Nazdar 2700 water based on pressure sensitive vinyl

[Aaron Gein]

Nazdar says it'll work but has anyone tried it? Anyone have any tips or experience with this ink? I've only ever printed on paper and textiles, never on vinyl. Anyone have any advice on printing vinyl? Mesh count? Would 280 be ok?

[squeegeethree]

It will take a long time to dry. Printing with a fine mesh will reduce the drying time but if you have to add retarder to make a fine screen work then you cancel out the benefit.

[patoakes]

Nazdar says it'll work but has anyone tried it? Anyone have any tips or experience with this ink? I've only ever printed on paper and textiles, never on vinyl. Anyone have any advice on printing vinyl? Mesh count? Would 280 be ok?

I've printed stickers with 2700 before. 230 mesh. It worked, but it will scratch off if you try. Could have been the vinyl I used I suppose. Don't remember what it was. Oh and use the retarder. Dries up REAL fast.

[Andymac]

I've never tried 2700 except on paper, but i have printed TW 5000 on vinyl and it was quite durable. the thing is, the vinyl is as important as the ink. vinyl is not the same mfg to mfg and type to type - a gloss vinyl can be harder to stick to than matte, cling vs white or coloured. If you test and find an ink that sticks, don't switch the vinyl before production.
the biggest thing with vinyl can be age. the more flexible vinyls (and cheaper ones) have plasticizers to give them elasticity to stick to curves, cling is especially bad. If the vinyl is fresh, they are within the material. the older the material, the more they migrate to the surface, and cause issues with the ink bonding to the surface.
When we did use 2700 we rejected it because of the gloss and how it got glossier as a 2nd coat went down. I seem to remember it was formulated to work on some plastics, the gloss finish was part of outdoor durability.

[Aaron Gein]

Thanks for the input everybody! I am going to order a quart of 2700 and some sheets of vinyl from Mclogan and give it a shot. I will probably test out the TW as well. Does TW sell quarts? Sounds like the biggest pain is going to be sourcing good vinyl sheets. Is the calendared vinyl thats normally cut on a plotter for signage different from vinyl for printing stickers? What is the industry lingo for the right kind of vinyl? Mclogan is the only place I have been able to find vinyl that is specifically being sold to be printed on...

[Andymac]

duramark, catalina, avery, jac, all make sheet vinyl.

I get it in sheets or 100/case 27x38 sheets from my screen supply guys in Vancouver, isn't McLogans in LA, that's a long way to ship.

A lot of the roll vinyl is the same, they just sell it that way to vinyl cutters or wide format printers. Cast vinyl is harder and shiny. ask diesel or some of the other sticker guys.