Printing On Clear Vinyl

[Signature Sign Guys]

Hey All,

I am just wondering what others have done for printing on a clear vinyl. I have a job that requires multiple logos for golf carts and instead of making cutlines, as some of the logos are not vector, I thought since the carts are white I can print on a clear vinyl/laminate.

My thought was to print an optical clear vinyl to make the vinyl basically disappear on the cart and then laminate the prints with the same vinyl.

I have heard of some clear vinyls that are made for printing but since these decals are no bigger than a 1'x1' square I figure I could get away with printing on lam.

Anyone come across this type of project?

 

[iPrintStuff]

We print on clear all the time. It’s no different to printing on white. You do need to be extra careful when installing though as any bubbles will be more visible VS white vinyl.

For crappy raster logos id also suggest just cutting an offset of the logo by about 3mm or so, to make it look like the logo is cut to shape. (Obviously I haven’t seen the logo so can’t judge myself) but cutting roughly to shape makes it look a lot less obvious that it’s on a big clear square.

This option also depends on the colour of the golf cart you’re putting it on, unless you can print white itll need to go on a light/white area of the golf carts as it won’t be opaque and you may get colour shift/poor visibility from the cart below.

 

[eahicks]

Why not contour cut? It really takes little time to set up.

 

[Signature Sign Guys]

Why not contour cut? It really takes little time to set up.

since the carts are white, the white of the vinyl may not match so it can look a bit funky i think

 

[Jester1167]

Be aware that clear vinyl is a lot like PPF. If you touch the adhesive with dry hands, you will leave skin cell fingerprints on the adhesive. You can solve it by extending premask far enough beyond the graphic so you have something to hold onto. Laminate has permanent adhesive and it has the same tack level and standard sign vinyl if not more.

I don't see anything wrong with printing on white with a nice consistent border, it looks intentional. If the cart is in like-new condition, you will still see the outline of the clear vinyl because the gloss levels won't be the same and most tint has a slight cast to it, especially 3M.

Grab some of the clear you intend to use and test a plain square out before you commit.

 

[Signature Sign Guys]

Why not contour cut? It really takes little time to set up.

since the carts are white, the white of the vinyl may not match so it can look a bit funky i think

Be aware that clear vinyl is a lot like PPF. If you touch the adhesive with dry hands, you will leave skin cell fingerprints on the adhesive. You can solve it by extending premask far enough beyond the graphic so you have something to hold onto. Laminate has permanent adhesive and it has the same tack level and standard sign vinyl if not more.

I don't see anything wrong with printing on white with a nice consistent border, it looks intentional. If the cart is in like-new condition, you will still see the outline of the clear vinyl because the gloss levels won't be the same and most tint has a slight cast to it, especially 3M.

Grab some of the clear you intend to use and test a plain square out before you commit.

we are not installing the decals so I will be sure to let the guys know about the finger prints on the adhesive. and yea i didnt think of the different gloss levels. I believe we are going to do a sample print before hand and see which option the clients like betters.

 

[iPrintStuff]

As i said, best of both worlds (if you can’t get vector logos) would be to contour cut the clear vinyl with an offset of 3mm or so around the artwork

You’ll negate the big white/clear square and it’ll still look contour cut but should still be fairly easy. Though you could also do that with white vinyl.