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Fading Prints
Well folks it’s been four years since I took delivery of my shiny new Roland Resolve print and cut machine using full solvent inks, and I have just seen one of the first jobs run on it and I have to say I’m dissapointed. It has faded quite a bit and looks really washed out even though it was laminated, so this leads me to ask if anyone on here advises their customers of the longevity of solvent prints or do you just ignore it and hope for the best. Any thoughts from anyone?
Peter
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4 Replies
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I don’t normally advise my customers of the longevity of prints, but most of my stuff is only intended to last three years anyway.
It would be interesting if you compared it with something more recent because I would hope that in the last four years some improvements have been made to the ink and also to the UV protection from the laminate.
I’ve only had my printer since the beginning of the year so can’t really comment on your experience but I have to say that have been surprised by the resilience of the print. One of the first jobs I did was rally type plates for a 4WD expedition company. In discussion with the customer it was decided not to laminate as they only needed to last for a week, the duration of the event. He kindly agreed to leave one of these plates on his Land Rover and I looked at it after six months. In comparison with a new one there was a bit of fading, but not much and I was very pleased that it looked so good after half a year. He then told me that apart from the scorching sun in places like Morocco it had been through five sand storms and numerous steam and pressure washes.
I still wouldn’t normally put unlaminated on a vehicle, but I was very impressed with the performance of my prints.
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Were the prints pastel coloured? because i had the same problem but only with a colour that was week anyway
G
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George it was mainly the reds that had gone, it just doesn’t leave me very confident to sell digital print for signs. It’s ok for vehicles because they tend to be changed on a regular basis but on signs they expect them to last many more years.
Peter
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I’ve seen Solvent and thermal prints start to look bad in 2 years or less. So, I advise my clients that these digital prints should last for 2 to 5 years, depending on the colors used, exposure, blah, blah, blah.
If they’re concerned about longevity, the only prints I’ll stand behind for any lenght of time are 3M Scotchprint electrostatic prints. 3M warrants them for up to 8 years. And from personal experience, I know they’ll last for 7 without showing any obvious signs of fading.Checkers
a.k.a. Brian Born
Harrisburg, PA USA
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