How often do you calibrate/maintenance your cutters?? Is this a issue with printing too close to edges or not enough registration marks? We are having issues on our summa and kongsberg, thanks!
Calibration depends on the requirements of the equipment, but all the time and as needed. But even with everything dialed in perfectly, there will still be some stretch and skew of the material as it's being cut. This happens in all cutting processes, and is why it's important to design files to look good even if there is a little variation between the print and cut!
Common mistakes being made here, although applied ok. Always fold the panel back and remove the liner from the contravison/perforated vinyl, as doing it the way these guys done it could stretch the perforated material or tear it , pull on the liner to separate form the perforated, vinyl do not pull on the perforated material. This should never be applied outside as there will always be dust in the air and even more so when it's sunny and vehicles are driving by whipping it up into the air this then gets trapped in the perf holes which will show up if over laminating. It should be done under cover in a dust free environment . If you over laminate make sure it has the same physical make up as the perforated vinyl or they can separate with different contraction and expansion values especially in hot countries.
Thank you for the insightful comment! We're not installers here at FireSprint. I think this goes to show how easy this stuff is to apply, even we can do it! 🙂
We replaced solvent. Durability and quality of the print were the primary reasons. Also, the white ink is some of the lowest maintenance from any printer. This allows us to price clear stickers very competitively to the wholesale market. www.firesprint.com/clear-stickers/
Unfortunately we do not at this time. We can print and cut though. We have many clients without cutters and printers that have us handle the print and cut, then they do the weed, mask, and application.
Question: Lets say I am doing yard signs for a project, the way we print them here is to first print it on vinyl, then mount it on the coroplast sheet. Now in this case, when I am doing the inputs and sizes, I will choose Coroplast 4 x 8 as my material, to get best out of 4x8 sheet. This will only calculate the cost for the substrate and not the type of vinyl I printed it on right? I think we need to have a way in which the cost of vinyl is also added to the cost of substrate. Please let me know if i am doing anything wrong here
This has been a common request that we'll get added to the next version. In the meantime, I would suggest adding the cost of "Vinyl applied Coro" as a material in the material tab. Let's say a board of coro is $10, and the vinyl you would apply costs $20 for about 8 feet off the roll. I would make a material that is $30 for a 4x8 sheet. Then just add some time for your labor, and you're all set.
Hey Gene, if y'all outgrow the swamp cooler, my friends here in Charlotte at American Moistening Company - whom you might have met at their Printing United booth - would be happy to chat about industrial humidification. :D
I've spent the prep time setting up the sheet per Gene's instruction and it works pretty well. Like Larry's comment below, its weird that the mounting substrate isn't included in a more upfront way. I think it would be a huge improvement for the next version update. Otherwise, this is awesome and I will use it. I've just become a Firespirit customer.
I really like this program. I have a couple of how to questions: how would you quote a job where you mount a vinyl print on ACM and how would you add mask/brapper to laminate cost? Thanks
There are a couple of ways to quote mounting vinyl to ACM. One way would be to add a sheet of ACM as an accessory, then quote the roll of vinyl and include enough time for mounting the viynl. Another way would be to figure in the cost of vinyl into your ACM material. Just make a substrate called ACM + Printed Vinyl. The mask would be the same way. You would need to include the cost of the mask into your vinyl or laminate cost per roll.
I really like this program. I have a couple of how to questions: how would you quote a job where you mount a vinyl print on ACM and how would you add mask/brapper to laminate cost? Thanks
Get your copy of the calculator here: www.firesprint.com/wide-format-pricing-calculator.html ↓↓↓ Feel free to ask questions below and we'll get them answered! ↓↓↓
Wow interesting! That one unit humidifies the whole shop? We only have 3k square feet and we’re quoted $40k for a humidity system (California) and I guess the other question is, isn’t the shop super cold in January and then you basically run what most people use for AC, isn’t the team freezing?
It does a really good job for the area we have our digital printers in. The rest of the shop we are not as concerned about. We are going to be upgrading to a more commercial system soon since we are in the process of moving our facility around and spreading out a little more. The cooler does have a fan which is cool in the winter but we have it blowing behind the operator to keep him comfortable ;)
The machine we use at work is really similar. You're able to adjust the size of the wrap so you don't have to do that 2nd seal like he did in the video.
This is a really great tutorial! Cant believe I'm first comment. Your video came up as the first result when i searched "applying vinyl stickers with mask" on google Thanks for making this!
You'll want to measure the circumference of the light pole, then add 6-12 inches. We're using a 3 foot zip tie in the video which is long enough for most light poles. If your zip tie is too long, you can cut it, if it's too short, you can use two!
