The fun thing about being an account manager for a digital imaging company like Swift Print is that when the phone rings or your computer flashes that you have a new email, you just never know what it might lead to. A few months ago I had the pleasure of being the receiving end of a referral for an inquiry on printing on clear plastic. While that might sound easy enough at first as with all things, the devil is in the details. Printing on plastic has many unique characteristics such as trying to get the ink to cure with out smudging. Not only that but when you print on a clear surface, oftentimes the end result looks muted because there is no solid background to create contrast. There is also the question of finding the right thickness and clarity of the plastic as well. Those are the issues for starters.Fortunately a few years ago, we purchased one of the first hybrid inkjet large format printers that has the ability to not only print on rolls of materials but also
on rigid flat materials as well. In most cases printing takes place on white material such as paper, vinyl, foam core, styrene etc. When printing on a white material there are set protocols for calibration, color management and color curves to yield a high quality result. When printing on clear materials, things are not as well defined. Through our efforts in printing on the right clear plastic, we learned about double pass, triple pass and LED heat settings to help give the best results in the end.
on rigid flat materials as well. In most cases printing takes place on white material such as paper, vinyl, foam core, styrene etc. When printing on a white material there are set protocols for calibration, color management and color curves to yield a high quality result. When printing on clear materials, things are not as well defined. Through our efforts in printing on the right clear plastic, we learned about double pass, triple pass and LED heat settings to help give the best results in the end.
So what is this all about anyway? The effort above was to help print graphics for a new product called Freedom Gates. If you are pet owner, you can relate to times when you want to limit where your pets can go. Donna Potter looked at what was available and said she could do better… and she did. Check out her vision, story and products at http://www.freedomgates.com/.The graphics for the gates showcase how printing on clear material and then placing them in a stylish frame transforms the ordinary to something special.
The graphics for the gates showcase how printing on clear material and then placing them in a stylish frame transforms the ordinary to something special. What gets even more interesting is the vision of allowing buyers to upload their own photo(s) or art and customizing the printing so you have a truly one of a kind product in the end. If you have a need or an idea for a project or new product that needs unique printing, let us know.
Very cool idea!