To make long lasting stickers, you need to follow several steps. Firstly, you need the right kind of sticker material, or self-adhesive vinyl as we call it in the industry. Secondly, you need to use high quality inks which will bite into the vinyl – solvent-based inks are the best for this. Next is the most crucial step – outgassing.
Seen above, outgassing is simply letting the solvents “outgas” from the vinyl. During the normal drying phase of the inks most of the solvent evaporates, but some still remains. Outgassing is done by hanging the vinyl vertically, and as the solvents are heavier-than-air, they fall out of the vinyl over time. Perth Graphics Centre outgasses its prints for 72 hours to ensure they are completely solvent-free. This restores the vinyl to its original state and prevents it from curling up at the edges or from lifting over time.
This is particularly critical when following up with the final step – overlaminating. You see, if a print still has solvent in it and then gets overlaminated with a protective film, it will trap the solvents inside and that can cause bubbling or peeling later down the track.
So there you have it: Perth Graphics Centre’s guide to producing the longest lasting stickers possible. These steps are followed meticulously every time we produce stickers that need to last. You can be confident that stickers you purchase from Perth Graphics Centre will stand the test of time.