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JuliaTN

Printing on transparent adhesive substrate

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I'm in the mailbox number business and I currently do them as cut vinyl. I like the look of not having any background so that the color of the mailbox shows through. I'm trying to get my costs down to the point that I can cut my prices in half and work on volume. 

It seems that the best way to accomplish that would be to eliminate the labor intensive weeding and taping by printing onto a clear adhesive. But I have absolutely no experience with printing. Any recommendations for a printer and clear substrate and that will be durable/not fade outside for several years?

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the roland bn20n is the cheapest one with white ink option - about $8500 last time I checked.   if you try to print on clear without the white ink option you will get a very faded look - the colors rely on the white to pop.  this is printed on clear   the second one is the same decal still on the white backing paper.
you will just have to produce enough to pay for the printer and usable supplies to get your cost in the range you are looking for.  also keep the printer busy as they do not like sitting and the heads clog when not used. every day it will cycle ink thru the heads about 4 times a day into a waste ink tank to throw away.

on a black mailbox or most colors the image will not show well either without the white ink as a background color

for outdoor durability the 3 main options are solvent printer, latex or thermo resin like the gerber edge

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Thanks, that's exactly the sort of direction I was looking for. Printing white is an absolute must (white is probably half of the market). Looked at the Gerber online and the option to print metallics is a huge plus. It would definitely be an investment but I'm excited about the possibilities. 

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After doing an hour or so of research, I'm starting to get a feel for the pros/cons of the different processes, anyone feel free to chime in and correct any misconceptions: 

  • Gerber/thermal seems to be best for spot color and typically requires changing out the foils between colors. Metallics available. Low maintenance. 
  • Solvents print full color. Inks clog if they aren't used quite often. Prints take a while to dry and offgas during that time and a couple of days after. Requires a ventilation system. Metallics available. 
  • Latex prints full color with prints that are dry off the press with no need for ventilation but require a 220 line. No metallics. 

Can anyone give me a feel for the cost of consumables for the different options?

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