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Thermal print fade & seams
Here are some pictures of some thermal Edge graphics that includes panel work. This is in reference to seams mentioned in the More on colour printing post. Both pictures have an inset that reflect a close up of the seams. Each seam picture was shot about 4 to 5 inches from the surface. The van was done in the summer of 1996 while the tanker truck was done very early in 2000. Both reflect NO VISIABLE shrinkage to date.
The van displays what Gerber Tomato Red looks like almost six years after installation without any lamination or other protective coating. This particular design has a solid base of Tomato Red with a gradient of Burgundy from the top down about a third of the height. I believe the picture reflects the area with Burgundy on top has weathered better then just the bare Tomato Red and that the horizontal “lip” on the body contour looks the worst.
The entire fleet of vehicles, tankers, vans, trucks, etc. are continuously exposed to the elements. NONE of the vehicles are garage kept; true “real world” experience with these graphics.
Last picture gives a feel for what the “main” logo looks like. The fire extinguisher is not faded, it was originally output to be a “phantom” like image. (A little to “carton” in nature for what we thought was appropriate, but customer really wanted it) Other design elements include what that particular vehicle is equipped to do. The entire fleet is somewhere in the twenty to twenty five vehicle range now. Digital printing is a VALUE ADDED service for this customer. Back in the “paint” days a vehicle would be down for approximately three days to be lettered. Now they can be turned in about half a day, always have a matching license plate, and include a little extra item here or there. If its damaged and needs repaired, a match is made and applied in minutes instead of hours. This convenience and services allows for a higher selling price then when done with paint. Material cost is more then paint, but reduced labor cost allows for far more portability on these jobs when compared to older “paint” days.
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2 Replies
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Bob – I was very interested in your reply about the reflective vinyl print on the "Kint" tanker. (once again I have learned something new from reading these postings 😀 ) . I was recentyl asked to do a reflective logo on a van and had rubbished the idea with the assumption that it could not be done. In retrospect, I now realise that my printer (a colorcamm pc600) prints opaque when laying down cmyk process colour – therefore when printed on a white reflective background the required effect could have been achieved just as the customer had wanted – Thank you for enlightening me. 😀
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Forgot to mention that I took the above pictures today on may way home from church. Also, no InKnowVative based company was involved with the production, installation, or sale of these graphics. All of these were done while at my former employer, Stoner Graphix. 😀
Phill,
Go one step farther. Produce some unique reflective colours that aren’t available for purchase elsewhere. I’ve sold many yards of reflective material to other shops using colour cartridges that allowed me to produce reflective colours that aren’t available from the manufactures. It’s just another revenue stream these types of machines allow you to capture. 🙂 If you look at the reflective “green” on the Kint tanker, it is not an off-the-shelf reflective colour. Do you use any of the aftermarket cartridges for your PC600? Using these cartridges will give you more marketability then those that own the same machine but don’t look outside of Rolands offerings.
As an aside, I think your tag line is “Way Kool”!
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