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WHAT IS YOUR GO-TO BRAND OF PRINTABLE VINYL?

We are trying to narrow down our vinyl for wall graphics to around 5-10 different types. We have mainly been using Orajet with Oraguard lams. We've had a couple failures with it and are wanting to try some other brands/types and narrow it down to what we like that way in the proposal stage our boss will already know what material to base his figures on.

Printers are HP latex 365, and Epson S80600.

Typical wall types are finished/unfinished drywall, painted/unpainted CMU, textured drywall, and most often in schools they're using some kind of graffiti resistant paint or coating.

TIA!
 

Gino

Premium Subscriber
We are trying to narrow down our vinyl for wall graphics to around 5-10 different types. We have mainly been using Orajet with Oraguard lams. We've had a couple failures with it and are wanting to try some other brands/types and narrow it down to what we like that way in the proposal stage our boss will already know what material to base his figures on.

Printers are HP latex 365, and Epson S80600.

Typical wall types are finished/unfinished drywall, painted/unpainted CMU, textured drywall, and most
often in schools they're using some kind of graffiti resistant paint or coating.

TIA!

Most likely, that is the culprit for your failures, not the particular vinyl(s).
 

Wesley Powell

Account Rep
We have always had good luck with 3M and they have an adhesion test kit that can help you choose the correct vinyl for the specific application. For the most part we have had good luck with 40c on smoother textured walls and then for more textured walls we have ad success with IJ180mC or LX480mC. Thats just my two cents but other people might be able to tell you their experiences as well.
 

Gino

Premium Subscriber
It's not complete failures say maybe 2 of 20 pieces will fail.

Hopefully not, but that kinda paint was designed to repel just about anything and glue is one of the things top on it's list. 10% or greater is quite a bit of failure to hafta deal with in any business. Perhaps, painting over these kind of coatings will eliminate that percentage. Good luck.
 
99% Of our graphics are in schools and about 80% are new construction so we've looked at the testing kits but it's not always possible for us to test the walls. Basically just being told guess what would be the best material for each surface and we will use it till we have a failure then figure it out when it happens.
 

ikarasu

Active Member
Schools and hospitals use low VOC paints and additives that prevent dirt from sticking too much to the walls. Every paint is different... We have good luck with ij40, bit even then sometimes it's an issue.


Make sure the wall has a few days to dry before applying graphics... If they're ok with it, take a sponge and lightly scratch / abrase the surface. Not enough to leave marks... It.just needs to be enough to lightly scratch it.

Without testing the walls youll likely get some failures. There's too many paints and other variables for a one vinyl suits all solution.
 

2B

Active Member
each surface will react differently.

while the 3M test kit is handy, we also take a piece of the intended material and stick to the wall. or a couple different material if we know it is a low VOC paint.
wait several days and see what happens.

rubbing with isopropyl alcohol does help, but runs the risk of damaging the paint if not very careful.
 

TimToad

Active Member
I think most manufacturers suggest you wait at least two weeks before applying over latex paint. I used to work at a shop that handled all the graphics for six local art museums and as well as no small number of art galleries in Santa Fe, NM. home to the largest number of art galleries west of Manhattan, NY. We always used cast materials whenever possible and for larger sheet wall graphics, we'd apply a 2" wide band of 3M 96 primer around the perimeter of where each panel went.
 

BigfishDM

Merchant Member
We are trying to narrow down our vinyl for wall graphics to around 5-10 different types. We have mainly been using Orajet with Oraguard lams. We've had a couple failures with it and are wanting to try some other brands/types and narrow it down to what we like that way in the proposal stage our boss will already know what material to base his figures on.

Printers are HP latex 365, and Epson S80600.

Typical wall types are finished/unfinished drywall, painted/unpainted CMU, textured drywall, and most often in schools they're using some kind of graffiti resistant paint or coating.

TIA!

Are you against a pasted solution? If you use a paste instead of adhesive vinyls the paste will act as a primer and it will make hanging wall graphics way easier. Why put up PVC materials inside schools when you can do something better.
 

Chris Keena

New Member
We use predominately Avery (4 years straight) and never had an issue. Plus the price point can't be beat by other name brands. I agree with CL Visual to a degree. Prep may have something to do with it. I've read some places that 30 days for some paints to outgas and cure is needed. Also read that eggshell is not recommended for adhesive vinyl application. New construction always brings a lot of dust, even from another hallway or room. Good luck.
 
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