First things first, I claim no PDGA legality to the disc that I have printed on.
I know that it has added a thickness and a weight.
I apologize for not taking photos of the actual process. Next time I will.
The disc I used was a white ESP Cyclone. I chose this disc because it was the most flat one I had to prevent over-spray and ESP seems to take my rit dyes the best and thought that it would help in this process too.
The printer I used is a Vutek GS Flatbed Printer. Not too sure on the exact model. These printers are generally used for large scale print work. Luckily my brother runs a print shop and he helped me out. Without him, I wouldn't know what to do. These printers are about 10' wide and require about 5' in front and behind for clearance issues.
See attachment for image of a similar printer.
The ink used was standard UV ink that is in the printer. When it comes through, after ink has been applied, it passes under a UV light that cures the ink. This reduces bleeding, fading and dries it up a bit. It was dry to the touch about 10 seconds after it came out.
We couldn't get the image exactly centered with the print heads so here was our process.
1. Take our image and scale it down to the approximate size of what we wanted it to be.
2. Print it on a thick PVC (think those political yard signs but 1/4" thick.
3. Cut out the circle where our disc will fit and set it in, taping it on the back.
4. Send it through the printer the second time to print on the disc.
I mainly did this as an experiment to see how it would come out and if it would last.
Positives:
-Vibrant colors. The ink adhered to the disc quite well.
-Quickness. The whole operation probably took 15 minutes but with practice could probably shave that down a few more minutes.
-I couldn't notice any difference in the flight of the disc.
-After two months of play, only light scuffs.
Neutral:
-Gave the surface a slight gloss texture but it is not slick. Almost a slightly rough feel.
Negative:
-Kind of grainy. These printers are meant for large scale so resolution is usually lower.
-I had no clue that the black would show up so dark. I am going to try to stay away from dark images in the future.
-Cannot print day-glo colors with the ink we have in there and it's quite expensive to replace.
-The thick PVC is expensive and required so that it lines up correctly and does not over spray into the printer.
-Not really feasible for the home printer/dyer.
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I am going to try again later with more discs and try some other things. We also tried this on a Blue Champion Xcal with the same print and it came out very dark. I think only the ESP/Star type plastics in bright colors work the best because there is a background base.
Images that need to be centered (circles, or anything that has text that would look funny otherwise) would probably be difficult as best. With practice we could probably find a way, but we only have limited time and discs.
Also, in case anyone is wondering, a printer like this one is easily over 6 figures new. (I believe they paid a bit under that for each of theirs used because they needed repairs.) Adding in ink, maintenance, PVC, I doubt there would be any way to recoup your losses unless you were also printing large media as well.
If anyone has any questions, I'll be more than happy to answer. More technical questions about the printers will have to wait until I can ask my brother.
Also, I am NOT taking orders. If in the future, we find a more efficient way to do so, you will hear about it.
----------------
Finished Product
I know that it has added a thickness and a weight.
I apologize for not taking photos of the actual process. Next time I will.
The disc I used was a white ESP Cyclone. I chose this disc because it was the most flat one I had to prevent over-spray and ESP seems to take my rit dyes the best and thought that it would help in this process too.
The printer I used is a Vutek GS Flatbed Printer. Not too sure on the exact model. These printers are generally used for large scale print work. Luckily my brother runs a print shop and he helped me out. Without him, I wouldn't know what to do. These printers are about 10' wide and require about 5' in front and behind for clearance issues.
See attachment for image of a similar printer.
The ink used was standard UV ink that is in the printer. When it comes through, after ink has been applied, it passes under a UV light that cures the ink. This reduces bleeding, fading and dries it up a bit. It was dry to the touch about 10 seconds after it came out.
We couldn't get the image exactly centered with the print heads so here was our process.
1. Take our image and scale it down to the approximate size of what we wanted it to be.
2. Print it on a thick PVC (think those political yard signs but 1/4" thick.
3. Cut out the circle where our disc will fit and set it in, taping it on the back.
4. Send it through the printer the second time to print on the disc.
I mainly did this as an experiment to see how it would come out and if it would last.
Positives:
-Vibrant colors. The ink adhered to the disc quite well.
-Quickness. The whole operation probably took 15 minutes but with practice could probably shave that down a few more minutes.
-I couldn't notice any difference in the flight of the disc.
-After two months of play, only light scuffs.
Neutral:
-Gave the surface a slight gloss texture but it is not slick. Almost a slightly rough feel.
Negative:
-Kind of grainy. These printers are meant for large scale so resolution is usually lower.
-I had no clue that the black would show up so dark. I am going to try to stay away from dark images in the future.
-Cannot print day-glo colors with the ink we have in there and it's quite expensive to replace.
-The thick PVC is expensive and required so that it lines up correctly and does not over spray into the printer.
-Not really feasible for the home printer/dyer.
----------------
I am going to try again later with more discs and try some other things. We also tried this on a Blue Champion Xcal with the same print and it came out very dark. I think only the ESP/Star type plastics in bright colors work the best because there is a background base.
Images that need to be centered (circles, or anything that has text that would look funny otherwise) would probably be difficult as best. With practice we could probably find a way, but we only have limited time and discs.
Also, in case anyone is wondering, a printer like this one is easily over 6 figures new. (I believe they paid a bit under that for each of theirs used because they needed repairs.) Adding in ink, maintenance, PVC, I doubt there would be any way to recoup your losses unless you were also printing large media as well.
If anyone has any questions, I'll be more than happy to answer. More technical questions about the printers will have to wait until I can ask my brother.
Also, I am NOT taking orders. If in the future, we find a more efficient way to do so, you will hear about it.
----------------
Finished Product
