New Dyer's Questions

[Trey133]

Hey Guys,

So i've recently got the bug this winter to start dying discs. I've got some great designs and i've laid them on discs but i'm having one problem every time that sometimes I fix and sometimes lead's to leaks.

I'm getting a lot of Vinyl wrinkling near the edge of the disc... This wrinkling somtimes stretches its way to a cut and can lead to a leak... I really have to work hard to remove the wrinkinling and was wondering if there is an easier way. Here's how i'm laying down the vinyl.

I cut the design
I transfer tape the design
I peel the backing
I lay disc over the center
I press from the inside towards the outside while the disc is laying on the vinyl
I pick up the disc and begin to press from the inside towards the outside while the disc is in hand
I peel off the transfer tape
... Sometimes I get mega huge wrinkles towards the rim, sometimes I don't

So far i've had 1 bleed, and a ton of near saves. My friend owns a Sign-A-Rama in greensboro NC so he's giving me a lot of good stuff, transferight tape, Avery premium translucent vinyl, so I don't think its an equipment failure so far...

Just trying to figure out how I can eliminate the wrinkles by maybe correcting a process so far, maybe making releif cuts in the vinyl further out?

Any suggestions are very welcome!

[ChUcK]

If you have a design that doesn't involve cuts all the way around the edge of the disc you can manipulate the vinyl to wrinkle in the spot where there are no cuts.

It takes a lot of finesse sometimes to apply the vinyl to the disc. I'm jealous of sign makers, as most signs are 2-D. We have to wrap the vinyl around a dome, which causes the wrinkles near the edges you're concerned about. Any part of the vinyl that has transfer tape on it should go on wrinkle free due to the aid of the tape, but if you have tape on every square inch of vinyl it has to wrinkle somewhere.

Therefore, I advise you to apply transfer tape to only the cut areas of the vinyl, leaving the other areas to absorb the 3-D stretch by wrinkling. It is similar to the crumple zones they engineered into cars.

If you always have designs that involve cut areas all the way around, then you will have to develop some better application skills and learn how to stretch the vinyl during application in ways that allow it to lay flat without wrinkles. It's possible, I have to do it occasionally, but I can't really explain a technique to it- it's a feel thing.

[Trey133]

Interesting,

I think that may be my problem, I'm bringing my transfer tape too close to the edge of the discs and a wrinkle just has to form somewhere. If I bring it say... 1/4" away from the design cuts, and let the vinyl wrinkle on its own during the lay down / squeegie process, I should be good huh?

I'll give it a shot tonight, pictures coming soon!

Thanks again Chuck!