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Printing magnetic material via the Edge
In response to Ian’s post relative to Fridge Magnets and Jon’s introduction of the Edge into the conversation, thought I’d take a minute to post (and copy from some previous posts) some thoughts on the topic.
I’m another Gerber Edge cheerleader, but running magnetic substrates through the original Edge models (Classic, Trunion, or LE) and plotters can be a trying time for most. Not impossible, just not always AS profitable or enjoyable as it could be. For those that have spent a few quid on the newer Edge 2 model and an enVision plotter, life is much more enjoyable (and probably more profitable). Both of theses pieces feature a non magnetized material path; can’t say the same for the older Edge and plotters.
Here is a copy from a post I made at another website:
quote :Not addressing or considering the “price” issue with this response, just tossing out some observations from a “few” headaches I have personally experienced over the years. I swore off printing direct to magnetic material many, many years ago with a somewhat similar combination that consisted of the original Edge, HS 15, and at the time Composer. The thing that made it difficult was the substrate path on both the printer and plotter was metal. And magnetic material traveling across this path was, shall we say, less then desirable.Only in recent history have I reversed that stance and now enjoy (as much as one can anyone) offering directly to surface magnetic product. Since the Edge 2 and the enVision have an aluminum pathway, some of the more aggravated problems of the past have been eliminated. Some caution and thoughts towards production should still be exercised before “just printing”, but it is much, much nicer. Anyway, here are some comments that may make magnetic jobs more tolerable if it needs (or wants) to be done for anyone, but particularly those with any model of the “Edge”, not so much an Edge2.
Perhaps one of the biggest issues is the lead in and lead out of the substrate to the printer since the substrate wants to “grab” the machine. To overcome this, line the pathway with some heavy card stock or stencil board. While I was at Stoner Graphix, we made some “custom” pieces that fit the lead in and lead out pathway that was put in place when we “had” to do magnetic work. Today, I would go one step farther and probably mount wax paper on the cardboard to lower the friction coefficient that much more.
Anything done to “free up” the flow of the material is a positive move. So cleaning the sprockets is another important issue. Having glue grab onto the material as the sprockets “drive” the material is a bit self-defeating. So having them clean and free of glue should be an absolute must. (Don’t just limit this to magnetic material either)
Although not always possible with the layout and positioning of the equipment and workspace, having the magnetic material “flat” pre and post printing helps as well, particularly useful if doing multiple colors. If you’re going to run 10 feet of material, have 10 feet of the material laying flat in back of the machine and a 10’ path in front of it. The more colors in the design, and hence back and forth travel of the material, the more important this can become. Having the magnetic material travel back across itself on a roll holder is not really desirable.
Reducing the “climb” the material has to do pre and post printing is also very beneficial. Anything to take the weight of the substrate off the Edge is a good thing! It’s also desirable to have a low friction surface pre and post printing. An unfinished sheet of plywood as a table top isn’t nearly as desirable as say a Formica top (but it is probably a better choice then carpet!).
From a production standpoint, attempt to “gang” items to reduce unnecessary travel of the magnetic material back and forth through the machine. If your total run length is ten feet, attempt to put all “Intense Red” objects together instead of having some at the beginning and some at the end of the run. The less the material has to go through the machine, or the less passes through the machine, the better chances of success.
Relative to the plotter, layout repeats to keep as much integrity to the substrate as possible. If, for example, you were doing some simple rectangles, perhaps 2” x 4”, don’t line them up in a nice grid fashion. Yes, this is probably the most economical use of material, however, you have now introduced areas of possible grief as the material travels in and out of the plotter. A better approach would be to stager the boxes, similar to a brick pattern, so the material retains as much rigidity and integrity as possible.
Again, to reduce the amount of travel required in relation to the plotter, invoke the Sequence Plot [SHIFT+4] command inside GSPPlot. This in and of itself can go a long way in promoting successful cut operation of magnetic material.
And as much as I am a cheerleader for the Edge, if you need a higher resolution 4 color process output in a small area on those magnetic, find someone that has a ColorCAMM device. The cost for output is going to be elevated, but the final output should be noticeably better. Speaking of output cost’s, whether printing on an Edge based system or ColorCAMM, make sure to double check your true cost of production. Nothing like fighting production only to lose money on the proposition. There is enough competition out there that we don’t need to help them out. 🙂
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6 Replies
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Bob,
Have you used magnetic material on a colourcamm? I have not tried this but I am sure that it would be too heavy to pull back and forth form the CMYK process.
question posed to everyone and not just bob!
Gav
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Gav we have tried and its not good, the colour camm has a steel base plate so the magnetic sheeting sticks to it. I even tried tinkering a bit but found it to be no good.
Regards
Stephen
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Gav,
I have not personally tried it as I don’t own a CC machine. I’ll have one here in the near future to “tinker” with, so I’ll be experimenting with various items not normally done or recommended with the machine.
I’m aware of a lone individual that has done it but never inquired to what “tricks” were used to make it happen. My thought process while making the post above was more along the lines of printing the image on clear material then applying it to the magnetic. Guess I should think and type a little more before hitting the “submit” button. Sorry about that!
Stephen,
Did you attempt to put anything over the base plate? Thinking along the lines of transfer or application tape or related? It wouldn’t get rid of all the “pull”, but may reduce it enough to encourage proper tracking. Again, just a thought. Once I get a machine in here and play around a bit, I’ll post back with whatever I’m able to learn (and pass along).
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Hi Bob,
I tried a number of things to get rid of the pull. Using masking tape, vinyl and more but the pull of the magnet would still come through causing the image to distort. We even tried using a reverse magnet sheet on the plate but because you only have so much clearance on these machines you risk causing damage to the machine. The only way I could think it could be done would be to make a plastic base and screw it in the position of the old base plate. Let me know if you can think of anything else though.
Regards
Stephen
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Does the colour camm cut through the magnetic???
If not then why not buy unlaminated magnetic sheet, and print to white then appliy it??? or print to clear
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Hi Lorraine,
I does well sort of but not very well, we have done eactly what you have said to be honest but we were originally trying to see if the colourcamm could print and cut magnetic sheeting.
Regards
Stephen
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