Need Help How to Clean Retro-Reflective Vinyl before printing

[trafficbarriersolutions]

I am having trouble with printing on retro-reflective vinyl. I use Denatured Alcohol and a clean Microfiber rag to clean the reflective before printing. However, it still has these little specks and fingerprints still on it even though I cleaned it with the Denatured Alcohol and Microfiber rag. I cannot really tell if these specks are a part of the reflective. And on top of that, it is hard to even notice these little specks before being printed. This is Avery Dennison's T6500 Retro-Reflective and a Roland TruVis VG3-540 printer. I don't know if it is Avery's vinyl, contaminated surface, printer heads, or if I need better cleaning equipment for retro-reflective materials. Can someone explain to me why this is happening?

 

[DL Signs]

T6500 isn't for use with solvent printers, it's designed to be screen printed.

 

[trafficbarriersolutions]

T6500 isn't for use with solvent printers, it's designed to be screen printed.

Yes, I understand that! However, for other retro-reflectives like 3M or ORALITE 5900, how do you clean these reflectives that have specs like this?

 

[signheremd]

We clean ours with Solv S1000 and a mircofiber cloth/rag before printing. Let dry completely (only about 15 seconds) after wiping evenly all in one direction.

1 Gallon S1000 INX Clean Prep Remover

INX#SOLV1128(INX PRODUCTS LLC)()(S1000 1 GALLON BOTTLE 3 INX CLEAN PREP REMOVER)(Digital)(Supplies)(Cleaning Solvents)

tubelitedenco.com

There are several vendors, so check the pricing before ordering.

 

[White Haus]

Why start another thread with the exact same question as your other one??

 

[trafficbarriersolutions]

Why start another thread with the exact same question as your other one??

Because I didn't get an answer as to why the specks are there.

 

[signheremd]

Because I didn't get an answer as to why the specks are there.

Can't be sure without examining the substrate in person, but looks like rub marks (perhaps from being shipped/delivered to you).

 

[trafficbarriersolutions]

We clean ours with Solv S1000 and a mircofiber cloth/rag before printing. Let dry completely (only about 15 seconds) after wiping evenly all in one direction.

1 Gallon S1000 INX Clean Prep Remover

INX#SOLV1128(INX PRODUCTS LLC)()(S1000 1 GALLON BOTTLE 3 INX CLEAN PREP REMOVER)(Digital)(Supplies)(Cleaning Solvents)

tubelitedenco.com

There are several vendors, so check the pricing before ordering.

This stuff is considered to be an Adhesive Remover. So the Solv S1000 can be used to remove specs, fingerprints, and oils? Does this stuff dry and dissolve onto the retroreflective then print without any problems? How does this stuff work?

 

[signheremd]

This stuff is considered to be an Adhesive Remover. So the Solv S1000 can be used to remove specs, fingerprints, and oils? Does this stuff dry and dissolve onto the retroreflective then print without any problems? How does this stuff work?

yes, the Solv S1000 removes contaminates, like oils, fingerprints, and specs of material. Spray it onto a microfiber cloth and wipe, or on big pieces you can spray the substrate and then wipe. I like to do a final wipe of the whole thing carefully all in one directions. If you give it a minute, any remaining product will evaporate. Then you can print. It works well on all Plastics, Aluminum, Aluminum or Steel Composites, even reflective coated Aluminum. For Painted MDO Wood use windex as the Solv S1000 will damage the finish of the paint.

 

[MikePro]

you can only clean so much.
even if you pre-wipe and entire roll, and hope to god that you don't have misc. wipe-streaks in your finished print, then you'll still potentially re-introduce dust/debris/eyelashes/fingerprints while respooling/loading.

...you could just simply print on an optically clear vinyl and then laminate your finished prints onto the reflective.