I have a client who wants his logo reproduced on his new hot air balloon. The graphic is to be sprayed/airbrushed on to a fabric called 'rip-stop nylon', which is some sort of parachute material. The piece of fabric will be rather large, like 30' x 20'. This will then be shipped to the manufacturer to be sewn into the balloon.
Some years ago I lettered a logo on to a one-man kite for a waterski club. I airbrushed automotive acrylic enamels with some flex agent. The paint bled thru the fabric big time and the colors dried very milky (reds were pink, black was gray etc.).
Has anyone ever worked on such a thing? What is the preferred paint? I do not look forward to using automotive paint on such a large scale.
Thank you, Curt Stenz
Posted by Philippe JACQUES (Member # 664) on :
I've some customers producing ballon air with my software. They produce the logo on the same material that the ballon and fix it after cut on the nylon sheets before assembling.
To do so, they draw the logo with a pen on the first nylon sheet and than cut the vinyl band in the same process. All this is produced in a single step on a Zünd using the multitool function included in my software at this purpose.
In a second process, they cut the logo
Then the ballon and the logo are fixed together.
Using the same special 'parachute" nylon guarantee the logo will leave in place during the flights and not modify the comportement of the ballon in the air
Posted by Doug Allan (Member # 2247) on :
Kite surfing is a new sport gaining popularity here in Maui. There are many world class surfers & wind surfers here & as the sport developes many companies producing equipment (& athletic sportswear etc.)are sponsoring these athletes to promote their products in exchange for free gear. The kites are made of rip stop nylon. I have screen printed a number of them with DA series nylon ink from NazDar. This is a 2-part ink requiring a catalyst, & on large jobs a retarder to keep it from drying in the screen. I have screened a 48" diameter logo in 2 sections & really don't ever want to do it again. As most screenprinters would know you need much more ink on the screen then will actually pass through the mesh, so a great deal is wasted since it is catalyzed & cannot be re-used. The screen is a pain to clean, & if you wait too long, forget it.
I would imagine you could lay down this same product with a brush or roller & although it would never look as good up close, that is not required.
The other solution I've used is a dacron material called insignia cloth. I get it direct from Bainbridge (1-800-433-0101) who I believe manufactures it for Sail graphics & numbers on Yachts (sp.)I buy it in 48" rolls and hand slice it to fit in my 24" plotter. It has it's own set of problems but does stick very well even through much abuse.
