The Big Picture - April 2014 - (Page 47)

graphics on the go <12 product bulletins, and clearly label all rolls in your shop turer's lab we finally got to the bottom of it. A customer had us do a full wrap on a new GMC Arcadia using one of to avoid mistakes while loading printers and laminators. the matte gray films (no print or laminate needed). A few Another reason for lifting laminate is improper curing of solvent inks post-print and before lamination. We all get months went by and he then sent us photos showing what looked like a severely expired wrap - but only in certain in a hurry to laminate after printing because schedules areas (those that faced up and toward the sun). Some areas and deadlines never seem to take a break. But rushing to of this vehicle looked brand new, while others looked eight the laminating stage before properly allowing the ink to years old. If that wasn't weird enough, this dried out, burnt out-gas will only wreak havoc in the wrap game. Doing look also appeared to run down the vehicle, as if it had been so can cause the gasses to penetrate the printed vinyl and caused by a liquid. change the properties of the adhesive; it can also cause the This was a real head-scratcher - while it was obvious laminate to lift from the vinyl. This issue seems to be most that the sun played a factor (by the location on the roof and prominent when there's heavy saturation, high-ambient the edges or surfaces that faced up), liquid must also have humidity, not enough dry time, or any combination of played a factor because of the streaks where the problem these factors. seemed to "pour" down the vehicle. Corrective action: Product bulletins state the process In the end, we finally determined the cause: While the and time required for proper curing. In the event you're vehicle had been parked by the beach for a few months, it in a humid environment, have extremely fast printers, or had been coated with a bit of just don't have time to wait, acid dew each morning. The there are curing or drying "We take careful steps ... to ensure droplets acted as miniature devices that are commercially magnifying glasses, focusing available. Make sure the vinyl our clients know the details of the the sun's light to cause burnproperly out-gasses or you'll be warranty - including the fact that ing. Once there was enough doing the job all over again. different climates have different life of this dew, it would then run down the stationary vehicle. 'Weird markings' expectancies, and that perforated The lab also stated that their Once a year or so, we get a call material should not have been from a client describing "weird window vinyl and vinyl installed so negatively affected by these markings" on certain areas of on surfaces that are +/- 10 percent conditions, so they warranted their wrap. When the client the job for us. In this case, it brings the vehicle in, we see of vertical may not last as long as truly was a perfect storm of the areas they're talking about: the rest of the wrap. Be upfront, be four factors at once: a bad roll of This effect looks like someone material, vehicle parked in the took a squirt bottle of "someclear, and be consistent." same spot for months, acid dew, thing bad" and squirted it onto and specific sun exposure. the vehicle. Corrective action: We cannot warranty vinyl against To date, we have tracked down three different causes. harsh chemicals. So the only way we have found to help Our first encounter with such a scenario was a result of avoid these types of issues is to document them with good someone putting a harsh chemical cleaner in their windphotos when they occur, and visually educate our future shield-washer system. When they deployed the spraying customers as to what can happen if they don't follow the system, it did indeed clean the window but then proceeded use-and-care guide we provide. to run from the top of the vehicle down its sides, eating away at the protective vinyl laminate. We have also seen this problem come about as a result of headlight washers Upfront, clear, and consistent spraying up on the vehicle's hood. The last tip to help avoid concerned calls is to make sure The next mystery involved a client who had some all customers fully understand the expected life of a wrap. salt spray on the rear of their vehicle (from salt on icy We take careful steps at bluemedia to ensure our clients roads), which they decided to clean with an abrasive know the details of the warranty - including the fact cleaner. It took them a while to confess what they had that different climates have different life expectancies, done, but in the end it was pretty obvious that it was a and that perforated window vinyl and vinyl installed on sprayed-on external chemical that caused the resultant surfaces that are +/- 10 percent of vertical may not last as pitting and discolorations. long as the rest of the wrap. Be upfront, be clear, and be The last bizarre markings we identified were a bit tricky consistent. That is exactly what anyone making a purto track down, but with help from the media manufacchase wants from a vendor. www.bigpicture.net 47 http://www.bigpicture.net

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of The Big Picture - April 2014

The Big Picture - April 2014
Contents
InSight
Wide Angle
Up Front
Graphics on the Go
Dynamic Signage
Go Big or Go Home
RIP Chord: Creating a Harmonious Workflow
Weighing in on the RIP
The Ups and Downs of an Escalator Wrap
R+D
Explorer

The Big Picture - April 2014