I have made several videos about monomeric vinyl.
I'm going to make one more.
I want to see if I can explain monomeric vinyl and especially its relationship to Print
and cut so that I can set expectations of
how to print effectively on monomeric vinyl with a Print and cut system.
This also applies to the 500 it also applies to 365, no question.
In this case this is the OROFOL Orajet 3640.
This is a widely used standard inexpensive, monomeric, everyday use, decals and stickers print and cut vinyl.
Avery makes their version, 3M makes theirs, Arlon makes theirs,
Mactac makes theirs, Ritrama makes theirs.
For the most part, they have similar characteristics.
It is an inexpensive, easy way to print and cut and make stickers and decals and labels.
There's things you need to know with the print and cut workflow.
Number one, as monomeric vinyl, which most inexpensive vinyl is,
it's going to be more temperature sensitive.
My inclination is to run this at lower temperatures.
For me, I prefer 12 or 10 pass, between 110 max and 90 percent density, because of the nature of the vinyl.
I run them a little slower sometimes with an inter-pass delay, and then I adjust the ink accordingly.
The first thing I consider on a monomeric vinyl is, it's a monomeric vinyl
and so it is inherently temperature sensitive.
If I run this product, at 200 degrees at 12 pass at 90 or 100 percent density, I'm going
to have a nice flat, smooth, easy to handle, accurate, vinyl,
that when I bring it to the cutter has almost no deformation.
If I run this product at 240 degrees at eight pass, the chances of it having deformation
are significantly higher with that 40-degree difference in temperature.
The vinyl simply doesn't like the heat, and for me on a print and cut workflow,
accuracy to my cutter is tantamount to speed.
I want to print, I want it to look great, I want it to be nice and flat with no deformation.
Go to the laminator or, the lami, just straight to the cutter and not have any friction whatsoever.
Everything should line up, everything should cut nice, everything should move smoothly,
job out the door, checks in the mail, everything is done.
If I turn the heat up that's not what always happens.
That's number one.
Number two, when you print with monomeric vinyl in a Print and cut system,
and, your, you've just printed something, and it finishes, and it cuts.
The printer now rolls the material back right to the front edge of the (inaudible), and readies for the next job.
You send the next job.
The material starts rolling forward and right about halfway into the curing tunnel, something happens.
What happens is the fans come on in the curing tunnel and monomeric vinyl especially,
it could be because of the nature of the chemistry of the vinyl and it could also be because of the liner.
I have lowered the temperature and it still does it,
and I've done this on almost all of the available monomeric vinyl's.
I don't think a single one of them can do this, I'm still looking.
There may be some tricks I hadn't thought of, there may be a product that I haven't seen yet.
But almost all of them when they come through that curing tunnel, the fans come on,
and if you crouch down, you can watch it, and it looks like it's a combination of, uh, static electricity,
along with the fan and the vinyl will come up and it will almost get stuck on the top of the curing tunnel.
When that happens, it's going to fold in the print zone, and it's going to fold over itself
and, the, the head's going to come out and you're going to have a head strike.
I can do it predictably, you can get it to reproduce that with almost any monomeric adhesive vinyl I choose.
But I'm aware of it, and being aware of it, I anticipate it, and what I want to do is
offer you four simple solutions to fixing this.
Solution one, roll it forward.
If you waste some material and you roll it forward and you have it hang out a bit, that does not happen.
It rolls completely forward, no issues.
Number two, it does seem to help to lower the temperature.
But it may not solve it.
I've been able to lower the temperature to 195, 200 degrees and it still does it.
Number three, you might try cutting a smile into it, that may help.
But I've still seen it happen, even with a smile on it.
One other option which people do, is they roll it forward,
they take a piece of, I, I, like a little masking tape, in this case the blue painter's
tape might be sufficient, and you tape a leader.
If you tape a leader, you're essentially attaching something in the front of it.
You can then roll it back, and then (inaudible) to the leader will provide the insurance that
that's not going to happen.
For me, I think that's the best solution for a lot of people.
I think that answers the problem, simply people have been taping leaders on,
I've been taping leaders on since the early nineties on a whole host of different kinds of printers.
I don't like it, but it is what it is, and that fixes it and it addresses it easily,
and it gets it through and you don't waste media.
So, if that's a concern of yours and you don't want to roll it forward then tape the leader.
Your other option is to increase your price point to go to a polymeric vinyl.
For example, if I run the next step up, or a step up which is the 3551?
I can run that side by side on the 335, put this on the 315,
the 315 will come up into the curing zone, the 3551 lays nice and flat.
IJ40 from 3M lays nice and flat.
Avery, uh, 2903, I believe it is, nice and flat.
Usually, when you get to the polymeric vinyl's, which do cost more, more stable under the heat.
They have a little bit of a different weight.
They perform in such a way that the liner and the vinyl kind of co-exist,
and they will travel through there without pulling up.
It tends to only be the monomeric the inexpensive monomeric vinyls that do this.
So, a leader is one choice.
Upgrading your vinyl is one choice.
You might find some advantages in cutting a smile, but that seems to be still in R and D mode.
Sometimes lowering the temperature will help, but I thought that was a solution,
in all honesty, it still appears to do it, uh, and you can roll it forward.
You can just roll it forward, anticipating that because I think rolling it forward,
wasting you know, what amounts to in some cases, 50 to 75 cents worth of adhesive vinyl,
is a better solution than having a head strike.
Every time you run into that with your printheads, you open the door for nozzles going out,
dislocation of your print head, having to reseat a print head, just, I avoid head striking.
I think it's something you want to avoid if possible, if you know this is going to happen, it definitely sets you back.
You have to restart the cleaning and it goes through a process to evaluate if there's anything in the way.
Just skip it.
Roll it forward a little bit and that will solve the problem.
I want to explain this because I want set expectations properly.
I do like to lower the temperature, 'cause I think there's real advantages,
especially with the print and cut workflow.
But this seems to be an issue regardless of a low temperature, and it has to do with where the fans come on.
On our end we are working on that.
There's several solutions that HP is investigating and hopefully we will have an answer from our end on it.
But for the time being, I think your choices are: tape a leader, roll it forward,
or upgrade your adhesive vinyl to a polymeric.
Uh, I've had very good results so far, just off the top of my head, with an IJ40 Matte,
which I run all the time, and then also the, uh, OROFOL, ORA, Orajet 3551,
and, and, the Avery also, I, I found is a very stable.
Okay, we're working on it, want to set expectations, want to explain monomeric vinyl.
I'm going to keep making video along this theme
because I think it's very important especially for the print and cut workflow so
that you understand what's happening and that you can skip that issue in advance rather
than experiencing the trouble, and realizing, I should've watched the video,
Tim explained it, walked me through it.
I wanna save you the trouble 'cause believe me it happens every day all the way across the portfolio.