amaterasu

UV printing with or without laminate?

Recommended Posts

I need a couple of printed stickers for cars. Im going to outsource the job to a big company. They told me that they use UV printers but they dont laminate. Does anyone here know how long the print will last without laminate? I doubt it will survive the winter here or many carwashes before it will tear apart or the colors will start to wear off.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

if it is a true uv like roland uses you will probably be good for 3+years  as long as it isn't in a wear area like the font bumper or over a door handle - just make sure he us using UV Cured ink and not UV resistant water based ink - HUGE difference - UV cured ink is made to last on vinyl - many home printers came out with uv resistant ink to make the pictures etc last longer from fading but has to be used with special coated vinyl and that is where the product usually fails.   UV Cured ink is much like solvent and latex but the printers are more expensive than solvent and bulb maintenance can be expensive from what I read a couple years ago - so not as common.  where the uv cured is popular is in areas that require a product made with less toxic materials than solvent

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
47 minutes ago, Dakotagrafx said:

if it is a true uv like roland uses you will probably be good for 3+years  as long as it isn't in a wear area like the font bumper or over a door handle - just make sure he us using UV Cured ink and not UV resistant water based ink - HUGE difference - UV cured ink is made to last on vinyl - many home printers came out with uv resistant ink to make the pictures etc last longer from fading but has to be used with special coated vinyl and that is where the product usually fails.   UV Cured ink is much like solvent and latex but the printers are more expensive than solvent and bulb maintenance can be expensive from what I read a couple years ago - so not as common.  where the uv cured is popular is in areas that require a product made with less toxic materials than solvent

I think it is true UV, but he told me it is not recommended to use laminate on UV ink. The decals are going to be put on the doors and on the rear bumper of taxi cars. So Im a bit worried it wont last without laminate but he says laminate is not recommended, Im a little confused now :huh:

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

We have managed to get by with the aqueous prints by covering the outdoor stuff with a UV Laminate.

Holds up well....the imprint colors outlast coroplast substrates.  

Attached is a picture of a sign I printed on our HP5500 wide format printer on coated adhesive stock

with UV aqueous inks.  I put the UV laminate on the top half to test the longevity of the inks and substrate.

The sign was out in the full sun and weather for 3 years.  

The UV laminate really worked well for this.

Sue2

Sign_Fading_Sample.jpg

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

a while back I visited a friend in Florida that had done some aqueous printed with laminate about 10 months earlier and he was showing me the delamination and we did some close examining and found the area it was giving up is (as other people have said) the coating that is sprayed on the vinyl to allow the aqueous ink to adhere and not just pool and smear is where it was delaminating even under the laminate in the middle.  now granted these were fully exposed to the weather for 10 months but a ink that adheres to the vinyl itself won't do that and doesn't even need laminate for at least 3 years. solvent, latex, thermo resin and true UV cured ink adheres to the vinyl itself and cost less per square foot to produce, just the printer itself cost much more in the first place.  

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now