Problem Solving

• Adhesive Removal
• Air Bubbles
• Banding during printing
• Banner material doesn't feed properly
• Colours appear washed out
• Edge curl after print & Cut
• Flecks appearing in the print
• Images appear pixelated or blurred
• Ink pooling during printing
• Uneven colours when printing
• Vinyl not releasing from its backing liner
• Vinyl peeling, cracking or edge lifting
• Vinyl removal
• Vinyl tunnelling
• Watermark appears during printing

Adhesive Removal

This should be done by using a solvent based adhesive remover such as Right Off which will remove all traces in under 2 minutes before a final wipe down using an Isopropyl alcohol.  This will leave the surface ready for the new graphics to be applied.

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Air Bubbles

To avoid air bubbles it is important to remove trapped air beneath the surface of the vinyl. Whether the vinyl has been applied using a Dry Application method or a Wet Application method then this is best done by meticuously squeegeeing outwards from the centre of the graphic. It is also important when removing the application tape that this is not done too soon after the graphics have been applied and not too quickly either. For the best results work at a slow and steady pace and make sure that the application tape is pulled back at 180^o instead of pulled up at 90^o.

If applying to rougher surfaces be sure to use a soft squeegee or roller.

Newly painted vehicles require at least 5-10 days after painting before graphics are applied as the paint continues to release solvents while hardening. If graphics are applied too quickly these solvents can become trapped under the vinyl causing bubbles to appear and th eperformance of the adhesive can also be adversely affected. Some plastics such as polycarbonates and acrylics are prone to out gassing, which becomes trapped under the face of the vinyl and causes bubbles to appear. To reduce the chance of this happening remove any protective film early in the signmaking process and avoid high temperature exposure after application.

For a full compatibility list please go to the Application Advice page.

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Banding during printing

Generally the printer should print slower for high quality prints when it is outputting more ink and faster for lower quality prints when less ink is being used.

Regular horizontal banding is something that may appear when printing areas of solid colour if the ink is being put down too fast for it to dry adequately before the next print pass. The result is the overlap of ink on the subsequent bi-directional pass forming the banding.

To alliviate this effect either use a slower print speed or re-print using a setting that uses less ink or switch to printing in a uni-directional mode.

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Banner material doesn't feed properly

This is often due to the weight of the material roll causing too much resistance against the friction feed of the printer. 

To overcome this issue, which is more of a problem with some older printers we offer to rewind down 50m rolls to 2 rolls of 25m at no extra cost. If this is not practical you can overcome this by manually unwinding the required amount so that it feeds into the printer without resistance.

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Colours appear washed out

When printing onto transparent or translucent media for window graphics and backlit signs the colours can looked washed out.

The best way to overcome this is to overprint the graphics again so doubling up on the amount of ink and colour depth.

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Edge curl after print & cut

This can be a problem on self adhesive materials if it is contour cut straight after printing especially in darker coloured areas where there is the most ink output.

Either select a thicker vinyl such as Xerox D-Jet 100 or D-Jet 200 as these have a heavier face film and this reduces the likelihood of lifting or allow 24 hours for the ink to dry before countour cutting.

Do not cut into the printed image as heavy concentrations of eco solvent ink will contribute to shrinkage and edge curl. Instead leave a 5mm border around the image and always conduct a suitability test.

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Flecks appearing in the print

This is caused by dust or debris contamination from the print room environment. The inks tends to either accumulate around this settled debris and so appears as a dark fleck or disperses around the debris and appears as an unprinted white dot. Either way it is important to clean the area thoroughly and dry wipe the roll using a clean lint free cloth before trying again.

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Image appears pixelated or blurred

The reason for this is generally the quality of the original file source or the editing of the file. It is important to ensure that the resolution of the original file is of a quality high enough to give satisfactory results.

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Ink pooling during printing

This stands out on areas of dark colour when too much ink has been used and is especially noticable on gloss surfaces. To correct, check that a suitable setting has been used for the media type selected.  As matt surfaces tend to absorb mor eof the ink it may be possible to re-print the job onto a matt vinyl or paper and then overlaminate using a gloss laminate to give a quick drying solution.

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Uneven colour when printing

More apparent when printing light pastel colours, the effect being a slight noticeable difference of colour across the width of the roll.

The easiest way to prevent this happenning is to print using the uni-directional mode.

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Vinyl not releasing from its backing liner

It is sometimes easy to assume that the application tape is too low tack to remove the cut and weeded text / graphics however this rarely the case.

More often than not the reason for this problem comes down to excessive cutting blade pressure, which scores into the backing liner. The best way of checking is by peeling back some cut graphics and checking that the blade has only just marked the backing liner and that there is no scoring into the liner. Now check the reverse of the backing liner to check there are no visible impressions of the cut path coming through. If this is visible you need to reduce the cutting pressure incrementally and produce a number of test cuts to acheive the optimum pressure. Once this has been done the graphics should lift away easily.

The best method of removal instead of pulling the application tape away from the surface of the graphics is to turn the graphics over and remove the backing liner away from the adhesive side.

Please note that each type of material will require you to perform this test cut routine to ensure optimum cutting pressure. Thicker materials such as fluorescents and reflectives as well as some polyester films generally require greater pressure than standard vinyls while thinner materials such as cast vinyls will require less pressure. It may also be neccessary to change the cutting blade for one with a greater angle for sandblast vinyls, reflectives and fluorescents as well as flock materials.

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Vinyl peeling, cracking or edge lifting

The most important factor here is selecting the most suitable film for the job and remembering that although cast vinyl can be worked into channels and recesses as well as around compound curves using heat calandred vinyl should applied without onto these areas without putting the film under any stress.

It is important to promote the initial adhesive contact to ensure that graphics do not lift or peel. Surfaces should be cleaned, dried and wiped with Isopropyl alcohol before any graphics are applied. In cold conditions it is best to apply heat after application to further enhance the bond.

Flexible pvc such as the type used to make banners contain higher levels of plasticizer which migrate through the pvc over time and can cause any applied graphics to distort. It is important to use a flexible vinyl such the Banner Vinyls