Printer recommendation

Hey. First of all, I use to post on here a LOT, but I had to reregister. Did something happen to the forums?

Anyways…

I’m looking for suggestions for a printer. I’m working on a project for a customer that is printing license plate decals for various states. They are looking for a printer to print the information on them. We are supplying and manufacturing the decals themselves. They had looked at using a laser printer but the toner won’t hold up to being outside on the back of a car for two years. I know some customers use thermal printers, but the cost of a printer to produce millions a month is going to be an issue.

So I’m looking for two things: speed and durability. Can someone point me in the right direction for something I can suggest to them? It also has to be able to handle 13" x 19" stock at a minimum.

Hey, Cosmo! Welcome back.

The previous owners of the forum decided they were done and shut it down, which was a blessing in disguise. Most everyone migrated over to this new forum, which is working out quite well.

Welcome Back Cosmo!!! :heart: :slight_smile:

Are you looking to buy a printer, or for a local printshop that can print those decals?

Aren’t those things printed on a high speed web press?Can’t imagine using sheet stock and having to cut millions of those things. One of my summer jobs, for about 2 weeks, was QC on a web press. A strobe light was used as the labels went by to stop-motion the prints so you could catch obvious errors like smears or misregistration on the label. They were all bar code this or that. 2 weeks was all I could stand of that strobe.
They were solvent ink prints on vinyl stock.

Here in Utah, those stickers are printed on a reflective, metallic 3M vinyl. They have an adhesive backing with a peel-off covering and a laminate over the printing. I’m having a hard time imaging a huge two-ton roll of the stuff being run through a web press, but if you’ve done it, I guess it’s doable.

I really ought to know this since I’ve designed some of the personalized stickers that go on Utah specialty license plates, but I’m thinking they’re all printed digitally now.

They are run on a web press. That’s all we run. But we are printing the blank sheets and attaching the decals. The state is printing the individual information.

What they are doing now is they have small sheets that make up the registration and the decal that they print on a thermal printer. Then they have a separate piece that they laser print with the receipt and other info. They then put both of those with the license plate into a separate envelope to mail.

We are designing a self contained mailable piece where the plate, registration, and decals are all together and only one piece is printed without the need for an extra envelope. Which is why it needs to be laser printable.

It wasn’t a 2-ton web press. It’s a narrow gauge press. It ran labels on roll stock two to six inches wide.
The reflective plate stickers we have here are also on a 3M reflective product with a crack and peel backer. I’m not sure they are lammed or just a shiny solvent ink. My boat regi stickers are on the same material but those are definitely lammed.

OK. My experience with web presses have all been those used to print newspapers, phone books and that sort of thing. They’re two stories high and as long as a basketball court. I’ve never seen the kind you’re referring to.

Kinda figured that. The label machine would pretty much fit in a standard living room (if the floor were reinforced.)

But were way off the mark here. I’m still not sure what Cosmo is looking for. Something that will print all-in-one mailers maybe and can handle variable data?

According to my view, Epson M200 is one of the best printer. I am using this printer for a long time and it provides a very good service. Once due to a voltage issue. To fix Epson printer in error state I fix my connection issue.

An Epson M200 is an office quality All-In-One printer that uses waterbased inks.
Totally not suitable for this production run/outdoor use purpose.

woow I am shocked amazing

I’ve only had positive experiences with Brother. I now have a color laser from them, and it works perfectly. However, if you want to avoid being ripped off, you should buy third-party ink.

Swift Ink is fantastic. I’m not sure if they ship to Canada or how much it would cost. They are usually less than half the cost of OEM ink/toner.

Laser is unquestionably the most cost-effective in the long run. Toner cartridges have a few thousand pages before they run out, whereas inkjet cartridges only have a few hundred. They’re also noticeably faster. In comparison, a full-color page on my old inkjet took 15 minutes to print at the highest quality setting. It took the laser 15 seconds to print the same document at the highest quality.

Hello people.
READ THE OP if you are gonna comment on this.

This is an outdoor, heavy wear application. No office printer or laser is going to do what the OP was looking for way back in March of 2018

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Yeah, I’ve made this same kind of mistake a few times.

As PD mentioned this is a 3 year old thread. I’m sure it’s been taken care of by now :wink: