Imprimatura: Toning the Substrate

It doesn’t matter whether you are painting on canvas, a metal panel, Masonite, wood or MDO. If your substrate is white, the stark brilliance of the surface can be overpowering and distracting. For this reason artists have toned their painting surfaces for centuries.   Typically, a canvas or another substrate was toned with a wash of [ ]
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Rules for Overlaying Heat Transfer Films

Learn the proper way to layer plotter cut heat transfer films.  The array of colors in the SEF flex and flock film product line opens the door to endless design possibilities. While many different films can be heat pressed on top of one another, you should follow the few simple rules listed below for trouble-free [ ]
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Service Temperature Range and Thermal Degradation

Jim Hingst explains how extreme heat can cause the PVC resin of a vinyl film to break down. In selecting a film for an application, the “Service Temperature Range” is an important consideration. So what exactly is the service temperature range? As you might guess, this term refers to the range of temperature within which [ ]
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Using Car Wax On Printed Dry Erase Vinyl

My story, How to Minimize Ghosting on Dry Erase Boards,  explains how to condition EZ Erase dry erase vinyl film with Rain-X liquid car wax.  After writing on the film with dry erase markers, you can also use the car wax to wipe the surface clean with no residue or ghosting. Several sign shop owners [ ]
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Avoiding Edge Curling When Printing Full Bleeds

Why the Simplest Solutions are Generally the Best Printing heavy concentrations of ink to the edges of some films can result in edge curl. But there is a simple solution.  As a solvent or ecosolvent ink dries, the coating contracts. That makes sense! The same thing happens with paint.  Usually the contraction of the ink is [ ]
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Roland Service Technician for Contract Work

Supply55 is seeking a trained Roland service technician to service a population of printers in the Sacramento, California, Carson City, Nevada and Reno, Nevada area. If you’re a trained independent Roland service technician, please contact Supply55 at 734-668-0755 or sales@supply55.com.
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Graphics Troubleshooting

Yesterday I received an email with a couple of pictures of applied vinyl graphics with what looked like bubbles underneath the film. See the photo below. The message that accompanied the pictures read: “Could you please take a look at the enclosed pictures and help us with your assessment.” In troubleshooting problems long distance, pictures are [ ]
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