Can you print vynil with an epson or HP printer

[Bulldog1929]

Okay, I'm dumb as dumb can be when it comes to digital printing. What I want to know is- are there any printers other than Roland, Mimaki & Mutaugh [sp] that you can use to print on vynil?
I've been reading about epsons, Encad,Hp & such. Can you vynil print on them? And, if so- the proper price ranges for one.

I've been in the t-shirt biz for 16 and have been expanding my biz . I would really appreciate any & all help.
Thanks
Mike

 

[ChiknNutz]

You can print on coated VINYL with printers such as the HP5500, but the associated mat'l costs are a bit higher.

 

[Bulldog1929]

Thank you for getting back with me, I really do appreciate that. Your answer and reply portrays your professionalism.
After posting this inquiry, I did a more indepth search and came up with some good info.
I take great pride in our t-shirt biz. It has to be done perfectly; right design-right color= a very pleased and repeat customer. But, it's come to a point in time where we need to diversify and printing decals,signs & banners do interest me. Yeah, I bought one of those cheaper cutters last Christmas. I knew that it wasn't professionsl hi-grade, but good enough for me to learn on and make enough money to pay for it.
I'm not a young man, try near senior citizen, but enjoy working and don't plan on retiring anytime soon. My wife and I will continue to work as long as our health allows us. We enjoy our customers and they definately pay our bills.

Anyway, Merry Christmas & thanks again,

Mike

 

[Samm]

Okay, I'm dumb as dumb can be when it comes to digital printing. Mike

Mike - that makes two of us!!!! I have all sorts of questions such as yours as well!

Sam

 

[Bill Modzel]

Mike,
You CAN print on pre-treated vinyl with those printers. It costs much more that "regular" vinyl that you could use with a solvent printer. It would also be a temporary decal. Even with lamination you may get a year out of it outdoors. Guess it depends on what you are trying to market as a final product.

 

[Billct2]

Choosing the right printer depends on what you want to use it for.
A Gerber Edge (used) may be just right for you.

 

[rcook99]

Mike, I am also looking at buying a printer for doing indoor prints but would like to be able to offer some outdoor stuff as well. I have been looking at the EPSONS as you can run banner material through them but the downfall is the short outdoor life. At this time I don't have the need for the Eco-sol or full Solvent based printers.

As far as being able to do stickers and banners in a full print and cut style you may want to look at the Roland or the Summa. They both print and contour cut which is nice for small stickers, the primary difference is the Summa has no mess as it is a thermal printer and does not need to be vented. Yes the per piece cost is higher but no inks to mess with as the Summa uses ribbons.

Good luck on your search and glad to see you working at such a young age.:Big Laugh It keeps people young.

I am not there but in about another 25 I will be.

I have never looked at the Gerbers but have heard alot about them as far as making stickers. They had a lot of nice toys at the AC show last weekend.

RCook

 

[elliot]

Well I'm a newbie but what I know is that HP, Epson and Canons printers use pigment inks, so you need coated material and outdoor jobs need lamination and the ink and supplies are much more expensive. The only positive think that I see is that the output quality (dpi) is superior to prints for indoor jobs like photographics posters, trade shows and [SIZE=-1]Glicee[/SIZE] art. Sihl make good vinyl to this pigments printers.

On overall I think that with a solvent ink printer (Mutoh, Roland, Mimaki) you cover all the bases on indoor & outdoor jobs.

 

[ChiknNutz]

The HP 5500 (and it's successors) has the option of using UV inks to get some outdoor durability. The tradeoff is not quite as good of color representation, but since it is a 6-color machine (many eco-sol printers are 4-color) you do get some better colors anyway. Still, the mat'l costs are higher, but may be suitable for your needs. I've never owned one of these, but have researched them some.

 

[d fleming]

Well I'm a newbie but what I know is that HP, Epson and Canons printers use pigment inks, so you need coated material and outdoor jobs need lamination and the ink and supplies are much more expensive. The only positive think that I see is that the output quality (dpi) is superior to prints for indoor jobs like photographics posters, trade shows and [SIZE=-1]Glicee[/SIZE] art. Sihl make good vinyl to this pigments printers.

On overall I think that with a solvent ink printer (Mutoh, Roland, Mimaki) you cover all the bases on indoor & outdoor jobs.

Started with Encad then Epson 9500 now Seiko and HP. Everything changed when I went to solvent printing. Been screenprinting forever so I understand the properties of solvent ink pretty well so the learning curve wasn't that bad by the time I switched from pigment to solvent. The 9500 is now used for films and the kids school projects. Both my solvent printers run all day and then some. They have changed the way we do quite a bit of things and have drastically increased my business. Most of our prints are either banners ( I'm doing a run of 25 right now) or printed vinyl mounted to foamcore signs for indoor use. We have a wrap to do next week as well. I also now do a lot of the small run jobs that we used to turn down for screenprinting in the past.