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White print on fluorescent Foil

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Alex116

New Member
Hello guys,

I have a Epson S80600 with white ink.

Print on fluorescent foil is no problem, but it’s always not 100% opaque on the Fluo foil… with clear/ holo it’s no problem.

My question: Is it 100% opaque with a Mimaki UV or Latex on fluorescent foil like in the picture?

Best regards Alex
 

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P Wagner

P Wagner

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Latex can produce this white opacity on fluorescent film when using 160-percent ink density (this is not the highest white ink density possible). It is far more opaque than any eco-solvent white ink, and is comparable with or better then UV inks in that respect.
 
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BigNate

New Member
coming from offset printing the saying is "There is no such thing as opaque white" meaning anytime you print white it will always have some transmittance of light (but they do sell it as "Opaque White") - you just plan on it in the design so the minimal transmittance is not a dominant feature.... printing 2-sided window clings on the 700W I can still take a mag-light and see it through a solid black/white/solid black printed onto clear cling.... If you doubt, take the best "opaque white and smear in thin over a sheet of Astro-Bright and see how well it covers - even in a very thick layer. or try printing white letters onto a color media.

White ink is a very useful tool, but it is not perfect. I do agree the latex white seems more opaque than others I have used, and it should make a good sticker on fluorescent media.... but if you print only white image and leave a reference next to it that was printed on a different background you will notice the difference as the white on the fluorescent media will show a few percent of transparency....

to the question: "My question: Is it 100% opaque with a Mimaki UV or Latex on fluorescent foil like in the picture?" No it is not - and without first hand vision of the stickers on the bike - my initial thought is that the design of the high contrast bold colors on the bike will hide quite a few percentage points of transparency and you would not notice it... regardless of content, the colors/borders/gradients will hide this much better than trying to find a slightly more opaque ink.
 
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balstestrat

balstestrat

Problem Solver
BigNate said:
coming from offset printing the saying is "There is no such thing as opaque white" meaning anytime you print white it will always have some transmittance of light (but they do sell it as "Opaque White") - you just plan on it in the design so the minimal transmittance is not a dominant feature.... printing 2-sided window clings on the 700W I can still take a mag-light and see it through a solid black/white/solid black printed onto clear cling.... If you doubt, take the best "opaque white and smear in thin over a sheet of Astro-Bright and see how well it covers - even in a very thick layer. or try printing white letters onto a color media.

White ink is a very useful tool, but it is not perfect. I do agree the latex white seems more opaque than others I have used, and it should make a good sticker on fluorescent media.... but if you print only white image and leave a reference next to it that was printed on a different background you will notice the difference as the white on the fluorescent media will show a few percent of transparency....

to the question: "My question: Is it 100% opaque with a Mimaki UV or Latex on fluorescent foil like in the picture?" No it is not - and without first hand vision of the stickers on the bike - my initial thought is that the design of the high contrast bold colors on the bike will hide quite a few percentage points of transparency and you would not notice it... regardless of content, the colors/borders/gradients will hide this much better than trying to find a slightly more opaque ink.
Click to expand...
I'm curious if you have tried 260% spot or UF? It's not default on the list so you have to make the printmode. That's why people don't usually even know about it.
 
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BigNate

New Member
balstestrat said:
I'm curious if you have tried 260% spot or UF? It's not default on the list so you have to make the printmode. That's why people don't usually even know about it.
Click to expand...
yes, I made profiles up to 250% and under-flood - you can still see a mag-light shining through it - though the prints look good. Most very opaque things in this world are slightly transparent when thinned out to a 1000th of on inch.... even transparent glass can be designed to look black based on lighting and relative contrast to other objects - hence 1-way mirrors (granted slightly better with a tint or slight silvering - but plain glass works too.)

(when we first got the 700W I did the old test of smearing some of the ink over Astro-Bright to see how thick it needed to be to not see any media - to get to a level when everyone agreed the sample was the same (not 1% off, but could not tell the difference) as a sample smeared on white media the Astro-Bright's smear was way too thick to be printed...)
 
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BigNate

New Member
balstestrat said:
Yeah sure, I didn't mean it to be light proof.
Click to expand...
yeah, but unless it is all but light proof, you can see a difference on different substrates... the prints can be made to look awesome.... may point, going back the the OPs original question about there being 100% opaque white on the fluorescent stickers on the motorbike in the picture - the bike does not have 100% opacity under the image and over the media. The designs uses good contrast and colors to make it so the lack of perfect opacity is not an issue.

and the 700W makes great prints with a pretty opaque white ink (more opaque than most.)

anytime I get a new tool for the shop I tend to test it well beyond normal expectations to see where the specific situations break down - how light on inks can we go? how heavy can we go? and a bazillion more.... what if we keep using this old printhead, can it compensate for all those clogged nozzles? were they kidding when they said it won't feed 60point tagboard? (.... it won't.... don't ask.)
 
dreko

dreko

New Member
My Roland UV printer, can get pure opaque whites. Multiple passes, higher white ink density outputs... but very very opaque is possible easily
 
Kemik

Kemik

I sell stickers and sticker accessories.
If you want complete opaque with Mimaki UV you could print White+Black+White+CMYK, maybe you can try the same on Epson?
 
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BigNate

New Member
hey, not to bash any printer, or anyone's white ink setup - but please just run a full practical test of printing white behind your graphic (at whatever density you decide...) just to make sure it has enough opacity for your needs - and be aware that likely if you print the exact on different color substrates the color will shift based on the substrate. Yes as opacity increases this color shift decreases - but unless you have true 100% opacity (read "blackout"- absolutely no light passes through) you will have color shift.... and NO normal printer can print 100% opaque white ink.

Many printers can print opaque enough that you either will not notice on most things, or enough that the color shift can be hidden in the design.
 
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