[Nick Dowell]

I can help here! My other half works for Borney displays, their core business is fabric printing – mainly flags. Worth a call on 01480 456689 and ask for Christina.

For reference mark I’m certain they stock a variety of flagpoles also and I’m reliably informed (from the other end of the sofa) that if ordered before 2pm they would always leave the same day.

Hope this helps
Nick

[Nick Dowell]

Give Borney uk a call- 01480 456689, that’s exactly what they do and can supply 1 offs. Ask for Christina (my other half) and I may earn extra browney points

[Nick Dowell]

Yes i can’t remember the code but Arlon do a wrapping printable reflective so would give William smiths call. Not cheap at £30 odd a meter if I recall but amazing results

[Nick Dowell]

Thanks for the help guys. I think I will go back to the Eco solv route then unless anyone else has first hand experience and knows otherwise?

Good deals on the versa art at the moment, what’s people’s thoughts on this?

[Nick Dowell]

Hi Stafford,

Really appreciate your reply. Just as a guide then do you think the UV option would give 3 year odd lifespans? (When laminated) I.e similar to an Eco solvent machine?

Thanks again

[Nick Dowell]

Hi Jason,

We have had an enquiry for a number of trailers to be branded but not having had much experience I am a little uneasy about how to price up.

We wrap cars and vans all day long but nothing of this size and on this quantity. I am basing on a 5yr with lam, 2.5m drops x 22… which is all fine but just wonder do you price these p/sqm or look at it that you can rattle one trailer out a day with a team of two which means you want X price?

I’m not after costs just interested to see how other people price up 🙂

Cheers

[Nick Dowell]

I did think of this but would you even need to weed the dots? When you peel the main layer of black away it would just leave the dots on the backing paper

[Nick Dowell]

Hi Lorraine,

Why don’t you just plot out holes from a roll of black vinyl? I know KMPF do solid vinyl @ 1520mm wide as do Grafityp.

I suppose the only issue you may have is fitting it in your plotter if you only have a 1220mm machine – however surely the cost of printed contravision vs standard black vinyl @ 50m long would nearly pay for a wider plotter??

[Nick Dowell]

What about a"twist" banner system – there similar to POP UP stands but you can link them infinitely, and they can curve so you could have some kind of wavy wall???

Nick

[Nick Dowell]

Always used Signfab and found them very good price wise. Delivery time is normally pretty good also but sometimes communication can be a slight issue

Nick

[Nick Dowell]

Haha they do look a bit "dumbo-ish" at the moment don’t they.

Sorry to hear that but glads he’s ok, Jacks the same will eat anything and everything left lying around.

I have a habit of being a tad over enthusiastic, when I say an hour running its probably more realistically a half hour crawl 🙂 I read on a website to make sure you don’t over exercise them as puppies as it can cause issues later on.

– What a superb post! I’ve certainly found it such a social thing having a dog, everyone wants to stop and have a chat who you would normally just walk right passed

[Nick Dowell]

Adrian your Malumute looks superb, I love any kind of snow dogs!

We got "Jack" 3 months ago now, he’s a Husky / German Shepherd cross and like you say are fantastic puppies but are hard work – it means getting up an hour early to take him for a nice morning run but its keep me fit also.

This is Jack aged 4 months… he’s going to be BIG boy based on the size of his paws

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[Nick Dowell]

Hi,

If you private message me I can tell you the name of our supplier of the tear drop style poles and bases.

No one manufactures them in the UK so we pull 250 in from overseas at a time. I suppose unless you have a constant call for them it may well be worth just buying them in from a local flag manufacturer in smaller quantities?

Hope this helps
Nick

[Nick Dowell]

Hi Simon,

We produce these in house, I am unsure as to our supplier of the poles + various bases but as has been stated on here a few times you will need a Die sublimation printer to get any kind of decent result when printing on polyester (flag material)

These printers have an excess ink "drip tray" which catches the pass through ink, and the material is then passed through a heated roller/dryer to cue off the ink and embed into the material – this then causes the "show though" onto the reverse side.

Unless you are going to be pushing for loads of these I would recommend outsourcing the print to someone with a die sub printer as they are expensive machines.

hope this helps

[Nick Dowell]

Hi all,

Kate the unit looks like its going to be really nice once completed!

We are currently in the process of setting up a new digital print business and have been viewing a few units this week.

What would really helpfull would be to see how the rest of you have laid out your sign shops / print area’s or just any clever ideas you have on storage etc… I have a rough idea of what we need to fit in and the layout we want but im sure someone out there has some use full tips.

Looking at a few units the obvious first steps would be just to white wash the walls / ceiling and lay a nice "easy-clean" floor.

All the best
Nick

[Nick Dowell]

I know there are a few options around to use vegetable oil, or wheat based inks to add to the "eco-ness" of the banners. Obviously not to be used in your everyday digital printer but can be used in specially adapted grand format printers

[Nick Dowell]

All good advice above!

Personally however I feel if people do a few simple things like try and increase margin on each job by running production tighter and getting more jobs out of your materials then as long as they keep their head up and keep going they will be fine.

We supply a lot of the sign trade and every sign company I have spoken to has said they are still running as usual with quite a few busier than normal. Since December our sales have been up 19% up over the same time last year, I feel this is mainly due to exploring new avenue’s and getting new customers on board. Yes our old customers may be buying less of their usual products but we have pushed another area and worked hard to gain new customers.

It is fair to say the worst hit markets are construction and finance though if you pick a few area’s still buoyant and market them well you should be safe…..

Fingers crossed for everyone!
Nick

[Nick Dowell]

Hi
I think Frank is right, I believe it will only work with a 0.25 stroke line, with the CutPath being the stroke colour. Also the colour set for the cut line needs to be named "CutPath" – capital "C" capital "P" with no spaces.

Stupid system if you ask me!!!!

Anouther alternative is I can send you a working file with a cut line on which you can just copy on to your file?

Cheers
Nick

[Nick Dowell]

We are in the market for a new laminator shortly also. How do people rate liquid laminators?

I assume their main benefit is running costs are a lot less but then you do not have the matt laminate or mounting options as with a standard laminator.

[Nick Dowell]

As I understand the reason they curl when laminated is as there are 2 layers mounted together they will both expand and contract in different climates, as they are doing this at different rates to each other it forms the curling at the edges – e.g the laminate shrinks quicker than the print and pulls the edges in.

I’m not an expert on the matter but this is purely how i understand it.

Thanks,
Nick

[Nick Dowell]

Hi Jason,

We have an AJ 1000 printer. Personnally I find it very good for printing PVC banners, flex face skins etc… For vinyl printing, exhibition stands etc… the output is sellable but obviously not as good as a 1440 x 1440 printer.

With regards print speeds we only normally run it on high quality mode which we never have any issues with though I believe the max print speed is around 90sq/m an hour. We have played around with this and if using the right profile and the right media you can get some half decent results – obviously not fine art quality but fine for billboards or building wraps.

I would however agree with Ivan in that it would be nice to have the option of printing upto 3.2m wide, and if you can find a printed capable of doing this at a cheaper price I would snap it up.

Nick

[Nick Dowell]

Thank Craig,

Has anyone any feedback on the speed / quality of the machine? – I understand it is still relatively early day’s with the JV33.
many thanks

Nick

[Nick Dowell]

Hi Martin,

We have had our Easy taper for around 9 months now but have only recently been using it on a daily basis.

We have found that it takes quite a bit of tweaking to get it working 100% correctly but like you mention the lamination part can be quite an art form. We are finding as you say that mounting prints to boards etc… is great but applying a clear laminate can be quite hit and miss.

The prints that we manage to laminate ok after a few hours look great (once all silvering has died down) but we are still experiencing a few issues every now and again.

The other issue we have is as it is not roll-to-roll you can quite a bit of dust on the prints.

Does anyone have a resolution to this? or indeed any tips on how to roll up the backing paper coming from the laminate on the top rollers?
regards

Nick

[Nick Dowell]

Hi Tim,

Thanks for your reply. We have one of them already that we use to roughly cut flags before final stitching, though we really need – and especially for the roller banners something that is going to cut really cleanly to the edge of the print.

Nick

[Nick Dowell]

Thank you for your help everyone. I have asked Ashby for a quote to gauge the size posts etc… to use and we will see how we get on.

This actually brings me on to my next question…

We also have an enquiry for some projecting light boxes/flex face boxes… though they are to be 1500mm x 1500mm. Obviously this is quite a size for a projecting sign so I would guess would need some form of wire support system?

…. Or just say it cant be done (which I don’t really like doing – id rather some back with a solution)

Nick

[Nick Dowell]

I can vouch for Blackburns.

Great prices, good service and do all posts, panels, coatings, clips, channel etc…

thanks
Nick

[Nick Dowell]

We have used Blackburns a few times now and found them pretty good with prices and delivery times.

[Nick Dowell]

mod-edit 1
see board rules for suppliers :police3:

[Nick Dowell]

Thank you all for your reply.

They are looking at circular posts but I think we will be drilling and then a captive nut onto the post. Thinking of also using a groundsleeve for the poles to drop into so therefore are hoping to re-use the posts (as they are talking 50+ signs)

Do you then think that a spacer may be good route to go down to ensure any future panels line up?

Also do you think a stand off barrel fixing would be strong enough? the type used on acrylic panels etc…

Thanks again

[Nick Dowell]

I have to agree with screen Print, we recieved a tray that was to long, they replaced with a tray that was the wrong colour, then replaced with a tray that was damaged…

SignFab are very good in my opinion. Their lead times used to an issue but they have recently moved powder coating in house and increased their staff so seem to be turning things around pretty quick now!

[Nick Dowell]

I have to agree with Dennis. Although you can print polyester on Eco solvent printers they look no where near as good as Screen or die-sub printed flags.

mod-edit 2 see board rules for suppliers. :police3:

Cheers
Nick

[Nick Dowell]

Metamark do a contravision film in a few grade’s (different size holes) or alternatively we’ve got some in stock if you need it printing?

[Nick Dowell]

Genius!!

many thanks! 🙂

[Nick Dowell]

Sorry if i sound daft but I cant see any pictures? 🙂

Any help?

[Nick Dowell]

Hi,

We use an unwooven polyester material if a customer is ever looking an eco option. This is also good for biodegradable banners!

hope this helps

[Nick Dowell]

i’ve given that one a go but it doesn’t support plt. files unfortunately.

Thanks for the suggestion though

[Nick Dowell]

After speaking with Peter@Ezytaper Spain it looks like a simple fix, plus he is getting a DVD over to us with more advanced techniques on using the machine.

Thanks all for your input

Nick

[Nick Dowell]

HI,

No they would rather have the posts either side of the panel, I have seen similar type signs somewhere…but typically I cant recall where when i need it!!

[Nick Dowell]

Hi Gavin,

Thanks for your help. After watching the video on the website we tried it with the bar holding down the vinyl. This didn’t seem to help, infact it seemed to make things worse. It looks as though the movable bar might not be sitting paralel with the rubber rollers?

Also we havn’t tried applying a print onto a rigid board yet but is this quite easy to line up? and do you have to adjust the roller height?

Sorry for all the questions, just like I said we didn’t get any instructions

thanks again