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Best equipment for small badges/stickers
Can any of you guys advise on what equipment, printer/cutter etc would be best for creating small badges/stickers etc. I got some made, silver and black domed badges I put on cars once I have tinted them, they look really good and people always comment on them and even ask if they can buy some. I know the ones I had made where done on a PC60, what I would like to know is can this sort of thing be reproduced on a smaller (cheaper ) option, print on inkjet, contour cut on graphtec robo, and then domed?
Another question was what would be best for printing onto clear for small labels, ie to be placed on the ouside of a piece of glass with a logo/phone number on it, more for flat glass work, ie conservatory.
Thanks
Bob
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17 Replies
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not much help here , but there is one thing i do know , bog standard ink-jet is no good outside , i.e it fades very fast…..
you can buy doming covers , a tip maybe to look for PC badges (i.e. for computer cases) , these come in other shapes , and are very cheap…
Laser printing will be fine for the backgrounds
cheers , sd
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sorry , missed your last question…
i use A4 sheets of clear laser labels (get them everywhere)
i do a lot of these for telephone engineers , they wack them on the sockets before they leave , or maybe its to cover the BT logo , not sure !!
they will be fine outside also
sd
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would I be better going for a thermal transfer print and cut machine for this type of work, ie gerber edge or color camm? I know this will be expensive but is it the only option?
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The Colourcamm is far better and cheaper than an Edge as it is 600dpi against 300dpi for the edge.
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Your cheapest option is the Craftrobo.
We did a ton of printing on cheap inkjets using inkjet vinyl , laser cut it and domed it and have had no hassles , you can overlam with clear vinyl as well and cut both sticker and lam if you dont want to dome.
I would not buy a thermal printer these days no matter what the initial cost is as they are very limited (I still use a Pc60 but its only as a legacy machine , some customers need repeat jobs exactly as they were before)
An inkjet , albeit more expensive initially , makes up for it BIG time even if you only print a little each day.
Sart off with the Craft robo and if it takes off , then think about spending the big money. -
The Craftrobo, this is just a cutter right ? It does not print does it. If that is the case then if you print off using a standard inkjet, does the software that is included with the Craftrobo allow you to print off with the registration marks for cutting.
Carl.
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tells you about it here
http://www.artdiscount.co.uk/acatalog/CraftROBO.html
And I think http://www.themagictouch.co.uk als have a good description as well.
Lynn -
Yes Carl it does. brilliant little machine bought one last week, you can get all the details on the web,even download a .pdf of the manual.
I’ve bought one for doing decals on radio controlled aircraft….must get a life! -
how do you find it to use paul ? ease of use, software etc ? was considering one for both small printed runs and for the lad to use, he’s desperate for his own cutter !
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Piece of cake Hugh, I produced 20 vinyl stickers within 30 minutes of opening the box! In fairness I haven’t used the robo software as it comes with an Illustrator plug-in, it will also accept corel files. I haven’t actually used the print and cut bit yet as I’m looking into getting some ink jet vinyl, but the machine has registration software built in so looks pretty straight forward…I’ll keep you informed as to how I get on with it..got a feeling I may need a bigger machine in the future though.
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Took me considerably longer than 30 minutes to weed them though!!!! 😥
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Can you post any examples please paul?
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A bit embarrassed really Andrew, compared to some of the stunning work I’ve seen on these boards makes my stuff look a bit pathetic really. but I don’t mind posting a few pics of the things I’ve had a go at so far. Not sure where to post them though!
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PAul,
It has been my experience that when a person says their stuff isn’t as good as jponny so and so’s it’s because it’s as good as or better.
Do you have a web site or a webshots account? -
Paul if its pics of your own work … which Im sure most of us would really like to see …… you can post in UKSB members portfolio.
😀
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Not yet mate, I’ve only just ventured into this and need to build up a portfolio…I’ve just finished a sign for my brothers new Villa in Italy (he’s not in my line of work I hasten to add) be happy to post it here somewhere plus a few basic decals for people to view.
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Thanks Carrie…stand by!
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