UV Printing on Second Surface or Lexan

[SignArtEtc]

We are considering printing with a UV flatbed to Lexan or printing second surface to clear acrylic for back lit signs. The only X factor we have right now is the length of time that the print will last in the exposed elements. I realize that a sign facing South in Arizona won't last as long as a sign without direct sunlight and harsh elements. But we are looking for someone who is already doing it with some sort of results over time, maybe 2-3 years and how it is holding up. We just don't want to print a bunch of signs that start to look really bad in 1-2 years and upset our customers. Any thoughts or help would be appreciated.

 

[Gino]

We've done a few reversed print on clear, backed up with a second white face. After 2-1/2 years, those still look fine. No fading that we noticed, yet. I just checked on some about two weeks ago. Just went driving around for sh!ts & giggles for the very reason you're asking. The ones where we printed directly to the face of white substrate, all still looking good, except for one. This one has a few small spots that seem to be peeling. We think it's more of a surface contamination than anything else. We're going to pull it in a week or two and re-do it for her on a new piece of substrate on us. The sign has been up for almost 2 years, but she thought it was bird droppings this past Spring and tried to scrub it off. I can't blame her. We'll do it at no charge.

It was explained to us that when printing on the back side of clear, it still gets the UV from the sun, but at least no elements can wear away at it.

All the clear prints tend to still be more vibrant, but I can't honestly say taking in when, where and how much exposure...... had to do with this.


We're hoping to get close to five years out of them.

We're doing some interior with reverse second surface and in talking with the lady yesterday, we said they'll be vandal proof, and should last for a very long time without any fading.