Anyone ever printed on Tyvek?

[mikev1]

Hello, I have an Epson 9900 and have a customer asking about Tyvek.  I know Epson used to produce Tyvek rolls but I think they have discontinued it.  HP produces some as well.  Just curious if anyone has used this material before and what the quality of the output was on an inkjet printer.

Thanks,

Mike

[Colorwave]

I've printed on the HP Tyvek with my Z3100 and found it to print pretty nicely.  I'm not going to use it for fine art work, but for the right application, I found that it to be a good product.  The gamut is surprisingly good.

[Ken Doo]

I've printed quite a bit of signage and banners on Duragraphix Tyvek using an Epson 9800.  Looks good and holds up very well.  www.itsupplies.com is where I purchase my Tyvek.

[rwheat]

I've put through a roll of HP tyvek on my Z3100.

It's ok for the job although the surface is a little delicate.  Trying to get dark reds on the matt surface with the HP is a bit of a challenge too.  The overall gamut when using the HP is smaller than I would like, the Epson would probably be better.

I have decided to use a different product in future though - a Valeron based product (VSF from magicinkjet) which looks to have a much better surface - and seems to be stronger.

HTH,
Richard.

[Colorwave]

I have decided to use a different product in future though - a Valeron based product (VSF from magicinkjet) which looks to have a much better surface - and seems to be stronger.

I didn't find the Tyvek to be particularly scuff prone, and found that it got very nice magenta colors, but didn't really push it in the red direction on the project I used it for.  Neutral to orangeish reds are much more difficult to achieve on a Z3100 than cooler reds.  What I was most disappointed in was the tendency to show kinks and wrinkles from handling and the elements.  Is the Valeron as paper like in that respect?

[rwheat]

I didn't find the Tyvek to be particularly scuff prone, and found that it got very nice magenta colors, but didn't really push it in the red direction on the project I used it for.  Neutral to orangeish reds are much more difficult to achieve on a Z3100 than cooler reds.  What I was most disappointed in was the tendency to show kinks and wrinkles from handling and the elements.  Is the Valeron as paper like in that respect?

The valeron feels more like a plastic and less like paper - I think it should be easier to handle (ie. less prone to damage).  But - I haven't yet used it for any jobs - my experience is limited at this stage.

I managed to easily scuff the surface of the Tyvek a couple of times accidentally - not good for a banner material.   Magenta's were great - the dark reds and gamut in general were poor.

HTH,
Richard.

[Colorwave]

Another material you might want to try is DurAqua from Sihl.  It presumably is available in Australia.  I have only printed on sample of it so far, but it is a "rigid" pvc material designed for POS displays and pop up booths, so it has a strong desire to lay flat, even though it also feels rubbery and supple in some respects.  It's another weird hybrid material, and it has a very matte surface that seems to take ink well.  In the US, Sihl is trying to expand their market and freely offering 8 1/2" x 11" samples of all of their products. It is 13mil thick, and very reasonably priced for this type of material.

[GamutGirl]

Any updates with Tyvek? We have a client who wants to do a large run of the stuff using our Epson Ultrachrome printers. We contacted Dupont and had some Tyvek Brillion samples sent to us, but they were awful on our Epson 9800. I believe they sent us untreated Tyvek, so the ink didn't stick well.

[KeithR]

Sroll back up to post #3 and contact itsupplies.com.

[Ken Doo]

at www.itsupplies.com, it's:  http://www.itsupplies.com/search?criteria=tyvek

I use Duragraphix Tyvek----and it worked well on my Epson 9800.  Premiere Art Shield spray after printing.

 

[GamutGirl]

Thanks for the info. I've contacted all the vendors mentioned on here and from PMs. I've also contacted Dupont, and had them refer LexJet's ToughCoat Dupont Tyvek to us. They provide custom ICC profiles for their branded Tyvek for use on Epson and various other mfg printers. Unfortuantely, few vendors offer sample rolls to test on.

[Scott Martin]

I've been doing some Tyvek tests on several Epson, HP and Canon printers and have several prints on the roof of a local museum that are exposed to the brutal Texas sun, rain and hail. Canon sells a Tyvek that's quite affordable so I'm using theirs for the tests - but I suspect that everyone has the same Tyvek product that's simply rebranded. The durability of Canon's new x300 inks shows up but more importantly, the need for a over laminate presents itself. With all the print tests, the ones that are coated are holding up great and look like new. There are a bunch of liquid laminates and all the water based products are comparable, IMO: ClearStar Type C, Eco Print Shield and AquaCryl. Combined with the coating, the gamut is pretty darned impressive for an outdoor product. Coated, I'd say that this is a great option for fairly short term outdoor usage.

[teddillard]

We have a great Tyvek product at Parrot- link here: http://www.parrotcolor.com/store/home.php?cat=460

Great performance on Epson, HP and Canon printers.

DM me, or shoot a note to info@parrotcolor.com for more info...

[GamutGirl]

FYI:  Our Tyvek from Lexjet worked out perfectly.

[gaffdinner]

 
anyone know what settings are best for tyvek banner media on the epson 9900...i cannot find an ICC profile anywhere for this and epson was no help on the phone ...anything would be great....i used enhanced media with matte black ink and the colors were just OK

[Sven W]

If your media choice and ink works, why don´t you just try the Epson Enhanced profile?
I print a lot on non-Epson media( or not-so-common media) like polyester, wallpaper, film, cotton fabrics etc.
On 9900 and 11880 printers.
You'll have to build your own profiles, or test a workaround I often use;
On mk-matte media I try Epson Enhanced and on pk-glossy I test with the Epspon Semigloss profile.
In 9 times of 10 it gives an acceptable result. If I have time to make a custom profile, the difference isn't that big.
Such media always gives quite poor prints compared to the fineart photo line.
/Sven

[gaffdinner]

thanks swen !!! I am looking for that fine art look but i guess with this synthetic material it's not gonna happen.....like i said it does look pretty good the blacks are a  little muted and colors slightly washed....when I use the photo black it is better but the blacks have a higher reflective quality than the other colors...not sure if you follow me if you tilt the image in the light the blacks seem more glossy ...anyhow thanks for your info ...i am new on this site and it's great tonnes of info !!

[Ernst Dinkla]

If it is for the crossed fiber "Oriental" look you better check the Awagami papers, some of them are also distributed by Moab. Pictorico (Mitsubishi/Gekko) has some qualities too.


met vriendelijke groeten, Ernst

330+ paper white spectral plots:

http://www.pigment-print.com/spectralplots/spectrumviz_1.htm