Hello All, I posted a message some time ago in regards to quality printers for logos. I’ve purchased the Epson Stylus C82 w/ Durabright Ink. What “DPI” works best with logos and what type of paper “setup” does anyone use? I just ran a set of logos for a couple of boards and they turned out great on the ricepaper. Once the logos were glassed into the boards the black ink separated and broke down then turned yellow on the edges (The logos had dried for a few hours before the glassing). I now have 2 boards that are shot because of the bleeding logos. Seeking Input’ Robert
I have a c82 as well & I’m dealing with the same thing. Your darker colors (black, dark blue, etc.) should not bleed. Set your printer to output on plain paper and kick that slider bar down to economy. Your printing on rice paper so you have to compensate for the bleed (or dot gain) when that ink hits the paper. You should not lose any image quality setting the printer to print in an economy mode. All you are doing is limiting the amount of ink on the page. I talked to Kokua about this. He has a c80 and suggested those settings and it has helped. I’m having problems with some of the lighter colors bleeding (tans, some reds, yellows) even with these lighter printer settings. For my next set of boards I’m going to heat set the colors with an iron before lamination. If you decide to try this turn the rice paper over and hit THE BACKSIDE of the imprint. If you iron right on top of the image…well it will just be bad. I’m hoping that by heating setting the colors of the laminate it will fix my problem. I have done this in the past with other printer brands and it has helped the only problem with those was that the ink itself was unstable when exposed to UV over time (reds turned pink, black to purple, etc.). This should not be an issue with the dura brite ink, I believe or hope that it is just a matter of getting the settings tweaked.
i use a crappy HP but i just print black logos. Deskjet is water based ink - does not bleed at all. Designed the logos so they dont look ‘pixelly’ when printed so the low quality printer doesnt matter. Sometimes simple looks way better.
It is best to splurge for lams. Or splurge on the silk screen, paints, squeegee, and silky paper…and just print them yourself. Use Nadar 6100 series inks, no need to pass them thru a drier because they air dry and are very stable.
Is there somewhere out there that will print up lams for you?? No sense designing a good Logo just to have it fade or bleed. Thanks, Mike
We print lams where i work, Our printers on vacation for like 2 weeks but email me if you want and I can get you a quote. where are you? email the art too if you choose to info@paradoxdistribution es team manager www.paradoxdistribution.com www.ovellesurf.com www.hardinsurf.com http://www.paradoxdistribution.com
Howzit Mike, I’m now using a C-82 since my C-80 died. I think what causes the bleed problem is when printing any colored lams black is a combo of all the inks which isn’t the case when printing just black. Even the economy print will bleed,but I find the problem is usually with yellows and browns. I spray some clear acrylic(2 coats) and let them dry really good and this seems to help. Also does your lam tend to wrinkle around the edges when you laminate? One piece of advice is to deactivate the fast print before printing and also I set the paper on heavy matte use, and always print on the smooth side of your rice paper. Aloha, Kokua
Hey kokua, Thanks for more info on the printer setup. I never noticed the fast print setting in the print dialog box I will have to look into that. The heavy matte setting seems to make sense as well. I guess the trick is to put down just enough ink so your image quality is there without excess ink. Acrylic sealer is a good thought as well. As far as wrinkling during goes, that happens to me as well from time to time. But usually it happens when I get into odd shapes that I’m cutting out. Which is probably another reason why I should start ironing all my lams again. If it is a box or oval or something I don’t have that many problems. Thanks for the info, I’m hopeful that it is just a matter of gettitn the settings right.
Howzit Mike, my lams don’t wrinkle til the resin hits them,so I’m thinking that the unprinted on area around the lam is expanding. To shut off fast print, hit the advanced button in the printer properties,just in case you didn’t know. Aloha, Kokua