Question concerning defects in signshop decals.

[Burstbucker]

I designed some decals at home on my computer for a couple of pedals that I'm going to manufacture and sell locally. These vinyl decals cover the entire face of a BB box, this is way cheaper than getting the pedals screen printed when dealing in these small quantities.

I had a local sign shop print them off and overall, I'm quite happy with the way they turned out.  The only thing that I'm disappointed with is that most of these vinyl decals have a spot or two where the ink didn't transfer properly.  It kind of looks like a painted pedal with a small chip in the paint!  When I voiced my concern to the guy at the print shop, he said that this is to be expected and that they can't do any better than that and that there'll always be some small imperfections with this kind of thing.

I was just wondering if this is just the nature of the beast or does this guy have machines that aren't quite up to snuff?

[bwanasonic]

Without seeing the defects you are talking about, it's hard to say, but I work at a prepress/printing company that does vinyl signage, and I think he might be blowing you off. If possible, take your sample to a rival company (that cleans their equipment) and ask if they can do better. It sounds like dirty or poorly maintained equipment to me. We have entire walls covered with images on vinyl that don't show any *flakes*. Granted some tiny areas may have been touched up with a marker, but this should be done by the printer before you even see them.

Kerry M

[Burstbucker]

Bwanasonic-

Thanks for your post.

My decals are a solid color as a background and there's these little white dots here and there, some as big as the tip of a Sharpie marker pen.  

I think that he needs to fix his equipment.