# printable vinyl sticker for inkjet



## jundogg

hi. 

is it possible to use a desktop inkjet printer for printing on vinyl stickers? 
can the finished product be used outdoors and withstand getting wet?

also, what type of vinyl sticker to be used and what kind of ink should the printer have - dye or pigment ink? 

thanks in advance


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## InkPig

Yes, it is possable to do this. But... you need a vinyl that accepts aquious based inks (water based) Roland, HP, Kodak and other companies make them and they
are easy to find through sign suppliers. You also need to laminate the decal with a clear vinyl to protect it from abration and UV. Dyes or Pigment inks both work.
Dyes give you better color but pigments last longer. Now the real deal is longevity of print life. Unlaminated, even the best printers designed to print decals give you at best 6 mos. out doors. Laminated decals have at best a 4 year life out doors, and this is for only the best Inkjet printers(water based) I am not talking about your your HP Deskjet here. So, you can do it but there is no telling how long your prints will last and it can be costly as far as ink and decal material goes so make it worth it and good luck.


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## charles95405

Inkpig....The question was can you use 'desktop inkjet' printers...are you saying you can use desktop printers for printing on vinyl???? I have not seen anyone doing that. It is true that Roland does make 'printers' for vinyl...but these are large stand alone units costing several thousand dollars.. If there are any desktop printers that work, could you specific which?


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## jberte

not really......and certainly not in a commercially viable way. if you can lay hands on an old alps thermal printer that still works, carts are still available for them on ebay - you can use regular high performance sign vinyl - what you won't get is a decal cut unless you have separate capabilities to do that. i have an epson 9600 with ultrachrome (pigmented) inks that i use inkjet receptive vinyl in - but the rolls start at 24" wide and go to football fields widths i think - mine is a 44" - hardly desktop  and for more than VERY temporary outdoor exposure it still has to be laminated. there are also still some rolands out there that are thermal printers and classify as 'desk top' and carts are readily available for them - these will also give you cut capabilities. buyer beware of these tho!!! they are VERY fussy and once the print head goes, you're in for a rude (cost) awakening! i have a pc600 which is a 24" and on a stand, but they also made smaller versions - pc50 perhaps? a search for roland thermal printers should get you close.


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## InkPig

The Answer is YES you can do it but what do you want from it? A Cadillac for a Pino price. Yes it can be done , I've done it, but is it going to stand up or last?
probably not. Is it worth it probably not. Thats why you dont see or hear of anyone doing production runs this way. If yoou were going to spend the thousands of dollars on an Inkjet device I would suggest you buy solvent based printers instead. The question was, ...does it work? Yes but what do you really want from it. Low production runs for decals only used indoors, It will work.
Decals for out doors, dont even attempt it. It will make you look bad. Also, even for indoor decals you want to use a water resistant vinyl and laminate it.


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## Chani

I think this is the closest you'll find:

https://www.papilio.com/inkjet%20waterproof%20adhesive%20film%20media.html


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## jundogg

thank you for your inputs. 

im just starting out in printing signs and stickers and wanna make use of the existing epson inkjet printer with dye ink that i have. 

still got no enough budget to have a solvent-based largescale printer. 

yes, i'm trying to get info on this since i wanna have this as part of my business.


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## luishonduras

This is another product that would work good and is lot cheaper because it comes in rolls. The only problem is that the smallest is 24 inches wide. But you can cut it in sheets to fit your printer, I guess.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=230163943431&ssPageName=STRK:MEWA:IT&ih=013http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=230163943431&ssPageName=STRK:MEWA:IT&ih=013


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## dim116

here is an interesting product. Welcome to Eze Badge not sure what they are using for the material.

Lar


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## ilovelsd

First to do what you want, you need the right material. go to fellers.com order a catalog its free they have calendered vinyl that is made just for regular ink jet printers i have a Epson R1800 which can do 13X44 inch sheets i would order a 24" roll cut it every 13" and run a 13"X24" sheet threw the printer easily i used the pigment inks the gamut is not as intense as a dye ink BUT does the job quite well. i have a Roland camm-1 24" plotter to die cut the stickers the instructions explain how to print the registration marks for the die cuts. Once your done printing and die cutting i used a a spray on overlaminate called CLEAR JET that worked great and the end results were awesome, and held up quite well. one sticker sat on my back window of my construction work truck and on my customers hard hats for a year with no noticeable color loss (even under the SoCal. sun)and the clear jet added a layer of scratch resistance also. one last thing, most of these vinyls im talking about are matte finish but when sprayed they have a satin finish that my customers love. hope this helps


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## FlyTech

Hi!!
Is any thing change since 2007 ??
I have clnt that like me to do some stickers for him. I got Epson 1400 and summa cuter that i normaly using for my Tshirt production !!
Any one can help ??


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## wurzer9599

Digital Printed Vinyl Graphics. (using home desktop printer)

I've found some good info on this topic here, hope it helps......


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## Skinbus

jundogg said:


> hi.
> 
> is it possible to use a desktop inkjet printer for printing on vinyl stickers?
> can the finished product be used outdoors and withstand getting wet?
> 
> also, what type of vinyl sticker to be used and what kind of ink should the printer have - dye or pigment ink?
> 
> thanks in advance


I do bumper stickers with an Epson C88+ & pigmented inks. The material is "imagestix" sticker paper which is a stretchy vinyl that does not have a permanent adhesive, meaning that it can be removed & placed elsewhere if wanted & leaves no glue residue when removed. After printing, I overspray it with a clear sealant. The paper is great but a little pricey. Something like $30 for 25 sheets but if you're doing a lot it's well worth it. When printing, I'd recommend using "heavyweight paper" setting on your printer because it's pretty thick. Hope this helps!


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## thepoddsite

Can someone Help me with printer settings? Epson wf Printer
I have tried high quality, standard and standard-vivid with paper settings as paper, photo gloss photo matte and either the black streaks and runs and smears or is to light and has streaks. I have wasted several sheets trying to figure it out and its getting very Expensive. Any Help would be Appreciated.
Thank You


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## sinGN

Hi,
Yes this is possible to use a desktop inkjet printer for printing on vinyl stickers.


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## Txfirecop

Try this Inkjet Printable Waterproof Vinyl

They have sample packs you can order and also a spray for UV applications.


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