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Make Sure Your Message Sticks! Tips on Applying Graphics to Walls

January 21st, 2016

Written by Frank Corey, Mid Atlantic Area Sales Representative

A constant issue in the wide format, digital sign world is getting graphics to stick to painted walls. Failures typically occur when the top of the graphic releases and sometimes the entire graphic will be on the floor after one evening.

There are many factors that can cause these failures. The most obvious culprits are walls that are not cleaned properly (80% water, 20% isopropyl alcohol is typically recommended), walls that were just painted (paint can take up to 30 days to completely dry- no more outgassing), walls painted with new, low VOC paints, matte walls and walls with a lot of orange peel from numerous coats of paint.

Improper handling of the graphic (letting the adhesive get wet or dirty before applying it to the wall), installing graphics immediately after removing them from a cold vehicle, a cold environment (60 degrees minimum) or a cold air vent blowing directly on the top of a graphic can prevent the adhesive from properly tacking up to its maximum value.

Not choosing an adhesive vinyl with the proper adhesion value can also lead to adhesion failures. For example, using a low tack adhesive on a textured matte wall can cause adhesion issues when applying the graphic.

In most cases when digital printers are looking for a solution that will work on most wall applications, they will choose a 2 mil cast printable vinyl and matching 2 mil cast laminate. The big advantage choosing an expensive cast printable vinyl and laminate verses a 3.5 - 6 mil calendared printable vinyl and calendared laminate is that cast vinyl is soft and will conform better to any surface with orange peel and therefore gets more surface adhesion.  You can see the surface of the wall through the cast printable and laminate. Calendared vinyl is stiffer and cannot conform to the wall surface. They are basically getting all their adhesion at from the very top surface of the wall and not the complete surface like cast vinyl does.

There is a less expensive alternative to cast vinyl for flat wall applications. Quality Media’s 400 Series, 3.1mil calendared, bubble free, blockout vinyl has a soft feel similar to cast vinyl and will conform to a wall’s surface for better adhesion. 400 Series printable adhesive vinyl products are over 50% less expensive than cast vinyl and Quality Value Laminates which are a recommended match to the 400 Series are also 50% less expensive too. The 400 Series includes removable and permanent (up to 5 years) adhesives in gloss and matte surfaces to 60” wide.

Of course, with any calendared vinyl, there could be a slight amount of shrinkage at the edges over time and always pre-test the paint adhesion before applying a removable vinyl to verify it will not damage the painted surface.

Wall Graphic Solutions  Laminating Films

 

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