posted
Maybe that's what Tut died of, he had a sugar attack from eating too many Twinkies.....Ha!Ha1.... I counln't resist.
-------------------- John Thompson JTT Graphics "The big guy with a little sign shop!" Royston/Hartwell Georgia jtt101@hotmail.com Posts: 626 | From: Royston Georgia | Registered: Feb 2002
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posted
I don't know where your getting your info , but I have partial rools of vinyl that are 5 and 6 years old and just as good today as they were then.
One problem can arise tho if you're using perferated viny...over a period of time they will shrink and the hole become misaligned because of it. (they still work tho)
And as far as banner material ...I have a 4'x 24' banner over the front entrance of my shop thats 8 years old. it's just a 13 oz. white banner but it and the vinyl ink hand lettering are as good today as they were 8 years back.
So I have to believe banners rolled up in the shop have a shelf life double that.
-------------------- "Werks fer me...it'll werk fer you"
posted
My understanding of "vinyl shelf life" has to do with the liner, not so much the vinyl. The backing has a silicone liner, which breaks down over time causing the two materials to separate or shrink. I have some vinyl that’s been around for 4 -5 years that is like this………….I use this stuff for doing test cuts or creating patterns.
I think banner material has the same half life as Uranium ……….maybe I thinking Plutonium.
-------------------- John Martin Robson Pendragon Signs & Graphics Yellowknife,NT,Canada
if it's not one thing.....it's two things Posts: 261 | From: Yellowknife, NT, Canada | Registered: Aug 2000
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Actually, shelf life is not due to the liner. I worked for a major vinyl converting company...and can tell you that vinyl shelf life is spec'd out for 2 years vertical storage.
(Now, if you store it on a revolving rotisserie, it may last for years. )
After that you begin to get "adhesive migration" which literally means the adhesive begins to sag and move downward in a vertical storage situation due to.....you guessed it....gravity. This will give uneven adhesion. It also begins to lose it's effectiveness.
Believe it or not, we logged several types of vinyl flaws through SPC (Statistical Process Control). There are many flaws that come directly from the manufacturer...although the bigger names (3M, Avery) have minimized them over the years. They include silicone skip (liner has spots where silicone coating didn't cover, thereby making the vinyl stick to the backing paper in spots, pinholes, bugs/dirt/debris indentation,this spots, and a host of other flaws.
You probably won't be able to "see" the degradation of the adhesive, but that's what the testing says. Vinyl that is 5 years old is not going to have the adhesive properties of a new roll....no way.
The same goes for Transfer Tape.....when it begins to yellow .... that's an indication that it's breaking down and going bad...not just a UV issue.
The vinyl may seem sticky and feel like it's gonna work after 5 years...but it will fail more quickly than a fresh roll.
Now if you're sticking it on a fleet vehicle that you know will be "turned over" in a couple years, it may not matter.
That's the scoop as I know it.
-------------------- Todd Gill Outside The Lines Potterville, MI Posts: 7792 | From: Potterville, MI | Registered: Dec 2001
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posted
The city where I live had hundreds of city decals screenprinted on Scotchlite about 10 years ago. Now when they put them on something, it'll blow off after a day or two. I also got a roll of old SparCal (I think) from a customer and it was about 5-7 years old, it won't stick to anything (not even dry application) not glass, coro, aluminum.
-------------------- John Thompson JTT Graphics "The big guy with a little sign shop!" Royston/Hartwell Georgia jtt101@hotmail.com Posts: 626 | From: Royston Georgia | Registered: Feb 2002
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That sounds about right. I've had a few people tell me it isn't worth saving $$ by using soap and water solution instead of a commercially available application fluid for wet apps.
I think it's more crucial to use fresh vinyl...I don't think I would feel too safe using anything over a couple years old. The freshness of the vinyl directly affects the quality of the graphic...in my opinion....still, I have heard success stories.
-------------------- Todd Gill Outside The Lines Potterville, MI Posts: 7792 | From: Potterville, MI | Registered: Dec 2001
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