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Out gassing advice
Hi all
I just wanted to ask a quick question re out gassing. There is the potential that we may see a ramp up of our volumes in the next few weeks so just thinking about adjusting out work flow for out gassing our printed graphics (which are subsequently contour cut).
Without getting into a debate whether it’s required or not (our testing of our own media suggests it definitely is to eradicate edge curl), at present once the graphics are printed they are sheeted off and left on drying racks with a fan blowing at the them to help encourage the removal of solvents.
Given potential volumes we’re looking at this will take up far too much space. Our intention is to therefore use a take-up roll to take up graphics as they come up. Once we’ve finished a print run to sheet off and take the graphics on the roll and stick them on a media storage rack (preferably one with a open floor) – not tieing up the roll to let it unroll a little. In order to speed up out gassing, I’m planning to situate this against a wall and then to have some fans above blowing air downwards to speed up the outgassing time.
I just wondered if all of the above sounded sensible or if there’s another approach to take? In addition, if anyone uses a similar technique to the above what kind of outgassing times can you get down to (let’s assume a heavy print job for the sake of argument!)?
Last but not least, I have seen something like this on the market:
http://www.cutterpros.com/Yellotools-Boost-Box-ECO.htm
Anyone used one? I’m struggling to see why you can’t mock something like that up yourself for a fraction of the cost, unless I’m missing something!
Any thoughts always much appreciated!
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8 Replies
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I’ve always used a take up roll. I’d normally allow 24 hours before laminating but with daft deadlines I have regularly printed, laminated and mounted same day. Have had no problems over the years. I suppose it depends on inks used, vinyls and heat ventilation in printing area
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you can eradicate out gassing times completely by investing in a latex printer… and a cutter….they are not so expensive nowadays.
those yellow things would take up room even if you are not using them
good luck
Cheryl -
Sounds like you need a Lightbar! You could get the stickers printed and cut immediately, totally dry and no curl. Now that I have one installed it seems the obvious choice for the situation you describe.
Lorraine
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Thanks all for your thoughts!
As suggested the ideal route would be to remove the need for outgassing completely! We currently use a Roland solvent machine so we’ve been thinking for simplicity of running with the same brand, but they appear to be behind on the latex market, and the UV is potentially to large an investment for now. Ive not really researched latex too much -what are the general pros and cons?
The lightbar option is interesting, I actually came across it recently. Is it literally a case of as soon as it’s printedts cured instantly on the UV and can cut immediately? The only potential issue is that we’ll need a minimum print speed of about 10-12 m2, and from what I could tell the machines that can be fitted with that might not quite get there?
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Hi Michael, I have no idea about print speed, I’d suggest calling Colorific to discuss it. It is a very low-cost alternative to purchasing a new machine, if you are prepared to do all your printing with UV inks (and I cannot see a reason why not).
Yes, inks are cured ready to cut as soon as they have passed through the lightbar. -
A quick further practical thought for those who use a take-up roll.
I expect whichever way we will go we’ll be taking up this option to allow for longer continuous print runs. The workflow is then to likely involve separate cutter to allow for simultaneous printing and cutting.
I just wondered how this works with ensuring the crop marks are the right way round. i’m imagining the media coming out front ways and rolling on the take up roll, but then clearly loading this on to the cutter the crop marks will be backwards. Is this just a case of rolling the media backwards onto an empty core which can then be loaded onto the cutter? If so what’s the best way to get it on the empty core – we have a tape dispenser on one of our benches which I’m imagining we can use for this…
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That drier option looks like one of these 🙂 http://www.amazon.co.uk/s/?ie=UTF8&keyw … m4xobtk7_b
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Hi all
Thanks for all your thoughts so far. Having done some further research we’re now heavily thinking about moving to latex. After working out the outgassing space alone that we would need would mean it would be a significant saving, not to mention a nice steady workflow (rather than inventory piling up in the curing phase).
The machine we’re looking at is the HP Latex 310. I’m aware these are relatively new but I just wondered if anyone has used one and what they thought? We’re hopefully running a demo on one in a couple of weeks.
In general, I’m aware of all the positives of latex but there must be some downsides. When we looked for a previous investment about 2 years ago they appeared to be heat and lack of media, but those two issues appear to have reduced with the 3rd gen of machines and wider availability of media that is both latex and eco-solvent compatible.
What are the general negatives of latex there (there must be some otherwise surely everyone would use them!)?
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