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Printing onto poster paper, advice needed please?
Hi all,
I have been printing onto matte poster paper that i purchased from Dorotape using my BN20. The prints have been quite good quality with no real issue with the small A5 and A4 prints which I ship off in a rigid card backed envelope. However when printing A2 & A3 size which are bigger I need to put them in poster tubes. Now for the problem I am getting; the printed surface seems quite delicate. What seems to happen is i carefully roll them into the tube and they incur scuffs or smudges on the printed areas where the paper rubs against itself. I have left the print to dry for a few hours to around 24 hours with similar results. The problem seems to be worse with the black ink. Is is a case of the ink needing to cure for longer or is this just the nature of printing onto paper with eco solvent ink? Would i require a more suited to paper printer like an Epson?
I don’t seem to get this problem when printing onto vinyl. Maybe that’s due to the ink biting into the vinyl surface more.
Thanks in advance.
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14 Replies
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I don’t have experience with the Dorotape Matte poster paper, nor of solvent printing. But I do print a lot of matte papers on aqueous printers (older Epsons, more modern Canons). Paper surface is prone to scuffing, and the smaller the print (A3, A2) the closer the print is viewed, the more surface damage is seen. Most matte papers are delicate under a heavy ink load (the exception seems to be materials like Fuji matt bond, available in a range of weights, though not as inexpensive as the Dorotape). Lustar/oyster surface tends to be less delicate. Many of the papers we use are in the £10 – 25/Mˆ2 range, plus ink plus time, so we try to be careful.
The solution we use is to buy rolls of tissue paper to wrap the prints. A2 print, cut tissue 500x650ish, lay the print face down after drying, and roll the print with the tissue. and put in the tube.
Adds time and materials, but prevents scuffing, and increases perceived value in the print.
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Thank you Richard, that was very helpful information.
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We use Trisolv poster paper. It isn’t matt, but you don’t get the scuffing issues.
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Hi Marc,
I’d agree with Jamie, I’ve sold Trisolve paper to my customers for years without issues,
You could try a satin as apposed to the Matt and that may help, also do you allow your printers to dry on the roll or do you cut to size and then gas’s off? Sometimes the solvent in the ink can get trapped and wont completely dry if not done correctly especially heavy coverage
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I’m looking for a decent poster paper, never really settled on one. Will call on Monday to get some Trisolve
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We use the 200gsm glossy version. It’s a bit thicker, but it gives good results.
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+1 for Trisolv
We used 200gsm for years, switched to the 130gsm simply due to cost, we don’t do much poster printing these days.
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Sorry for the delay in the reply.
The recommended Trisolve paper sounds ideal.
FAO Graham Scanlan – You mention that you have sold it to your customers, would you be able to offer a service of chopping the roll in two halves? I have seen the Trisolve Primeart paper for sale online but it only comes in size 914 x 50m.
Many thanks
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ImagePerfect™ 2405 – Poster Papier
I have had good results for years.Just changed to some horrible paper available at the time for a rush job. Wasted 15 posters. Didn’t dry properly and all stuck together on the take-up roll, strait in the bin.
http://www.spandex.com
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Because of this issue we stopped printing on paper and found a different way which works perfect for us.
We simply print on vinyl and mount on 220 micron pvc. It’s called Penta 50 and it comes 1295x50m in roll. You can roll it and post it. No issues 🙂
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You can actually print direct to matt white 220 micron PVC, cutting out the self adhesive step.
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Really?? I didn’t know that.
We’ve got HP Latex. Will it be OK?
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Not sure about latex, due to the heat. We use a solvent machine for this, and it works perfectly,
as long as you reduce the pre and print heaters.
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So back to the 2405. Printing short term onto plastic, then bonding that to more plastic is crazy, when there is a subtly more sustainable option.
I understand the requirements to use the best material for the job, and the environmental compromises that the trade makes (vinyl, solvents, aluminium, composites etc).
I get that we are in the promotional, information business, and I’d prefer a sign that lasts 5 years, seven years, that is worth the use of the resources.
But posters can be made on biodegradeable materials. Printing onto vinyl, and then bonding that to pvc, when sounder options are available, for want of a decent paper, ink, profile combination, is just wrong.
As a great man once said, buried in soft peat for six months, and recycled as fire lighters.
/rant
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