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+--- Thread: Printer/ink for plastic placards? (/showthread.php?tid=78116)
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Printer/ink for plastic placards? - Buzz - 05-14-2009
any recommended printers/ink to print on plastic placards that aren't sinfully expensive? would say a normal Canon w/ a straight thru feed path work? thickness would be no greater than a printable CD/DVD, but those use special trays for printing, so am a bit concerned about trying to feed something that thick w/o a tray. I've tested [what appears to be] the limit in the past w/ various card and thick photo stock, and there seems to be a point where the printers I've tried stopped being happy w/ full letter size stock. I'm looking to print on plastic stock slightly under 6" in width (if size matters). Ideally, I'd like to print directly on the plastic, but could also prep the surface by spraying w/ some sort of primer if needed. This is in the proof of concept stage, so would like to use available equipment; no budget for new stuff, excepting potentially new ink of some sort, as needed, to print/bond properly w/ the surface used. I don't know much about the inner workings of printers, but I'm assuming the CD/DVD trays are to keep the printer's working parts the appropriate distance apart to print on the optical disc, and if so, I can foresee needing something similar for this project; or possibly using wider stock than needed, and taping the edges to equate to each piece being its own tray. Given all that, I'm trying to avoid wrecking an otherwise good printer by printing (or trying to print) something that shouldn't be fed thru it the first time... any ideas? thanks,
Buzz
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Re: Printer/ink for plastic placards? - Doc - 05-14-2009
Output services sometimes use inkjets with special films that can be applied/bonded transparently to plastics. That may be the best route to explore if you don't have several thousand dollars to spend on a specialized dye sub.
Re: Printer/ink for plastic placards? - M>B> - 05-14-2009
There are films out there that can be printed on, such as...
http://www.atlex.com/cgi-bin/commerce.cgi?preadd=action&key=0284V352
Re: Printer/ink for plastic placards? - Doc - 05-14-2009
'Not sure what the Canon stuff is. There's self-adhesive PVC film for inkjets that comes in letter-sized sheets...
http://64.233.187.99/search?hl=en&q=pvc+adhesive+film+inkjets+letter+size!&btnG=Search
Re: Printer/ink for plastic placards? - olnacl - 05-14-2009
I never got into this personally at work, but could you use transparency stock and regular printing ink?
Re: Printer/ink for plastic placards? - Buzz - 05-14-2009
I hadn't thought of adhesive films... that would 'probably' work... where can I get 3 -5 sheets to test the hypothesis? $300 for a whole package pretty much defeats the purpose, and if it turns out not to work, it's a total waste. In theory, it seems as though it would depend on the adhesive... w/ the right adhesive, and the right material, it 'should' suffice... the underlying placard will be somewhat flexible, so the material and adhesive would need to flex w/ it w/o crinkling.
clues on small quantity purchases appreciated. thanks.
Re: Printer/ink for plastic placards? - BigGuynRusty - 05-14-2009
Buzz wrote:Ralph, Google is your buddy!!
I hadn't thought of adhesive films... that would 'probably' work... where can I get 3 -5 sheets to test the hypothesis? $300 for a whole package pretty much defeats the purpose, and if it turns out not to work, it's a total waste. In theory, it seems as though it would depend on the adhesive... w/ the right adhesive, and the right material, it 'should' suffice... the underlying placard will be somewhat flexible, so the material and adhesive would need to flex w/ it w/o crinkling.
clues on small quantity purchases appreciated. thanks.
http://www.texashosting.net/inkjet%20sample%20pack.html
BGnR
Re: Printer/ink for plastic placards? - jdc - 05-15-2009
google and some paragraph returns...
http://www.redrivercatalog.com/browse/specialty-inkjet-papers-media.html
and yes, size does matter
Re: Printer/ink for plastic placards? - Ken Sp. - 05-15-2009
You might want to look at having them silk screened.
Re: Printer/ink for plastic placards? - Buzz - 05-15-2009
Thanks, BGnR, google, while friendly, was not as friendly as your link, which looks very promising.