z3100 - vehicle decal / wrap - what material?

[Roscolo]

Anyone printed any decals or graphics for application to an automobile? What material do you recommend? A friend of mine bought a laser cutter and will let me use it, so I thought I would print some adhesive promos for my business for my car (only for my car; not looking to do this commercially for others). I have some HP Adhesive Vinyl I have printed on. Seems to hold up OK outdoors for about a year.

Any advice or recommendations for other adhesive materials that may be better, or for something to spray on the HP Adhesive Vinyl to help it last a little longer?

Thanks

[Colorwave]

I've printed on HP's vinyl with my 3100, and even made some signage that I protected with Bulldog Gloss Lacquer and clear overlaminate film.  The spray wasn't particularly successful, as it was difficult to get the sheen uniform, and it got brittle and flakey in a few months.  The clear laminate worked OK, but I only have a small Xyron hand cranked model that does 11" wide.

Normal wrap and signage vinyl is quite different, as it has no receptive coating and works great with solvent and eco-solvent printers that etch their inks into it's surface.  The end result is very stretchy with cast vinyl that retains a memory and can be reheated to return to it's original size when stretched over a car.  There is a lot of stretching involved to get vinyl to conform to compound curves on a car.  I saw a demo where a vendor stretched a piece of printed vinyl onto the top of a large trash can, then pushed his fist into the vinyl over a foot deep, into the trash can.  The graphics still looked good, even deformed that much.  He then reheated it with a heat gun and the vinyl popped back to it's original flat shape with no ripples or distortion.  That type of conformability is key to using it for a wrap, and pigment printers and vinyl media just won't do the same thing.  That said, if you are only planning on door signage or small shapes that do not need to take compound curves, I'd use a clear overlaminate that you can get a sign shop to apply if you are going to use the HP vinyl.  It will protect the surface and give you a cleanable, durable surface.

[Roscolo]

Thanks for the good info. What I have in mind for my car is small and relatively flat, no major contours other than the slight convex shape of the door. I would prefer to not pay a sign shop to apply the overlaminate. So, if I print my graphics out on HP Adhesvie Vinyl, couldn't I just apply the overlaminate to my uncut vinyl graphics and then have the letters cut out with my friend's laser cutter, laminate attached, then apply the letters to my car?

[mshowe]

I print on Photo-Tex fabric with a Z3200 and get great results.this media will wrap around a flag pole or stick to glass, works great on auto's.i purchase it from Atlex,the price is one dollar per sq. ft. i made a paper preset with the canvas with less ink media in the z3200 driver,and set ink to 80%,then made the profile from this preset,i get great monitor to print match with this combination Milt:

[jasdown]

Any advice or recommendations for other adhesive materials that may be better

Photo Tex is a product that might lend itself to this use, although it has a distinctly "fabric" like texture upon close examination (as opposed to the smooth surface feel of vinyl). I have only used it indoors but I have seen it advertised as useful for graphics on vehicles.

By laser cutter, do you mean sign plotter, and will you be doing contour cut-outs of your Z3100 prints? If so, I know that the Photo Tex lends itself pretty well to contour cutting on a plotter.

[Roscolo]

I don't know the exact details of the laser cutter, but I know it can cut wood or fabric and a variety of other materials and contour shapes.

[SarahNewman]

Anyone printed any decals or graphics for application to an automobile? What material do you recommend? A friend of mine bought a laser cutter and will let me use it, so I thought I would print some adhesive promos for my business for my car (only for my car; not looking to do this commercially for others). I have some HP Adhesive Vinyl I have printed on. Seems to hold up OK outdoors for about a year.

Any advice or recommendations for other adhesive materials that may be better, or for something to spray on the HP Adhesive Vinyl to help it last a little longer?

Thanks

We have a similar product to Static Cling that works GREAT on all aqueous based ink jet printers - ALAGRIP. It comes in white only at this time but is readily available in rolls and sheets.
"White Opaque self-adhering indoor stickers for signage, labels, display etc. The film does not have a sticky
adhesive but clings to smooth clean surfaces like glass, plexi, wood or polished metal. Due to the special
backing it can be repositioned without leaving any adhesive residue."
I attached the Alagrip spec sheet for your review and Please let me know if you would like a sample.

Happy Printing!

Sarah Newman

Spectraflow

[jdoyle1713]

Ok Folks so How do we get to static cling material.. and adhesive Aquaous Stuff..

If These are just letters the proper way is to use colored calendard vinyl and have them cut.
On Say  Summa Cutter Like I Have in my Demo room.. Or if its more like a logo It should be on 3m Material Than overlam and applied so it lasts..

Rosco If you call me in my office Or shoot me an email I Can explain it but the idea you have wont work well at all in the weather and elements from pigmented ink materials..

Cheers
Jim Doyle
http://www.shadesofpaper.com

[Roscolo]

I'm no expert, and I appreciate the responses, but I was wondering why anyone would recommend what looks to be static cling material as well. I've learned enough now to know it won't hold up so great or so long, but I just modified my design. My friend's laser cutter is a no-go with vinyl, so I will just print basically a giant oval sticker for my car with my logo and contact info. on it. (not a big car...toyota matrix) This way there aren't a lot of individual letters to apply, and I can just remove and replace every 6 months or so. I know I used the term "wrap" in the heading, but I wasn't intending to turn my car into a giant rolling soda can like you see these days.

My question now is more about overlaminate. If the overlaminate is just a clear film, can't I print out my big oval sticker on HP Vinyl, then apply the overlaminate film, then cut out my big oval, and then apply to the car? Knowing this workflow, what overlaminate would you recommend? I assume glossy looks best on an automobile. This car has a super glossy clear coat.

I'm printing a sign as well, so I can apply the overlaminate to the sign as well and justify buying a roll of some decent, but not uber-expensive, overlaminate.

I don't have any lamination equipment, but I'm pretty good at applying vinyl by hand and have the necessary tools, so I figure I should be able to apply the overlaminate without bubbles, wrinkles. Especially as I'm not printing that large (toyota matrix is small car).

[pulley]

Roscolo,I have been in the sign business for over 13 years and just as you stated, print on vinyl and laminate. Cut your shape and apply to car. I have some z2100 laminated prints (signs) that have been outside for 2 years and still look great. Now, most of my prints are done on the mimaki solvent printer.

There are many different brands of laminates out there. If you don't need a lot, I would call a local sign shop and buy what you need instead of buying a whole roll, which is 150 feet. If you decide you want a whole roll for future projects, then I would consider Avery, Oracal or 3m. You don't need a cast laminate (expensive). Go with a calendered laminate. Laminate usually comes in widths of 30", 36" and 54".

[Roscolo]

@pulley: Thank you!