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Which vinyl to buy and where from?
Hi folks,
I am now in a position to buy some vinyl to do some work creating simple stuff for vehicle use, but I don’t know what to buy or where from.
Could someone please give me the benefit of their advice?
Thank you
Regards
Andy -
25 Replies
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andy,
there are many suppliers out there, but if you are just starting to buy, go for a good quality vinyl ie 5-7 year for the price equivalent most of the makes seem very much alike. ring around and compare prices, some suppliers charge more if you are ordering small quantities, some charge delivery for orders under a set ammount, some don’t. Its a bit of a mine field. Dont buy to many colours to start with, just the basics, red blue green yellow and of course black and white.
A good tip, dont let on you are a “first time buyer” If you call company x and ask for prices, tell them that you already have a supplier, company y but you are looking for a better price, and see if they can beat it.
hope this helps, peter -
Cheers Peter,
can you recommend any of these suppliers please?
regards
andy -
theres a couple have ads on the boards, then there’s Cherwell 01280 840297 (no website)
dorotape http://WWW.dorotape.co.uk
Spandex (local to you) http://www.spandex.com
Plus many more.
peter -
give vinyl logistics a try they sell jac vinyl i have use lots of the 7 year and find it easy to work with and nice and cheap !
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Hexis are good and have a freephone fax order line.
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I know I sound like a stuck record, but its all I use, so I’m saying it anyway! :lol1:
Oracal 751, 7 year + polymeric vinyl (conforms well to vehicles, ideal for window graphics and a whole range of signage) and its available from Europoint Display (at discount when you’re a member of the UKSG) Other vinyls in the range are 651 which is a cheaper monomeric vinyl (good for flat signage and basic vehicle lettering), 851, a cast vinyl (mainly for conforming to vehicles or when wrapping unusual shapes and maximum conformity is needed) and 451 Bannerflex (as the name suggests, a banner vinyl and a damn good one at that).
Humble opinion, Oracal is a little dearer than some vinyls on the market, and just like any other supplier, Europoint occassionally have some sales/logistic problems, but overall its a great vinyl at a great price and it does exactly what you need. I’m not on commission here btw, I have nothing to gain or lose by recommending Oracal/Europoint but I really like using Oracal and I genuinely feel for the money its one of the best.
Other options include Mactac, Avery, Jacmac, LG, Hexis and countless others (I forget all of them, there are so many), most of which have had their suppliers listed above 😀
Cheers, Dewi
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dewi I know your not biased, apart from your carrots,
how much do you pay per metre @ 610 for oracle, I know its highly rated on the boards and would like to compare it with
the price I pay for avery, dont post the answer if you dont want to give away commercial info, pm me
peter -
I’ve sent you a PM Peter 😀
Cheers, Dewi
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athough it is not water tight, we prefer to keep uksg buying prices udisclosed. not coz we are all INCH HIGH private eye :lol1: :lol1: :lol1:
but offering out this an that. opens up an easy can of worms for other suppliers…. anyone wanting question…. feel free roblam@btinternet.com -
Hence the reason for the PM 😀
Cheers, Dewi
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Go on then Dewi. PM me as well.
I’m currently paying £1.60 for Avery 700.
Naturally I am aware, as should be anybody else, that price isn’t everything. Service and back-up count for a lot here.
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PMed you John 😀 (Blimey that sounds rude! 😮 )
Cheers, Dewi
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Thanks one and all for the replies.
Dewi’s explanation of usage was good, should be a tips and tricks item 😀
Could you pm me wioth the same info please dewi?
regards
Andy -
Hi all,
Have to say I have used a few over the years… Quite liked Avery but for the past 2 years have been using MacTac 9800 for gloss and 8900 Matt
like them both, they have a good range of colous and the supplier I use has always been 100% for delivery next day..
Cheers
Ian -
quote Robert Lambie:athough it is not water tight, we prefer to keep uksg buying prices udisclosed. not coz we are all INCH HIGH private eye :lol1: :lol1: :lol1:
but offering out this an that. opens up an easy can of worms for other suppliers…. anyone wanting question…. feel free roblam@btinternet.comEmail sent 😀
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Hi Ian just a quick one ,i was and still do use mactac 9800 which i like and get on well with only one prob i find it harder to weed than others i.e once cut the cut or the glue seem to rejoin if that makes sense ,so it picks up the part you want to stay down and its worse in the hot weather
i don’t know if that makes sense!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
rich -
Hi Rich,
I also use 9800 also had same problems as you describe but got around it by increasing down force slightly in stages until it cured it.
over time your blade will wear slightly & will need slight adjustment again.
hope this is of help.
Long John. -
Was going to say the same as Little John…. I do use a little more pressure than I did on Avery but not had many problems like that..
I tried Oracal but could not get on with it at all!!!! Each has their own favourites I guess. One of the main things for me has always been the delivery side as well, other suppliers have let me down in the past but so far my MacTac supplier has been 100%.I tend to use a lot of Matt vinyl for the exhibition stuff I do and that is really good to work with.
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Just remember when checking prices to compare the performance characteristics of the film 751 Premium Cal has for example min outside life B&W 8 years / Cols 7 Years / Mets 5 years
is 60mic thick ( Very thin for callandered film )
Solvent acrylic adhesive ( Not emulsion acrylic)To name but a few
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Hi all,
Just reading through this discussion after finishing late tonight. Funny I was just questioning myself over the vinyl ive been using for the last few months. Im using graphityp 200-300 series, but seems to be a bit slow to weed?. I would appreciate any feedback as im relativly new to the game, been looking at mactac?. Any input welcome.
Mike. -
I use Multifix 7000 series which I have always liked, I believe that Multifix is now owned by MacTac and they share a similar film face. Tried APA vinyl the other day (needed to match colour) must say a VAST improvement on how it used to be.
Alan -
After having print problems with image imperfect i tried a heck of alot of vinyls and finished up with oracal 651 as our main one and oracal 751 when more durability is required! I’ve found that printing on the oracal films (we have an edge 2 ) gives a perfect print almost every time. Oracal vinyls from Europoint Display.
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Sounds like one needs a university degree to get it right 😀
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I have used a few different companies but found the best to be KPMF
excellent service and very generous with samples, they also have a great technical support for any info you need on the products.(edit-admin admin@uksignboards.com)
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We work a lot with oracal vinyl …. great to work with and have no complaints about the product ….. just a shame about the service, if europoint could get that sorted I think they would make a lot of people much happier bunnies!! 😕 😛
😀
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