has anyone used colour laser vinyl?

[David Rowland]

the reason why you cannot use coated materials through a laser printer is that it damages the drum that it passes under… a laser printer lasts longer when uses non-glossy/non-coated materials like photocopier paper.

Also, using some sticky labels through printers can be an issue if they start peeling, if something peels and sticks on the drum, you will need a new drum.

Using vinyl (like the vinyl we stick on vehicles/digital printing)… i cannot see a colour laser working with it, particulrly if it is going outdoors.

[Stephen Morriss]

I’ve used normal vinyl through my HP colour laser, it can be a little problematic because of the heat but thecolours come out good, problem is they are only on the top of the vinyl and you can scratch it off with little effort.
I would guess that if this vinyl is made for laser printers then it should be ok, ring them and ask.
Also let us know the result.

You could give it a go when your drum is coming to the end of it’s life, should have nothing to loose then.

Steve

[Karl]

Hi,
LG signs sell products solely for Lasers printers including A4 white /clear vinyl, never used it yet. Ordered some to use on a OKI Laser will keep you posted with results.
Karl.

[Hugh Potter]

hi Karl, welcome to the site !

i’d be interested as to how you get on with this, i want to do small runs of printed stickers, but cannot justify the outlay on a big print cut machine (i sub big stuff out anyways), it would only be used for small runs, and a laser printer is a whole lot cheaper than a print cutter !

keep us informed !!
H

[Peter Normington]

Hugh
the magic touch do a laser printable material, but it works out expensive.
they modify epson lasers to work with their products. It may be ok if you are also thinking of doing tee shirts ans pro mo gifts though. we used to have the printer, press and mug equipment. all good stuff but you need to have enough demand to justify the set up.

http://www.themagictouch.co.uk/store/er … edReferrer

Peter

[John Robinson]

I have used both the LG media and The Magic Touch CL media in my OKI C5250 and in my opinion the colour definition and scratch resistance of the CL media is marginally better for use in this machine. Both media are polyester as opposed to vinyl as this is better able to withstand the heat of a laser or (in the case of the OKI) an LED printer. If you are thinking of buying an OKI Hugh you need to know that there will be a slight greying of any white areas of the media as it passes through the machine, but in most cases it is hardly noticeable unless you compare it with unused media of the same type.

[steven differ]

Hi,

I ‘ve been through a few packs of the magic touch cl paper, your right it is expensive. After reading the message above about putting regular vinyl through a laser i tried it….it worked and results appear to be better than cl paper. simply cover it in clear vinyl and it will last!!

[Chris Wool]

normally the s/a materials for lasers are polyester very low quality but do work well, they can stand the heat better than what we call normal vinyl.
putting normal vinyl through could end up with a mess in the fuser.

chris

[Harry Cleary]

anyone used this stuff?

http://www.folex.co.uk/prod.php?id=96&catp=3&cat=10009

[Steve McAdie]

Grafityp used to do white & clear A4 sheets for laser printing. Had a sheet as sample and printed up some labels for testing they have lasted over 7 yrs outside and still look good however the scratch resistance was cr@p, print came off very easily using fingernail.

Steve

[Jamie Kimp]

I am going to have a go at Laminating them, hopefully this will make them as good as

[Colin Crow]

The grafityp material was was good and proper vinyl but they stopped importing it or it was stopped being manufactured in Germany (i think) some time ago. We used loads of it through both laser copiers and laser printers with too many problems with print or printer.

The CL media and other polyesters take a print OK but they are too rigid to conform to anything but a flat surface and the as with all polyesters the adhesive isnt great.

It is possible to use some grades of vinyl produced for screen printing. This is coated to accept inks and works to some degree with the polyester toners in most colour lasers. The trick to making it stay on the vinyl is to heat again through a laminating machine on highest setting using a release sheet.

However, prior to buying our solvent printers we discovered a way to make our own laser printable vinyl from our favourite stock vinyl (Oracal 751) which performs just like normal vinyl and worked through every colour laser we tried. I don’t want to post this secret on an open forum but if any members want to PM me I can give some advice or costs for the manufacture?

Colin

[John Childs]

Oops.

Posted in wrong place. 😳

[Leon Gateno]

Colin.

I’m very interested in making any vinyl work on laser. We have some vendors here but they are way to expensive. How can I contact you ?

Leon