c4l3b

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Everything posted by c4l3b

  1. OK, I have access to a team of budding electrical engineers and I want to make a conversion kit for small inkjet printers (like the epson WF series). I'm a pretty realistic guy and will be sure to post if we find that we just can't do it, or can't do it reasonably priced (I hate hanging threads).I'm in the brainstorming phase and understand that the chances are slim. What I'm looking for is a list of requirements to go to solvent. so far, the only solid requirement I can find is that we need heaters before and after the print. So, I have questions. 1. print head/cartridge --- I've heard that the solvent ink will eat the plastic. Is this true? Would a regular dye ink cart for an epson workforce be able to handle solvent? would it be a slow death, or immediate? What about the tubing on a cobra ink system? Looks like mild solvent would be the safest bet? 2. heaters --- what temperature has to be achieved? How tight does the temp control really have to be? Assuming that we'd be using mild solvent a heater on the head itself wouldn't be necessary would it? looks like I have a variable temp range of 20-70C(68-158F). is this right? 3. what else? if anyone at solventprinterconversions or cobrainks wants to contact me, feel free, I'd love to talk.
  2. c4l3b

    small printer conversion to solvent

    "What does the team of engineers say?" they are electronic engineers, so they say the heating is no problem. Probably create a thin heating strip with some nichrome wire and aluminum plate. The elctronics to control that will be easy. Unfortunately, without specific spec sheets on everything they aren't offering many thoughts on the ink delivery side "company is from India - yeh right I'm going to do business with them LOL" Its worth a try "I dont see how that could work. Solvent ink is called solvent for a reason, it has solvent in it and even mild solvent ink has enough to eat through just about anything. I cant see it being a reasonable option really. You would have to come up with some sort of pre and post heaters, replace every inch of tubing and anything that is plastic that the ink will touch. Trust me when I tell you solvent ink will eat through just about any plastic or rubber. I'm not saying that it cant be done, just asking if it is worth the effort?" Solvent printers use plastic tubing and carts. Sure, the ones on my machine may not hold up. I can probably find some that would, or even justify the loss if it only works for a certain amount of prints. That being said, it still just may not be worth it. "i think that this could be possible. i have a cj 500 converted. the tubing needs changed later on that. but the capping station only had to be changed because the old one had pads in it. the new one has screens. the pump had to be changed out because of the tubing. the tubing could have been changed out with out a problem, but i just went ahead and bought a new pump. as for the heads the use the same head as the pigment ink. you just have to make sure that they are flushed before you put solvent ink through it. the heaters could easily but done. also ihave printed with out them because i could not be there to turn them off when the print was done. " This is where I'm currently researching. From what I understand, the heads will work, but what about the ink delivery system. I have an Epson WF30, they don't have a pump... is that a necessity with solvent? I'll look into the models you listed and see what I learn.
  3. c4l3b

    Printing full color stickers.......

    you can get inkjet printable vinyl at papilio.com It will come out decent, but not the same as what you see from the big shops. The big ones are usually using solvent printers or silk screen systems. These are expensive and huge.
  4. c4l3b

    small printer conversion to solvent

    Just found this: http://www.splashjet.co.in/product.asp?productid=136 can anyone verify that it works? The heating elements won't be a problem.
  5. Been using a CIS wf30. Seems to work ok, but I'm still lusting after a solvent printer. Its really the texture of the papillo vinyl sheets that I don't like that much.
  6. I'm currently using Oracal and greenstar for my stickers. They're turning out great. A few friends and I have thought about making unique hand painted/drawn stickers to sell on Etsy. I already have the material sitting around, why not? I've seen a few threads where people are painting vinyl, but usually airbrush or rattle can. I'm interested in brushing it on or possibly just using permanent markers. My questions: -what kind of paint would adhere well and not fade quickly? -should I seal it afterwards? -what kind of marker will not fade quickly? -is there any reason that the vinyl I'm already using wouldn't work? Here's an example of one of pen, though this specific image probably wouldn't be used since It is based off of a popular photo that I don't own. Here's an example of paint, though this one is digital, you get the point:
  7. c4l3b

    Hand painting/ drawing on vinyl

    The hand drawn stuff turned out kind of cruddy. Apparently my skills with markers aren't on par. I pretty much just lost interest and went to printing digital stuff instead.
  8. I have a wf30 from them. Hasn't had any issues at all. Your first post didn't seem bad to me, actually you said his turn around time was decent. Glad to hear you got going again.
  9. Here are some personal ones I've done. I'm trying to find pictures of some of the others as well. --chimp in top hat is 2 layer greenstar vinyl. -- 1up glowing mushroom is 2 layer, obviously not outdoor rated. Probably should have done 1 layer, but I didn't want my phone logo showing through.
  10. I can't seem to locate the pictures of these on our vehicles, but here are the designs. All of the VW ones are for a group of us that camp together regularly
  11. @boosted, Thanks! I might buy one from them just to avoid having to get all the stuff. Anyone else back up this company?
  12. Looking at the waterproof permanent white vinyl at papilio, at qty of 100 (8.5x11) it is 72 cents per sheet combine that with this review of the epson workforce c40... which states 19.3 cents per page full color (down to 15.6 with the high yield cartridge) "Unfortunately, the WorkForce 40's ink costs are high. At the time of our review, the $17, standard-size black cartridge lasted 230 pages, or an outrageous 7.4 cents per page. Each color (cyan, magenta, yellow) cost $12.34 and lasted 310 pages, or nearly 4 cents per page--making a four-color page cost 19.3 cents." that leaves us with 91.3 cents per full color page of vinyl (72+19.3). Sound about right? Add UV coating to that as well I guess.
  13. I've been researching this for a while, read the entire thread. I plan on doing small runs of relatively small stickers 2"x2" to letter size at max. -I'm thinking of going the Epson WF route, seems fairly cost effective. -I'll probably use Frogjuice, since I'm horrible with application What I don't see anywhere here is a cost analysis. I know it is difficult because each sticker has a different balance of each color, but I'd like to see something like.... THE epson wf30, printing full page rainbows(equal amounts of all colors) comes out to xxcents per letter sized sheet. I swear I've seen this kind of breakdown before on consumer photo printers. Any thoughts?
  14. c4l3b

    Hand painting/ drawing on vinyl

    Yes I did, thanks! I'll be testing out standard fine tip sharpies this weekend, but I somehow suspect they'll bead/fade.
  15. I got a siser easyweed sample from UScutter and liked it. Went to Ebay and got a 5 yard roll of it from someone. Compare these two shirts.... something is goofy here. the siser sample that I got from US cutter seems to have melted into the threads and looks almost like a silk screen. It looks durable and feels good. This stuff I got on ebay is smooth to the touch and seems like it is going to peel off before too long. The edges actually peeled a little bit when I removed the backing. Did I get bad stuff or is this possibly just a time/temp issue? (both shirts were made with the same time/temp on the same machine, the same night).
  16. c4l3b

    Bait and switch with heat transfer?

    I have the cheapo 15x15 from powerheatpress.com. I don't have an infrared thermometer. The sample of siser from USCutter melted great. This siser does not, though I guess it is acceptable if I'm more aggressive with it. I've ordered a roll of siser from USCutter now to compare.
  17. c4l3b

    Bait and switch with heat transfer?

    Just playing around with it, 375degrees for 20 seconds as hard as the pressure goes seems to set it pretty well.(instead of 302 for 15 as recommended) It ends up in between the two examples shown above. It won't go to waste. Only time will tell which one lasts longer.
  18. c4l3b

    Has anyone tried the new GreenStar Matte Black Vinyl?

    So far, I've found the oracal to be easier to weed. I haven't done a ton though. Both seem OK , but the oracal white has a nice blue backing to make it easier to see.
  19. c4l3b

    Bait and switch with heat transfer?

    Here's my email conversation with them. Caleb, We receive our EasyWeed straight from Siser. There are several brands that carry a line called EasyWeed or some variation of that name. Also when applying the materials if you were to apply more pressure on one run compared to the other you would get the effect of the threads showing through. -- Grant Smith 888-330-6172 x304 www.specialty-graphics.com ----- Original Message ----- From: "Caleb Kraft" <info@thebrickroomonline.com> To: <emailsgs@specialty-graphics.com> Sent: Wednesday, June 16, 2010 3:11 PM Subject: Contact Specialty Graphics Supply Caleb Kraft (info@thebrickroomonline.com) sent a comment on Wednesday, June 16, 2010 at 16:11:25 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Name: Caleb Kraft Email: info@thebrickroomonline.com Phone#: 417-894-9497 Comment: I ordered some Siser Easyweed from you recently. It is turning out peculiarly. It is quite different than the siser Easyweed I had received elsewhere. You can see the two in this picture: http://www.calebkraft.com/siser.JPG the one where you can see the threads is the old, the smooth is yours. It really seems like an impostor or something. I don't expect any kind of compensation, but you might want to check your stock to make sure it is good stuff. I know I'll not be using the remainder of this roll. -thanks for your time, Caleb ----------------------- I've since then boosted the heat and the pressure and it is sticking OK. Either they aren't getting legit siser easyweed or the sample I got from UScutter wasn't legit. Either way, I want whatever the sample was, so I've ordered a roll from US cutter. I'll test it and see when I get it!
  20. c4l3b

    Bait and switch with heat transfer?

    The siser I got from UScutter pressed well, and the backing came right off. I wish I knew what the difference was, I'd only order that one.
  21. c4l3b

    Bait and switch with heat transfer?

    More importantly, is one better than the other?
  22. c4l3b

    Bait and switch with heat transfer?

    I guess I wasn't clear enough... they were BOTH supposed to be siser easyweed. The smooth came from specialty graphics and the rough came from US cutter. What is going on? Who's got the real stuff?
  23. c4l3b

    Bait and switch with heat transfer?

    to clarify, I liked the one I got from US cutter. The ebay seller was not US cutter.