can i appply clear vinyl to clear plastic?

[Robert Lambie]

quick reply mate..
im no expert but i do, do engraving on our router.
the tags are not a problem. easy done. engraving and back filling with ink isnt a problem eather. but give the customer the option. vinyl is far more simple, but depending on whats going onto the tags the vinyl maybe more hassle and come off depending on the use.
on the other hand i would think engraving on a router both sides maybe a bit more hassle for the supplier but not impossible. just more time consuming. so more costly in the end.

i know there will be more guys on here with better knowledge of this & im sure will help better .. best of luck mate.

[Nigel Fraser]

Paul,

Sounds like an ideal job for a laser engraver to me. I did some of these a while back for a casino (gaming chips) which were double sided and paint filled. Just a word of warning though – my customer was quite shocked by the price of these, but when you look at the labour involved in paint filling them all its not going to be cheap. My guess would be about £3.50 each approx if thats any help.

Nigel

[Paul Blackwell]

Thanks for your Help.

Could somebody explain the process of paint filling as I have never done it before.

Also how deep do you have to engrave for paint filling.

Thanks again

Paul

[Rodney Gold]

Use a single flute V cutter for both (or laser engrave)
The general rule of thumb (rule of thumb comes from the fact you couldn’t beat your wife with a rod thicker than your thumb) is the cutter width is 1/7th of the text height.
The single sided tag can be engraved on clear acrylic (cast is the best , extruded acrylic is very stressed and doesnt engrave nicely ) and paint filled with a paint WITHOUT solvents (acrylic or water based paint) , if you fill with solvent based paint and take the excess off with thinners or meths , the perspex which is stressed du to the engraving operation and cutting/drilling will develop stress cracks.
For the double sided tags , I would use engraving laminate which is a coloured “cap” or “skin” over another base colour (like yellow capped on a red substrate that shows red when the yellow cap is engraved through). You get 2 types , one with a very thin cap that can be very finely engraved and one with a thicker cap for much more durability.
Double these up back to back using the thick cape material.
As to colour filling , the broader the engraving stroke , the deeper the cut must be to hold a paint , .5-1mm should do. You “flood” the disc with the paint and use a piece of cardboard cut with a straight edge to wipe off excess , make sure you get as much paint off as possible , especially edges.
If you were using duco’s or a solvent based paint (like used on on brass, ally or SS) you wrap a square of perspex or whatever in t-shirt type cloth and moisten it with meths and pass it over the surface (sort of like a moist sanding block) and the excess paint will come off the surface without pulling the dried paint in the grooves out. Dont use thinners as it tends to mar the surface of the paint in the grooves.
For acrylic paints , just moisten the cloth with water or use a water/handy andy solution.
On a fiddly job like that , 10-15x material cost is a good starting point , and even that might be cheap.
The vinyl option is as fiddly and is not at all durable especially if the tabs are being handled. Generally if a customer specifies engraving , its due to durability issues.

[Paul Blackwell]

Thanks for your help, it will be very useful in the future.

Paul