Print, or paint board?

[Colin]

So after getting my new 54" printer about a month ago, I get my first request for a 4x8 (ply), and it is a definate candidate for the whole thing being printed. It's for a builder, and includes a 35" x 60" illustration of what the completed home will look like, and the rest is text.

I designed it up, emailed a JPG proof, and he really likes it, but would like the entire background black instead of white.

So, if it were you, would you print the whole dang thing, or just throw a coat of black paint on the plywood, print the illustration and then the lettering in vinyl? In my limited experience with digi-printing, that black flood seems like a whole lot of ink. *shrug*

 

[J Hill Designs]

I would print it

 

[Sticky Signs]

Hey Colin, congrats on getting the 54" machine. See, it's already paying off. I'd just print the whole thing in one go. No need to layer stuff anymore because you can just print it.

 

[Freese]

Yes, that would be heavy ink coverage but these printers are capable of this.

Do you have some way of calculating cost per job? The hp25500 built in web server have an awesome method of doing this just by inputting cost of ink and materials.

 

[Colin]

Do you have some way of calculating cost per job?

VersaWorks will give the cc of ink used - I'll check it out.

 

[klemgraphics]

I would definitely print it, your labor savings alone will make it the better option in my opinion. I doubt the ink cost will be much more than the cost of paint, could be wrong though.

 

[J Hill Designs]

much less than cost of prep/paint labor at lease

 

[Gino]

I would flatbed print it.

Using our Roland like yours.... I would probably talk the guy into black dibond... print, contour cut and apply. If he insists on wood, I'd get prepainted duraply and if it's only available in white in your area, I'd give it a coat of black... then print, contour cut and apply.

It only takes about 15 minutes to sand, tack and paint a 4' x 8' black. You can apply the print the next day and not worry about edge peeling or any other crap happening. That's over 1/2 of your area gonna be straight black. That's a lot.... especially, if you're not used to it yet.

 

[Colin]

Print it.....

Those who are suggesting paint must be forgetting Colin's space considerations.

(unless I'm mistaken....but I seem to remember you saying your space is limited)

No, painting the board would be easy. I thought I had the paint, but not enough, so I'd have to buy a quart ($25.00)

Good idea Gino - I never thought of printing it all without the black, and then applying that to a black substrate. Heck, maybe I can even talk him into black coroplast, and then affix that to a cheap piece of lumberyard ply for rigidity.

 

[J Hill Designs]

no, you should upsell to dibond...more markup $$$ and it wont look like coro on ply

 

[klemgraphics]

+1 on the black dibond, I haven't used coro for something that large in years and never attached to ply.

 

[Colin]

Thanks for all the good advice!