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‘Printed’ Roller Blinds
Anyhoo. I do a load of these custom blinds for my parent company. Usually just opening times but sometimes a set of company logos or unusual design.
We don’t go the screen print direction as set up charges would remove any profit and create long lead times – and digital print limits the material types to be chosen from. So I resorted to metallic paints & vinyl masks.
Perfect results every time, no bleed, no runs & colours can be blended to give different intensities or even two or three tone gradients. just requires a couple of minutes masking…perfect masking!(ps. Thanks for the help with the font ID.)
1. Mask laid
2. Fist colour ready
3. First colour sprayed
4/5/6. Second & third sprayed. (third colour blended over second)
7. Closeup
8. Comparison to pre-production sample (client changed burgundy to brown)
9. Finished articles. All apx. 1200 wide. Logos 600x735mm
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6 Replies
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Very interesting Dave, thanks for showing us.
What type of metalic paint do you use, do you use spray cans or a gun?Peter
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what types of material have you found for this type of work David?
I have only found one material so far (thanks to Nik for her initial help) which i digi print onto.
I have only recently started printing the roller blinds (2 so far) one was a test piece for our own use which was a full colour print of a tropical seaside scene with palm trees & the 2ND was a 3 colour logo similar idea to yours. They both turned out very nice & customer was happy with his.Would certainly like to do more of these, just need to convince customers that they need one. 😀
Have you actually tried digi printing the different materials that you have?
Don’t know if you have a digi printer but if you haven’t i would gladly run test pieces for you (f.o.c.) if you sent me sample pieces for me to try.Your work looks good by the way.
L J
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Thanks Peter.
I used to use a proper airbrush, but gave up due to the low capacity (50ml) and as the nozzles on most commercial spray cans give a good output/pattern these days for simple stuff like this. Besides, the area covered with the greens used about 500ml (incl. overspray) so there was no way I was airbrushing that!
Yes, standard metallic base car paints in tins. Totally permanent, fade free & good opacity with just enough coverage to colour the fabrics yet not create a painted layer as these will/are rolled up daily.As I did each blind one at a time on this batch, and not all one colour at a time (due to space), using the tins works out best. Also why I kept the reference sample close by to match the shades….you can put it on…but you can’t take it off :lol1:
ps. Have tried non-metallic, doesn’t work too well for some reason. Would like a proper spray gun, but can’t be bothered with all the cleaning & flushing!
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I use standard 100% polyester roller blind fabrics that the ‘blinds side’ of the co. send up to me semi finished. Most of them work fine, the ONLY problem being that the mask won’t adhere well to the cheap or heavily embossed stuff so take forever to do, (I tell them, but they keep selling it!!) and I stay clear of the PVC backed ‘ban-light’ as I can’t guarantee the lifespan of the print.
I don’t have a digi-printer, but have a (very) local supplier that can and has done a few jobs/samples on various materials. The ‘blind’ fabric he uses is a bit too lightweight, however the heavier canvas has generated some interest internally and the prices are good too.
I’m not sure he’d be too keen on putting ‘mystery material’ through his kit, but if you PM/Email me your contact details I could probably get a sample of plain fabric sent out in the post for you to play with. I’d suggest contacting your local (roller) blind manufacturer to see if they can help you with assembly/supplies etc. -
email sent David. thanks, could be interesting.
L J
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quote David Rogers:I’d suggest contacting your local (roller) blind manufacturer to see if they can help you with assembly/supplies etc.
That’s what i do David, but he is very long winded if you know what i mean. So will have to try another one next time.
L J
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