Historically, aqueous ink jet plotters have been used primarily for technical and general printing. The term “aqueous” itself refers to the water-based properties of the ink. This is the type of print process you are thinking about regarding ink jet printing, no matter if it is large or small format. But, aqueous ink comes in two flavors—dye and pigment. They are designed mostly for indoor application, but you can use them form some outdoor printing in a pinch.
Outdoor signage has traditionally been printed on solvent machines such a Mutoh or SID printer. A couple of years ago, though, HP introduced a Latex printer promising all the power and flexibility of a solvent printer, without hazardous chemicals. But, the jury is still out on the latex printer—some people love them, some people hate them.
The truth is, unless your business operates exclusively as a sign shop, you will only need to occasionally print items for outdoor use. Couldn’t you just get by with an aqueous ink jet plotter such as the iPF8300s Canon plotter? In a word, yes! The new 8-color and 12-color Canon plotters use a newly formulated pigment ink called LUCIA EX.
The pigment is actually made of polymer beads. Since the color comes from these solid particles, it won’t fade like a traditional dye-based ink jet printers. So, in theory, these pigment inks should be quite durable when printed on a substrate that is intended for outdoor use.
Rather than just reach this conclusion by myself, I reached out to some other industry experts to get their opinions.
Laura Wilson – Spicers Papers: There are plenty of banner substrates (Including standard top coated scrim banner, polypropylene and blackout banner) for water-based printing that will give weeks or months of outdoor durability. Since these media are all top coated to receive the inks, the issue is abrasion and chemical resistance. Unlike printing with solvent, mild-solvent, UV-cure or latex on uncoated substrates, these graphics will not generally stand-up to extreme weathering or handling (the topcoat will ultimately scratch off), unless they are laminated with a high-quality vinyl overlaminate film.
Mike Taylor – OC Register: Laminate and they will last a long time, short term 3-6 months without lam will work.
So, after consulting with the pros, it looks like lamination is the key to long term outdoor success with an imagePROGRAF Canon plotter. When it comes to laminates, though, there are two kinds to consider—hot laminates and cold laminates. Unless you plan to make a new career out of printing outdoor signs, it probably isn’t worth the investment into a hot laminate machine.
Still, if you just need a short-term (around three months) outdoor display, you can still expect fantastic results from a Canon iPF display graphics printer. Laminating will most certainly extend the life of the outdoor poster. But, another thought would be to just buy some spray lacquer and seal the poster. That would be the least expensive option.
Photo credit: Pop Culture Geek