Q&A: Reverse Printing

Digital printing and industry experts tackle your top questions, challenges, concerns, and frustrations as 2015 comes to a close:

Q: With my flatbed UV printer (Arizona 480 GT), I can make a day-night sign by printing a layer of CMYK on the rear of Plexiglas, then a layer of white, then a second CMYK layer in reverse. This sign will be visible during the day and backlight nicely at night.

What can I make that I haven’t thought of yet?

– James Diorio, owner, CC West Printing, Austin, Texas

A: Your second CMYK image could be a slightly modified image with different content. For window graphics, new applications in the form of static cling, single/double sided, day/night backlits, and rigid- and roll-based images are proving to be very popular and intriguing. Additionally, with your Arizona 480 GT, promotional items – customizable; large or small – are also possible with the available substrates.

– Randy Paar, marketing manager, Large Format Solutions, Canon Solutions America

A: Are you running a dual white or a white and varnish channel? Varnish can open up some really interesting avenues by adding a texture to flat images. By over-printing varnish on selected areas of an image, a 3D quality can be added to a flat image. This technique can create some stunning P-O-P signs for which your customers may be willing to pay a premium price.

If you have a dual white configuration, then you should use this capability to print on non-white substrates. A really cool application is to print directly on metal. (Warning: Make sure the metal is not too thin as the lamps can produce enough heat to warp some thin sheets.) A design can be produced that lets bare metal show through in strategic areas. The white undercoat will allow for full color in the other areas. The same technique could work on wood or other non-white substrates.

Of course, you can also apply the technique you have already used to flexible backlit media to reduce costs.

– Chris Morrison, print industry consultant

[Questions and responses have been edited for brevity and clarity. Views shared represent those of independent experts and readers.]

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