Print Week

This query has come in from a reader:

I'm looking into producing a decal-type product in short runs, which would also require white ink. Can you recommend a digital printing device that would be suitable for this application?

S, via email

This is really going to depend on your budget, and how badly you need that white ink option. 

I called The Magic Touch for an opinion, due to the company's expertise in short-run transfer-type products of many and various kinds, and spoke to the extremely helpful Alan Norman.

If you're looking at the more affordable laser printer route there isn't currently a white option on those devices, although it is possible to get white substrates. Alternatively, as Alan pithily puts it "you get a paintbrush out and and paint in the white areas on the back of it".

That said, it's worth keeping an eye on developments in laser printing technology, as OKI has launched a new LED printer in the States that has a white option. It should be officially launched in the UK next month.

Alternatively, Mimaki and Roland both have inkjet devices with a white option although these are more expensive bits of kit. If you're going to go down this route be sure to look into the details of keeping white ink flowing, especially if you're not going to use it every day.

Third alternative, find a digital print service provider who's already invested in suitable kit and is geared up to produce short-runs including white ink. 

Hope this helps, as always any further input or advice from the esteemed PrintWeek readership would be much appreciated.

Cheers

Jo

 

 

Digital printing companies give high impact digital printing solutions. These companies have replaced older conservative printers & have improved the printing and excellence of prints.

 With white ink we can print the white ink on its own as this stands out. We can also print a white ink layer underneath the rest of your print to give a solid look on a clear background and not a translucent look like our standard clear stickers. We can also print gradients with white ink

I think you should make contact with digital printing companies because they have good knowledge about digital devices and you can also take some advice about printing.

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 digital printing Toronto

Hi Jo Francis! white color often used on clear decal vinyl material. Another problem will arrive when anyone print clear decals from laser printer inks, inks will not dry and soon all colors fade away. Now you can find cheap resources online that is committed to provide customized decal printing options even with white color options within your budget.

 Your reader doesn't say if they are water-slide type decals, or self-adhesive sticker types. Judging by the need for white, it may be the former.

 Scale model making enthusiasts have long had a need for one-off water slide decals, and it's possible to buy ready made blanks comprising white printed sheets with the water soluble adhesive underneath, over a backing paper. You print your colour image on top of that. There are varieties for inkjet or laser printer. The problem is then cutting out the shapes, as the white ink is a continuous film. For short runs you can do it by hand, but for longer runs a digital cutter or scorer would be handy. There's also a dry-rub material, like the original Letraset rub-down sheets. The only source I've found is at www.craftycomputerpaper.co.uk.

 OKI is now selling its A4 and A3 white ink toner printers in the UK, and these can put down a white layer in any pattern you want. You'd then need blank paper with just the water-soluble adhesive on the print side. As far as I can tell they're still four colour printers, so if you want white toner you have to sacrifice black and run CMY+W. I believe that the white is not super-dense either - TheMagicTouch can supply and support the printers but where high density is needed it still recommends using the printers in conjunction with its Wow! heat transfer paper, which provides an additional dense white layer that's bonded to the print by a separate heat transfer stage. These are not water-slide, note.

However, depending on the pattern, it may be cheapest to screen print the white over the adhesive paper in quantities of a hundred or two sheets and store those, then overprint digitally on-demand when the orders come in.

Simon Eccles