MAJOR headaches with 48" Application tape!! HELP!

[John Thomson]

That broad……

I’d want a second pair of hands……….sorry as I know that wasn’t what you wanted to hear….

John

[Peter Normington]

Adam
I would use 2 strips of 610, just make sure you properly squeegie the first piece before applying the second.

only quick advice I can give, appart from improvising a method to hold the 1220 roll whilst you pull it over the vinyl,.

Piece of wood through the roll and a couple of g clamps?
Peter

[Adam McGuire]

I’ve been thinking about 610… Just unsure I have enough for the complete job. Basically it’s rectangles of silver etch with 18mm gaps between them. There’s no symmetry or replication in the design for each of the 21 windows it’s going on. I’ve no G clamps, but I have film tube ends…only nothing to fix them too. I have a film (window film) handler I could dispense the app tape off, but it’s not here, it’s out on a window film job.

Is it worth just putting app tape on the gaps between the panels? and peeling as one tomorrow when I apply?

[Adam McGuire]

quote John Thomson:

That broad……

I’d want a second pair of hands……….sorry as I know that wasn’t what you wanted to hear….

John

hahah it’s ok, I could always try to use my feet! But then I want the app tape on the vinyl, not all over me! To be really honest, I’ve begun to see that a lot of this job could use 2 people. Not exactly been easy doing all bigger the work I’ve had on my own!

[Michael Potter]

we screwed the plastic roll ends to our table. didn’t last long but might get you out of trouble.
cheers Mike

[Peter Normington]

Adam
not a good idea to just do the gaps, better to use 2 pieces, @610

Do you have a saw that you could slice the 1220 with? you could even do it with a stanley knife if you are careful, and work your way round a bit at a time I have slit rolls with a circular saw before now, not the best job, but I was like you short of time.

Other than that, cant think of any other way, Any one else got an idea?

Peter

[Peter Normington]

Dont know if this would work?

lay out the app tape sticky side up on the table, taped at the edges,and roll the graphic onto it?

Just thinking aloud

Peter

[Adam McGuire]

Peter, when I say just tape the gaps, they’re 18mm and I was going to use 300mm tape.

I mean, if I had a large panel of etch with a word cut out, would it not work if I just taped over the letters to keep the centers in place etc?

I’ll try to get a pic of the sheet I’m doing and post it to show you what it looks like.

[Adam McGuire]

quote Peter Normington:

Dont know if this would work?

lay out the app tape sticky side up on the table, taped at the edges,and roll the graphic onto it?

Just thinking aloud

Peter

Hmmm hadn’t thought of that! Gotta be worth a go. Although trying not to destroy any of these I’ve cut!

Edit: Come to think of it I can’t post images here!

[Peter Normington]

quote Adam McGuire:

Peter, when I say just tape the gaps, they’re 18mm and I was going to use 300mm tape.

I mean, if I had a large panel of etch with a word cut out, would it not work if I just taped over the letters to keep the centers in place etc?

I’ll try to get a pic of the sheet I’m doing and post it to show you what it looks like.

I would go with that, probably the least complicated method at this late stage, I thought the design was all over the area.

Peter

[Chris Wool]

tape down right hand end of graphic.
a piece of 5mm foamex 50 mm by 1220 or more, lift up about 100mm of tape from the roll and stick to the foamex.

pull the tape of about 2ft and keep taught with the foamex and roll line up and twist the foamex to lay the tape down to start then squeege away pulling more of the roll as you go, keeping it taught.

well i know what i mean 😀

chris

[Adam McGuire]

quote Chris Wool:

tape down right hand end of graphic.
a piece of 5mm foamex 50 mm by 1220 or more, lift up about 100mm of tape from the roll and stick to the foamex.

pull the tape of about 2ft and keep taught with the foamex and roll line up and twist the foamex to lay the tape down to start then squeege away pulling more of the roll as you go, keeping it taught.

well i know what i mean 😀

chris

I half get you 🙂 Only downside is I have nothing to roll the app tape off….which will be changing THIS WEEK! I’ve threatened to make some kind of app tape dispenser for a long while, it’s nearly time! This is the first time I’ve had to do anything in 48". (Explain more when I have a little more time!)

I think my bench is a little high too, just been reading Phill’s tutorial whilst browsing for ideas to get this annoying job finished! Oh and I need a glass or forrex top!

Thanks to you all for making me a little happier!

[Gavin MacMillan]

Probably too late but this may be worth a try…

Get as much app tape out as you can and start a bit on the bench before hitting your graphic. Now get a empty 1220 cardboard core and use it to push the app tape along.

I’ve never tried this with such a big roll but it works fine with smaller stuff. It tends not to get enough pressure though so go over afterwords as normal.

[Peter Dee]

Adam, not going to help on your current problem but might with any future ones.
First, I have found Unitac tape from Victory absolutely horrible stuff to work with. Funny thing is, I’ve used it on and off for a long time but it seems to have got thinner and thinner to the point that just pulling it off the roll distorts and wrinkles it beyond acceptable. I only use it for simple in-house jobs now.
You definitely need to use a straight edge stuck to it to pull it off the roll for any chance of it staying flat (4 ft ruler).
Second, a quick and cheap dispenser using the roll ends:
Nip to B&Q and buy a length of 1" towel rail plus one closed end bracket and one open end bracket.
Screw these centrally at each end of a piece of wood 1320mm x about 200mm x about 15-20mm. This will give you the roll holder (slide the tube through the roll end plastic fittings).
Stick 2 pieces of foamex (200 x 3 or 5mm) under each end of the wood.
Clamp the wood to a table at each end.
Slide your graphic between the table and the wood (through the 3mm gap) and pull it across the table.
Pull the app tape (feeding off the top off the roll) over the graphic, keeping it taught and tack it down on the table just past the graphic.
Use a wallpaper brush to smooth it down starting from the stuck down end and working in sweeping strokes across the paper and moving towards the roll. Roller it down. To carry along the graphic, unstick the end off the table and pull it through keeping the tape straight and unwrinkled. Smooth down and roller. Repeat until done.
It helps to have a marker on the towel rail tube to align the roll end to, and a mark at 90 degrees to the tube about 1m up the table. Before starting, align the roll of tape, then the graphic to below the same mark, then the pulled out part of the graphic to the mark on the table. This will help keep the tape straight as it is applied.
For critical stuff like etch I would probably use a heavier paper which is not so prone to wrinkling.
To change the roll just slide the tube out of the open ended bracket.
One problem I have found with using layers of tape on etch is it can leave marks on the graphic once applied to the glass due to the ridge formed by the overlaps.

[Peter Dee]

Stuart, I can’t post pictures here so have created a new topic in the graphic design forum.
https://www.uksignboards.com/viewtopic.p … 973#291973

[Stuart Taylor]

Been reading this post with interest and just thought I`d add another angle to the whole how to apply tape by hand successfully issue –

I`m not sure if we`re unique in the industry but ALL our tape that’s applied by hand we apply in reverse – In other words we pull out paper tape sticky side up onto your workbench (whether using 48" or 6" tape) take weeded graphic in hand loosely rolled and apply pressure to backing paper as we unroll. Works every time whether it be a 6" x 24" graphic or 48" x 20ft area (need a larger table though) No creases, no failures, no waste – Been doing it like this for over 30 years and many of our staff that visit other sign companies are always gobsmacked when they see app tape applied over the top of the vinyl.

You can use this method whether using a loose roll or a dispenser

Interested to know if anyone else uses this method…. If not give it a go and let us know how it works for you.

[Jon Marshall]

Right, I’m giving that a go!

Some of the app tapes now are horrendous. When is someone going to apply a bit of the technology that goes into all these fancy new vinyls into a perfect app tape?

[Stuart Taylor]

quote JonM01:

Right, I’m giving that a go!

Some of the app tapes now are horrendous. When is someone going to apply a bit of the technology that goes into all these fancy new vinyls into a perfect app tape?

To be honest I don`t think anyone can say there is "one" perfect app tape to suit all needs

We distribute app tapes as well as use them in our trade production departments and we have 24 different products from 3 different suppliers, each with slightly different properties – inc different tack levels, different weights of paper, synthetic transparent etc etc so even we have difficulty deciding which tape to use on which job.

Most people would normally choose a medium tack paper if only wanting to use one general purpose product – After that the decision is whether to use standard adhesives/standard papers or pay a few more pounds for more specialist lay flat adhesives – In our own production departments we use 2 synthetics (1 high tack, 1 low tack) and 3 paper tapes (2 x standard grade paper low tack + high tack and 1 x heavyweight paper high tack for more difficult vinyls)

Horses for courses