Printing onto PVC sheet 0.75mm

[Martin Pearson]

Sorry to be a bit negative but you will probably struggle to find a cheap printer that will print onto ridged material.
The encad 880 uses either dye or pigmented inks and for these you will need a media that has a coating that allows these inks to be used. That is one of the reasons why you can buy coated or uncoated media.
There are less and less places selling coated media as the price of solvent printers has come down so much so it is unlikely that the PVC you can buy to print onto will be suitable for the encad printer.
It’s OK being able to print onto media which is half an inch thick if you can find something that thick which is receptive to the inks.

[PaoloGray]

Thats okay Martin, any input is greatly appreciated!
Could you suggest a good solvent printer?

[Martin Pearson]

Paul, I’m not an expert like some of the board members so I can’t really suggest which printer might be right for you.
Don’t write off the encad before you have phoned around some suppliers, you might find someone who does sell coated media that would be suitable for what you want.
Although pigmented inks won’t last anywhere near as long as solvent inks with lamination they should be OK outside for a reasonable amount of time.

[David Rowland]

firstly is this actually going to be a food product?

secondly our JV3 was promoted to print onto thin sheets but required an additional heater and some guts. After 3 years, we would never put anything thick thru as it will head strike with heat.

[PaoloGray]

Hi Dave, no its not in contact with food. Im sure Ive had some samples done on a JV3, I must admit, the colours looked a bit anaemic to say the least and not very glossy, but I can put the gloss vinyl over the top… hmmm
What do you mean when you say – needed some guts??

Thanks
Paul

[David Rowland]

guts = when pushed if they will guarantee the heads if i used this thin PVC thru it, they said no. I could see head strikes weekly on the jv3 and at around £1000 a head, not worth it.

Colours are flatter on PVC with solvent, yes. Thats why UV printing is about but nothing sub £50K for hi-res.

[John Gregson]

Why can’t you print onto vinyl then flood coat the pvc material, or even sub it to a screen printer.

[Peter Munday]

I’ve tried it on my G2, and it builds up so much static that the material lifts and BINGO! head strike 🙁 never again.

Peter

[PaoloGray]

Thanks for all your input guys.
John – this looks like the way to go. I was just trying to keep costs down and make it less labour intensive, but the samples I’ve had done and have produced good results are following your method.
So… basically I need a printer to print onto vinyl then I can lay that onto the plastic sheet. What would you guys suggest? I have very limited knowledge in this field, I know I’ve had a few samples from a cadet solvent printer and I really liked the results. Is there anywhere I can pick up a second hand one of these? Or are there better cheaper solvent printers? Whats all this noise about eco solvents??
I will be doing some research before you think I’m wasting your time here, too!
But thanks for any replies!!!!!
Paul

[Dean Elliott]

id imagine Uv is the way to on a good flatbed printer. you can pick up a second hand zund for about £20000 – £30000 fair enough its old technology and not the fastest machine anymore but its cheap and a fantastic printer

Personally i wouldn’t bother putting anything slightly rigid through a standard solvent printed, i dout eco would have the bite to stick to it either.
ive never seen a inkjet with a wide enough platen to be able to hold flat anything with the slightest amount of rigidity. so head crash is inevitable

dean