Activity Feed › Discussion Forums › › Ink on Mylar – classic mistake (mine)
Posted by Mapman on September 22, 2016 at 2:44 pm
It’s been awhile since I needed to file a mylar survey with the county. Went to seal the drawing and the moment I stamped it, I remembered the ink doesn’t particularly like mylar. I let it “dry” overnight, but still it is as fresh as ever this morning.
Going to try a hair dryer later – warm setting. Maybe it’s the humidity?billvhill replied 7 years, 9 months ago 15 Members·21 Replies
21 Replies
gromaticus
Member
September 22, 2016 at 2:53 pm
You need a Mark II stamp pad:
back-chain
Member
September 22, 2016 at 2:54 pm
Yellow sticky note over ink. Should keep it from smearing when rolled and even acts as a blotter for excess ink.
jhframe
Member
September 22, 2016 at 2:55 pm
Are you using double-matte mylar? I don’t have any trouble with ink drying quickly on the mylars I produce. Plotter ink, signature ink, stamp pad ink, it all dries fast on the double-matte I use.
Mapman
Member
September 22, 2016 at 3:12 pm
Jim Frame, post: 392176, member: 10 wrote: Are you using double-matte mylar? I don’t have any trouble with ink drying quickly on the mylars I produce. Plotter ink, signature ink, stamp pad ink, it all dries fast on the double-matte I use.
Went to a local reprographics shop and had the print made. I wasn’t aware of the double -matte mylar. Is it porous enough to hold the ink?
Mapman
Member
September 22, 2016 at 3:13 pm
Gromaticus, post: 392174, member: 597 wrote: You need a Mark II stamp pad:
First I’ve heard of this product. Thanks!
daniel-ralph
Member
September 22, 2016 at 3:41 pm
Its been a while since I needed to wet stamp a mylar.
Double or single matt means only that you can either draw on one side or two. We used to draw some features on the back side so as to not disturb the linework moving forward. The size of the tooth on the mylar is what determines its suitability for accepting ink. There are various grades of it.
Some inks dry very slowly which is what you seem to be using. Find a faster drying ink. I used the loink product for a while. It actually dried out too fast. rendering the stamp pad useless unless you get the reactavator product.
Get a can of spray fixative from an art supply store and after you are done with your plat and have stamped it give it a light coat of spray and let it dry. This makes changes very difficult though. We used a sheet of paper with a hole in it so we only got the spray on the seal. Do it outside and don’t smoke while spraying.
You can and should cover the seal with a postit note if you are going to roll it up anyway unless you want a mess.Mapman
Member
September 22, 2016 at 4:11 pm
Just ordered the loink pad and ink. But….
Still have a wet stamp that I need to remove or just have it printed again. Solvent/oil that can remove ink without damaging the substrate – maybe WD-40?
The fixative idea I think I’ve used before. Not convinced it’s the best long term solution (wear off, yellowing with time etc.).gromaticus
Member
September 22, 2016 at 4:58 pm
Mapman, post: 392194, member: 6096 wrote: Just ordered the loink pad and ink. But….
Still have a wet stamp that I need to remove or just have it printed again. Solvent/oil that can remove ink without damaging the substrate – maybe WD-40?
The fixative idea I think I’ve used before. Not convinced it’s the best long term solution (wear off, yellowing with time etc.).You could try water and a vinyl eraser, but I would just replot.
I agree with you on the fixative (but I’ve never tried it).
I’ve been using the Lo-Ink pad for 20 years or more. It’s ink is air-drying, so the pad will dry out between uses. I just re-ink every time I need it. I’ve never liked the reactivator very much, I usually just use their ink.
Jim in AZ
Member
September 22, 2016 at 5:11 pm
I plot my seal along with the rest of the drawing using a Staedtler Lumocolor Permanent “S” (which I think is the “fine” weight). Dries in about 2 minutes and never smears – except maybe when the county clerk licks her thumb and rubs it to verify that it’s original!
holy-cow
Member
September 22, 2016 at 7:25 pm
It has been years since I needed to file a mylar. That ink drying wait seemed to last for ever and ever. Hard to make it look neat. Don’t miss mylar one bit.
What I really hated back in the dark ages was hand drafting on linen.
Monte
Member
September 22, 2016 at 7:29 pm
Every time we change to a new plotter, we have to get the plotter manufacturer to help us figure a mylar and ink set up so we can print on mylar and have it dry in a reasonable time frame. Then we have to find a stamp pad and ink pen so we can stamp and sign the mylars. Our current machine is printing on a roll that is labled as a plastic film, but it passes everyones test to be considered mylar, and the ink dries instantly on it, if we print in fine mode. No detailed pictures, or we spend an hour cleaning rollers on the output feed!
daniel-ralph
Member
September 22, 2016 at 8:44 pm
Mapman, post: 392194, member: 6096 wrote: Just ordered the loink pad and ink. But….
Still have a wet stamp that I need to remove or just have it printed again. Solvent/oil that can remove ink without damaging the substrate – maybe WD-40?
The fixative idea I think I’ve used before. Not convinced it’s the best long term solution (wear off, yellowing with time etc.).I have hundreds of drawings in my office that have the seal sprayed. It lasts a long time under those conditions but would yellow in sunlight. However, if you are using the drawing everyday, it likely will crack and wear.
My good buddy Ray Schutrop had his business cards printed on fade-out grid mylar. He won many a bar bet with the strongman who couldn’t rip his card in half. Ray is gone now but that makes me smile.a-harris
Member
September 22, 2016 at 9:08 pm
Have not worked on mylar in 20+ years.
Most printers are designed for bond paper.
The ink for mylar is fast drying and is not well suited for modern printheads.
Preparation of mylar before printing is necessary as there is a film on one side for the print to stand up on top of the paper and it may be better to print on the other side.MightyMoe
Member
September 22, 2016 at 10:21 pm
The ink thing is frustrating, the plotter mylar takes the staedtler ink pins for signing, but for the copier mylar you have to use a thin sharpie pin. If you don’t it smears and won’t ever dry with the staedtler pin.
Had to buy special matted mylar to run through the printer/copier and only the Sharp printer will do it, the other printers ruin the mylar.
So it may be the type of mylar you have and the type of ink.jhframe
Member
September 23, 2016 at 3:12 am
A Harris, post: 392254, member: 81 wrote: The ink for mylar is fast drying and is not well suited for modern printheads.
I run the same ink for both bond and mylar in my HP-450C. The mylar setting on the plotter slows the plot down, presumably to allow the ink to dry. It’s maybe half or less of bond speed, but not a big deal for me since I don’t print that many mylars — only maps that have to be filed with a public agency get that treatment.
I use 4-mil double-matte mylar, and have no trouble with ink smearing.
Bruce Small
Member
September 23, 2016 at 3:25 am
I used to have an awful problem with the ink drying slowly and smudging, even after hanging the mylar on the line and spraying with fixative, then our plotter repair guy suggested I was plotting on the wrong side. I was. Huge difference. Now it drys in minutes. Sheesh.
adam
Member
September 23, 2016 at 12:58 pm
I went thru the same problem when I was using mylar sheets. I started buying it by the roll and don’t have to worry about printing on the wrong side.
Kris Morgan
Member
September 23, 2016 at 1:09 pm
Mapman, post: 392172, member: 6096 wrote: It’s been awhile since I needed to file a mylar survey with the county. Went to seal the drawing and the moment I stamped it, I remembered the ink doesn’t particularly like mylar. I let it “dry” overnight, but still it is as fresh as ever this morning.
Going to try a hair dryer later – warm setting. Maybe it’s the humidity?Dad had some stuff he sprayed on it. We quit drawing on film/mylar when we got rid of the pen plotter circa 1999. Haven’t needed the spray since.
thebionicman
Member
September 23, 2016 at 1:39 pm
We spray our mylar with Kamar varnish. It’s an art preservative and it works very well. It tends to dry out slow ink pretty fast.
Mapman
Member
September 23, 2016 at 2:09 pm
What I’ve learned (to date):
- There are 2 sides to myler. As evident by Jim’s experience.
- There are at least 3 kinds of inks. Water, pigment, and solvent based. Some have acid and some not. Water and acid not good on mylar. Don’t know about pigment based. The solvent is fine if not acid. Went to arts and crafts store (Hobby Lobby) and found an ink pad called Stazon by Tsukineko. Designed to work even on glass – non acidic.
- Cleaned the drawing of the wet stamp using acetone quickly. The process left a slight marring of the mylar, but not enough to toss the sheet. Tried other solvents – WD 40, mineral spirits – no go. Only acetone worked.
- Cleaned the stamp of old ink. Removing the ink pad from the stamper will help with that. Used a cleaner at the arts and craft store designed for that purpose. Made by Stazon – has a little applicator pad of its own.
- Inked up the stamp did a few tests. Dried very quickly. Replaced the seal and all is good.
Hope this info helps anyone else that needs to work mylar. It’s all about the ink. Thanks for the replies/suggestions.
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