and Avery would have taken 4 hours each in the summer or using an IR Heater. I don't have any experience with Hexis or Ritrama.

 

[CSOCSO]

I would stay away from hexis an arlon. they will not last and won't stay down as good as the 3m. Not even avery stays down as good. Doing wraps for almost 10 years and did a couple hundred cars myself last year i would say 3m ij180cv3 is the best. Avery is second. The rest? I would never offer them to any of our costumer. Price is just one thing. Other important things to consider: Will it stay down, will it pop up? Will it crack after 2 years? Will it shrink? (arlon did that to me after a couple years) How easy the removal will be.

I had problem with several rolls of 3M lately. Hard to pull liner off. Edges are curling. If the adhesive sticks to itself its impossible to separate them. But only a few rolls. Most of them are good. Our shop is cooled down to 76degree. We never stack too many vinyl. We always try to get fresh from fellers.
Avery is good to but it did pup up in extreme places where 3m usually stays down with some primer. (not fan of throwing primer on everything but we do use it here and there) For Avery try pro bond. 3m primer does not work with avery.

 

[MikePro]

switched-over from 3M to Arlon wrap vinyl about 4 years ago and haven't looked back. Never had issues with 3M, aside from them frequently jacking-up the prices.
Arlon installs wonderfully & has yet to fail, leading me to trust that it will last just as long as the others assuming proper install/post-heat.

Avery, however, I don't trust due to their history of catastrophic failure. I'd rather give Hexis a shot, especially with their HUGE range of exotic wrap vinyls, than go-back to Avery.