ISEN-ASTC-L is a service of the Association of Science-Technology Centers
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We've used direct printing on Sintra, but I find if it's in a high wear area
(such as near a button) it wears away (Sintra is after all a relatively soft
material). However, for the price & look I like it more than any other
format.
-----Original Message-----
From: Cricket Brooks [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
Sent: Friday, May 04, 2007 9:02 AM
Subject: Re: Experiences with flatbed printing?
ISEN-ASTC-L is a service of the Association of Science-Technology Centers
Incorporated, a worldwide network of science museums and related
institutions.
****************************************************************************
*
The discovery of flatbed printing onto sintra (which I learned about at
school from my exhibits professor) has changed my life! I will never print
on anything else again. The results are fantastic, durable, and you only
have to ever do it once. (proof-read carefully)
We have several local printers who now provide this service. I work with a
graphics person in-house to create labels and we lay out a bunch of them on
a 4-foot by 10-foot template, leaving the little corner marks on each label
for them to cut each one out. When a sheet is full, we send the whole file
over to the printer, and for $375 we get anywhere from 10-100 labels
(depending on size)on 3mm (1/8") white sintra, already cut out and ready to
install. No corners to peel up, nothing to rip, scratch, or fade. The
colors come out crisp and clean and nice. You can work the sintra like wood
(sand, cut, etc) if you need, and it's thin enough that you can bend it to
fit on a curved surface if necessary.
We started doing this about a year and a half ago on all new labels, and I'm
working my way around our entire science center, with the goal of replacing
all paper and vinyl labels someday. I keep a terribly torn and worn out
vinyl label on my desk as a reminder. The labels we have that are under plex
have stood up the best over time, but look tacky - I will replace those with
sintra someday too.
Owning one of the flatbed printers in-house would be a dream.
Good luck,
Cricket
Cricket Brooks
Exhibit Specialist
Science City at Union Station Kansas City www.sciencecity.com
(816) 460-2239
(816) 812-2307 [cell]
-----Original Message-----
From: Informal Science Education Network
[mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Allan Ayres
Sent: Thursday, May 03, 2007 5:18 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Experiences with flatbed printing?
ISEN-ASTC-L is a service of the Association of Science-Technology Centers
Incorporated, a worldwide network of science museums and related
institutions.
************************************************************************
*****
Ever since we got our trusty HP DesignJet in the office here it's been my
little joke with my boss every year that we should put a "Sintra printer"
into the budget.
Well, it appears the universe has called my bluff, and such things actually
now exist. "UV curable flatbed printer" is the keyword...
print on any substrate! Wood, plastic, metal, glass -- apparently any
reasonably flat thing you can lay down on the printer, it'll print on it.
These things are still in the realm of service bureaus at this point (I
don't think my boss will spring for a $200k printer, regardless of how geeky
cool and useful it may be), but I just wanted to ask for feedback from
anyone who has had much of this sort of printing done.
Vendor? Cost? Process? Durability? Good/bad applications of the
technology? Examples you've seen?
We have a project in the pipeline for which large-format graphics printed on
wood and metal might be exactly the right look, so we're trying to get a
sense for how to approach it. Thanks for any insight.
--Allan
--
~~
Allan Ayres
Exhibit Developer
Lawrence Hall of Science
University of California, Berkeley
Berkeley, CA 94720-5200
[log in to unmask]
510-642-1254
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