digital print for curtain siders

[Andrew Blackett]

Try All Print Supplies, dont know if they do the media you require but they sell their digital stuff by the metre

Andy

[Martyn Jebson]

Thanks for that, I thought I might get a few more leads than that. Does anyone have any advice on liquid lam for this type of job?

[Martin Pearson]

Try a search on the forum, it’s not a topic that comes up on a regular basis and I don’t think there are that many suppliers of truck vinyl. APA normally get a mention so if your looking for someone else then that will probably stop some people posting.
Plus quite often people ask about screen print inks for doing curtains.

You will also find you get a better response from forum members if you introduce yourself in the say hello forum and tell people a little about what you do.

[Alan.Lawrence]

quote Martyn Jebson:

Thanks for that, I thought I might get a few more leads than that. Does anyone have any advice on liquid lam for this type of job?

Hi Martyn, There are converters in the UK that use liquid laminates quite successfully on printed truck tarps.Have a chat to FTC( UK) talk with Alex

[Alan.Lawrence]

Hi Martyn FTC http://www.ftcuk.com

[Robert Lambie]

quote Martyn Jebson:

Hi all.

I am looking for some help getting digital print media for curtains by the metre. APA only do 25m min order, I only need 6m, so with the lam thats alot of layout. I also read you can use apa white vinyl then liquid lam it, is this true? If so what liquid is it?

Any advice would be great, thanks. MJ.

buy the prints in from a trade printer, printed and laminated.

i would not use a liquid lam on vehicles. definitely not on a curtain. lots of abrasion damage for a start.

all considered, 25m of both media and lam is not a large outlay, especially if the jobs priced properly. yes it may eat into your profit more but will now mean you now have "stock" of the media for more work like it.
if you don’t think you will get more work like it, then buy it in like i have said initially or decline the the work as something you do not get involved in.

[Alan.Lawrence]

Cannot agree that liquid laminates are a no no on truckside curtains as there are a lot of examples all around the world where they have been used successfully for years. A printed truck curtain with no protection would surely be more prone to abrasion damage etc than one protected with liquid laminates.There are high profile brands that specify the use of protective coatings on truckside curtains.I agree that on vechicle wraps etc the end result with liquid laminates is not as” tough” as film laminates but the fact should not be overlooked that liquid laminates do offer protection in terms abrasion and particuarly UV resistance.Some big name self adhesive vinyl companies have included the use of liquid laminates in their warranty programmes.I doubt they would do this if liquid laminates do not work. There is a general lack of understanding in the wider UK digital market with regards liquid laminates. The good news is that this is being addressed by the manufacturers and suppliers of liquid laminates.

[Robert Lambie]

Alan i did not say that liquid lam is a no no. i said "i personally would not" offer unprotected prints on curtains or use so called liquid lams. that’s based on my own experience of curtain siders. i have used a couple of liquid laminates, but in a nutshell, they were crap. yellowing of the print with one, cracking and flaking of the laminate on the other.
i have even gambled on the unprotected route, and as you would expect, didnt last long before fading, scuffed etc.

Yes, your right, there are printing systems that will print directly to the curtain and coat to protect the prints. this is based on high end inks being used coupled by same in laminate and ide imagine the coating procedure would also come into play.
but we are not talking about this in this case are we?
we have someone that is trying to source a few metres of vinyl for the job in question to save themselves from buying "half a roll". hence why i have suggested to buy it in "done properly" from a trade supplier or walk away.
its better to decline work out your depth than do it bad and possibley end up doing it bad at a loss!

15 – 20 years ago i often stenciled truck curtains using sericol inks.
along comes "truck vinyl" from the likes of APA & Avery… faster and better finish. (not banner vinyl)
next comes printing…
large digital logos were printed and coated using liquid protection. my view on it was the laminate was becoming brittle and flaking when the curtain was crunched up repeated all day every day. it became stained looking.. yellow. i forget the names of it now, but one was rolled on, one was sprayed. i now do not offer curtain "prints" as a result… i am sure liquid lams have come a long way from then, but once bitten and all that… ill steer clear unless geared up specifically for the task in hand.

in my opinion, liquid laminates are more geared around "UV " damage, than they are chemical and abrasion damage. and fact is, vehicles on the roads most of their life are subjected more to "abrasion & chemical" damage due to constant;y being washed. chemicals in washing, abrasion from travel, car wash brushes, chemicals from dirt and grime on the roads and more. UV comes 3rd place as far as I’m concerned. or buy in from a trade supplier as mentioned..

printed vehicle wraps with liquid laminates? i wouldn’t even consider it…

[Martyn Jebson]

Hi all.
Thanks for that information, the problem I have is that the prints I am doing are to replace some failed ones I had done with a vehicle wrap material. I had been told that it would be ok to use, as for the cost for the half rolls at around £600 it is way to much to layout as I will not want to do anymore!

Surely someone sells this product by the metre???

[Martyn Jebson]

Hi, can anyone tell me if I can use ordinary white curtain vinyl to print on then laminate it with something????

Thanks, MJ>

[Gavin MacMillan]

you can print onto the standard white apa truck vinyl – it’s not recommended as such but if you ask them they will tell you that people do buy it for this use. I’ve done it in the past and still see the trailer every week or so. It was acutally supposed to be a temp job so was laminated at all but it’s still going strong after about 2 years (I would not advise this though!)

A lot of liquid lams in the past were not for use on flexible surface – the flaking issue is one I seen years ago when laminating an old pc-60 print to go on a banner. This flaked and when I checked the laminate was for flat surfaces only. I’m sure some are perfect for curtains but if you go this route then check first!

[Martin Pearson]

Laminates are normally matched to the vinyl your using so they have the same properties. I don’t do a lot of work with curtain side vehicles because I am not geared up to do it properly so not much help I’m afraid. Like Robert has already suggested I would have bought in from a trade printer who was set up to do this sort of work. Saves me buying in stuff I may never use again or holding stock for a long time waiting for another job.