Unit 30, Task 7, D1

Vinyl cutters and laser cutters for signage:

Vehicle wrapping is a special process where the vehicle is literally wrapped in printed graphics. The graphics are printed onto an adhesive vinyl film which sticks onto the surface of the vehicle. You can put pictures, logos or text onto the vehicle. Vehicle wrapping is not permanent. It is possible to take the wrap off and replace it.There are various types of illumination a shop sign can have, for example, back-lit, face-lit, edge-lit and halo lit. Illuminated shop signs are made by acrylic letters being cut out and placed on top of a board with lights on. Sometimes the acrylic used is translucent in order to be able to see the light shining through.The images used for both of these printers would need to be a vector. For the vehicle wrapping, the image will be getting blown up therefore would need to be a vector in order to stop pixelation. When the acrylic is cut out for the shop sign, it would need to be a vector as it is a series of lines which would be simple to cut out.

Inkjet and wide format printing for bitmap displays and poster:

The width of a wide format printer is between 17” and 100”. They are good for printing banners and posters. Inkjet printers are not used for this as they cannot produce large pieces of print. Wide format printers are good for printing posters as they are high quality. Both printers use a roll of print instead of individual sheets. This makes it easier to print out high quality images. Most things can be washed off the posters without ruining the graphics which makes it better for outdoor posters.

Laser printers for leaflets and flyers:

Laser printing is a very high speed way of printing. It allows high quality images and text to be printed out. Lasers printers can be expensive to keep as they may need to be replaced. Also, when the documents have been printed out they are sometimes wet and can smudge.

3D Printing

3D printing can print out a lot quicker and a higher quality than other printers. 3D graphics can be printed at a high speed and almost anything can be printed as long as there is a design for it. Prototyping is no longer needed as 3D printing can make it easier for companies to make products. It is essential to have a 3D printing software such as, Cimatron in order to print.