CodyWatkin123

Shelf life of wall decals with application tape applied?

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I was hoping for some advice on whether it is a good idea to pre make vinyl wall decals in bulk and apply the application tape. I have over 100+ designs so it would make more sense to apply application tape to the entire sheets straight after they come off the large cutter, which  i then cut up separately and store on a shelf ready to be sent when brought. I live in the UK so climate/products etc may be a little different to most of you on here but the decals would be stored in a dryish cold garage, i use clear Medium tack application tape (Brand: DeTape) and Detape Matt black vinyl. Most of the designs are about 12 inches x 24 inches in size but also goes smaller, I also haven't launched the business yet so this may be something that becomes easier to gauge once i know what designs will sell quickly.

Would love some advice on these questions:

1) How long do decals with application tape applied last before they are no good/too difficult for the customer to apply?
2) What is the best way to store the designs, e.g temperature, humidity, under flat heavy object? etc
3) i would also love to know the reason why you cant store them too long with tape applied? (if thats the case)

It would be greatly appreciated if anyone could give any advice on this

Thankyou

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I have over 1000  designs for sale and make them as they are sold. Designs bigger than yours.  Not knowing what you are selling, but you will only have a few popular designs that will sell. (Unless you are giving them away). There is a ton of  people selling also. You have to create your own niche' to sell, or you will have what everyone else is selling.  Vinyl needs to remain at room temps. Look up the specs for your vinyl.  You cannot have your vinyl sitting around in cold weather on rolls or after cut.   The transfer tape also needs room temps.  The warmer the temps the more pliable the vinyl is.   The adhesive becomes brittle and won't stick in cold temps..  Paper transfer tape is the way to go.  You cannot roll up decals with clear tape, the tape pulls away from the vinyl.  Clear tape will not conform to any curves. And you cannot apply clear tape with wet application.  I stayed away from wall decals, as there are too many variables with paint and wall surfaces to cause problems and complaints. I don't pre make or pre mask vinyl designs. My vinyl graphics are fresh, With experience it doesn't take long to make them. 

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Okay thats solid advice thank you, I may give the paper tape a try aswell. i managed to find a data sheet on the vinyl i use and it says to store at 20 Celsius which is 68 Fahrenheit, just checked the temp of the garage and its 66 Fahrenheit, so im going to assume thats fine to store the decals as its only a fraction lower?, thank you for bringing that to my attention as temperature conditions never crossed my mind so will definitely regularly check temp to make sure its correct, im very limited for space so the garage is the only option so will have to use a heater when it starts to get colder. Thanks again

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Hi again, sorry would love some more info if you,ve got the time, just come back this morning and temp in garage was 60-62 Fahrenheit, the nights obviously being colder, with 68 degrees being the most ideal temp to keep the vinyl, what temp should the vinyl really not drop below? is 60 degrees way too low or would i be safe. Im going to be insulating the shelves the decals are stored on anyway with thermal fabrics etc to improve this but like i said im limited strictly to the garage at the moment so trying to make the best of it so ideally i,d like to know what is considered "cold weather" so im best informed for when heaters need to be on etc, i may also implement a big thermal curtain rail across the entire garage but dont want to unnecessarily waste money as its expensive, would love your advice on this. Thank you.

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You will have to contact the manufacturer. Most of us keep our supplies in our houses/ or businesses, in temperature controlled, as well as humidity controlled buildings.

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Is your vinyl the lower grade or higher grade stuff? The low-grade I think they call mono-meric is what we call Calendared here in the states and the higher end stuff is called Cast. Cast will withstand the shelf a bit better than the cheap stuff. I don't know the answer to your question as to how long you CAN store them, at least not anything that the manufacturer would agree with. But for the record I have stored some things for a long time and they still seemed ok. Years even, but they were not something I was selling to anyone. They were all stored with paper tape though. The clear usually has more trouble especially with temperature changes it can "tunnel" easier than the paper will. Most of us use paper. 

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On 10/4/2020 at 2:55 PM, MZ SKEETER said:

You will have to contact the manufacturer. Most of us keep our supplies in our houses/ or businesses, in temperature controlled, as well as humidity controlled buildings.

I Contacted the supplier, they stated that temperatures would have to be higher especially with winter coming so i guess that answers that question. They also said to ideally cut designs as you sell them as you also suggested, so i think i will adopt that approach, had a fair amount of pre cut designs sitting on cold concrete floor for about 3 weeks which are going in the bin, adhesive seems weaker and colour is also more faded compared to fresh vinyl, which i cant risk for the launch of the business, big lesson learnt. Thanks again for your advice.

 

On 10/5/2020 at 4:44 AM, Wildgoose said:

Is your vinyl the lower grade or higher grade stuff? The low-grade I think they call mono-meric is what we call Calendared here in the states and the higher end stuff is called Cast. Cast will withstand the shelf a bit better than the cheap stuff. I don't know the answer to your question as to how long you CAN store them, at least not anything that the manufacturer would agree with. But for the record I have stored some things for a long time and they still seemed ok. Years even, but they were not something I was selling to anyone. They were all stored with paper tape though. The clear usually has more trouble especially with temperature changes it can "tunnel" easier than the paper will. Most of us use paper. 

Yes its monomeric so lower end stuff, thats all good to know thank you, i may still precut some if needed but keep it to a minimum to avoid problems. i am thinking of switching to paper tape actually as alot of people ive seen are suggesting it. I think the reason i chose the clear tape was so the customer could see the design and place it easier, do you even find that to be a problem with customers? I ve also seen people rave about the R tape 4050 Medium tack Paper tape, is there a clear difference in quality between that tape vs cheaper stuff? (e.g picking the vinyl off the backing) as i have already purchased the clear tape rolls so dont want to unnecessary waste them but would rather prioritize a better quality product for the launch of the business as i cant risk any complaints. Thanks so much for your help and I welcome any feed back from anyone else on this if you have the time.

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You stated you are using Matte vinyl. Not all transfer tape works well with matte vinyl.  Oracal has transfer tape just for inside matte vinyl. And it is high tack.  Also, You don't pick the vinyl off of the backing.  You should squeegee the top transfer tape real good. Turn the decal face down on the transfer tape and peel away the wax paper backing,  It makes a big difference.  If you try lifting the vinyl off the backing, the transfer tape can just lift off, and you lose the sticky of the tape, as well as the vinyl can  just lift up the wax paper backing. Then you will have paper stuck to the decal. Trying to pick up vinyl, may lose some of the design to the backing paper. It will be stuck. Your welcome. :D

https://www.uscutter.com/ORATAPE-HT55-Decorative-Film-Transfer-Tape-for-631-Vinyl

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I have noticed that actually, for the most part the vinyl is being picked up, but depending on the design characteristics it will struggle to grab certain parts, a good firm press/squeegee usually sorts it out but it is worrying. Ive had a good look around and i cant find any suppliers selling tape designed for matt vinyls here in the UK, it seems to be quite limited. I do have access to R tape such as: AT 60 Clear Med tack, AT 75 Clear high tack, 4050 Paper med tack, 4075 paper High tack. Not a clue if any of those work well for this issue as descriptions are vague, i have asked supplier, awaiting a response.

Cant get gold of the HT55 here but Im presuming that tape would be too strong for my vinyl anyway as ive heard it was designed for the oracal 631 as it had a much stronger vinyl adhesive then the cheaper vinyls, i actually do own R Tape AT75 high tack aswell, it does brilliant for grabbing the decal from the backing but is awful to peel from the wall so high tack is not ideal. I also will put that in my instructions about turning decal over, good tip thank you.

Was hoping you could advise if you have any experience with any of those R Tapes listed above in regard to Matt vinyls? 

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As I stated before,  I don't do wall decals, which are mostly matte vinyl. Ask your manufacturer what they use for their vinyl on walls.  We don't have that brand here that I know of.  I use Oracal 651 vinyl. with Main medium/ and high tack paper tape. The only matte vinyl that I use is matte black/ not for walls. 

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According to Oracal the maker of the HT55 they say the tape has added adhesive thickness to allow it to get down into the matt finish a bit better and thus help with transfer rather than that it is extra tacky. I have used the HT55 and it was ok but matt finish is a PIA regardless of the tape. My 4076RLA worked about the same IMO. 

Medium tack paper is good but if you have smallish elements it may not hold them well and they may stay on the carrier. Conversley too high tack and it can be an extra pain to remove the tape after the install. Paper tape doesn ahve the advantage of being able to be wet down with a spray bottle and help remove but don't do that if you have water soluable vinyl like 631. 

I stopped doing wall installs. Can't bid them high enough to make any money. They are almost always a trial. Bear that in mind when you sell consumer install work. If they are putting them on a wall they may have a bad experience that has nothing to do with your product but you will get the blame. 

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