What is the life expectancy of an image printed directly on Dibond? How long before the first signs of fading? Does UV lamination help?
Posted by Ian Stewart-Koster (Member # 3500) on :
I think the biggest bit of misunderstanding here, where there's lots of sun & UV exposure, is that people think a UV print, is UV resistant.
Not so. IT's UV-cured.
I can't answer your lifespan question, but I've found UV-lamination of digital prints is good here. We have one sign nearby I did about four years ago- and it faces the hot western sun and is still in good order- mostly in red & reflex blue on white.
It also depends on who printed it, and the quality of their ink & laminate though. I know of digital prints on the highway about 30 miles from here, (facing the sun-north) that have not lasted three years but become all washed out pale very quickly. It looks worse because it was a photo. Now it looks like a splattering of mud.
All those are on vinyl, applied to dibond, not printed on dibond though, sorry.
Posted by Rick Beisiegel (Member # 3723) on :
Hi Kelly
There are lots of variables. In our area, probably like yours, north facing prints will last lots longer than those facing other directions. Yes, laminate definatly helps. I have had lots of success printing on Oracal or 3M with comply. Hope this helps
Posted by Kelly Thorson (Member # 2958) on :
I'm not actually providing thge product, just trying to figure out a comparison for a client. The directly printed Dibond is cheaper, but will it last as long as HP vinyl and paint?
Posted by Si Allen (Member # 420) on :
No!
Posted by ScooterX (Member # 2023) on :
I figure on 5 years MAXIMUM for a digital print - no matter what it is printed onto. (Of course, it could be LESS than that). Usually there's one color that will fade faster than the others (often it is the yellow), and so you get a color shift (everything become pinkish or blueish). If all the colors fade equally, it isn't as noticeable.
With paint or vinyl, you're probably looking at a 5 year MINIMUM and up to 10 years before you notice any change. Yes, there can be fading before that, but it probably wont be "noticeable". After that, you may have some fading, but it tends to be equal fading across the board, so its still not so bad.
Posted by Mike O'Neill (Member # 470) on :
You can warranty up to 5 years... info here, info would be realtive to any ecosol inks and almost every company offers vinyls and laminates similar to those described by roland .
I've got prints out there for over 4 years now that are holding up well (some on economy vinyl)
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