Sideart printing inhouse vs. vendor purchase - HELP

[Zeno]

I have a large format HP inkjet printer at my office.  What are the drawbacks to ordering a roll of HP vinyl adhesive paper and printing CPO and sideart at the office?

Is the process a whole heck of a lot different if I order art from one of the vendors? 

Is it worth me ordering the paper and printing in-house, or buying the sideart from vendors?

Example: why would I pay two-bits $300 for ms. pac art if I can get the files and print in the office? 

Thanks for the help guys and gals.

[FrizzleFried]

Well it depends on what you are looking for an availability.  If what you need is available as a SILKSCREENED piece of side art,  that is,  by far,  more desirable.  The colors last much longer,  the overall look and feel is much more authentic,  etc.  If what you need is NOT available silkscreened,  basically what you would be paying for is EXACTLY what  you can do yourself.

So,  for your Ms. Pac,  I am positive there is HIGH-QUALITY silkscreened artwork out there...and your home made stuff,  while nice,  will pale in comparison...

[amadama]

Hi Zeno,
Give it a shot if you want. I print all my stuff on an HP Z3100 44" wide printer and it looks great!
The adhesive vinyl is about $200 for a 40" roll.
Check out my Pac-man pics on the Project announcements.
http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=67464.0
CPO's are tough because you have to laminate them or spray them with acrylic clear coat (several coats of satin Krylon clear is good). Most vendors will laminate the CPO's with a tough polycarbonate material. If you are going to put plexi on top of your CPO it doesn't matter as much.
Sideart comes out fantastic although it should be clear-coated as well with Satin clear coat(I clear coated my Dragon's Lair side art with clear Matte finish and it too looks awesome).
Marquees look really nice too on photo paper or even better if you get HP translite material (very expensive).
If you are just going to do a small run buy from a vendor, if you want to do a lot of stuff do it yourself. Just beware the cost of the ink too (most people do not factor this in). Also make sure your printer is properly calibrated for the paper you are using (or else what you thought was red on the screen may come out orange on the vinyl and you just blew a fistful of money!).
Good luck,
Alex

[Zeno]

So there is no issue with applying clear-coat over the vinyl?  I can't tell how these two are going to interact.

Your pics look great amadama.  Can't wait to see the sideart applied.

[WunderCade]

So there is no issue with applying clear-coat over the vinyl?  I can't tell how these two are going to interact.

Your pics look great amadama.  Can't wait to see the sideart applied.

Zeno,

There are a couple silk-screeners on this forum, check out the Burgertime Well Done thread for a good one. These silk-screeners have access to the same files you do and it would be a much less expensive proposition for you to have them make you what you want than to invest in trial and error and ink and vinyl rolls, unless you plan on having a continual need for printing your own stuff beyond this cabinet or money isn't an issue, then by all means.

[amadama]

Sorry, that should be $200 for a 40 foot (not 40") roll!
Vinyl and polypropylene (paper too) can be safely sprayed with clear coat.
I am now considering experimenting with photo paper as a side art material for one of my other projects. HP photo paper and inks are supposedly archival in nature and can last up to 100 years. I think a laminated or acrylic coated satin paper may look very nice if applied properly.
What type of printer do you have access to at your office?

[Zeno]

We have an HP DesignJet printer.  Same as you amadama?

What kind of adhesive photo paper are you thinking about using?  It sounds cheaper then vinyl.

[shardian]

I've experimented with an HP color inkjet plotter and photo paper. Granted, when they first came out I was impressed. however, the durability is not very good. UV rays will DESTROY your art if left in direct exposure. I had a marquee sitting in my garage for about 2 weeks before I clear-coated it and a portion of it was faded from being in direct sunlight. Clear-coat "supposedly" will protect your stuff from UV rays, but I haven't tested that claim.
If you set your inkjet stuff next to the real deal, be it professionally printed stuff on a better plotter, or a silkscreened piece of art, you will know that your stuff is vastly inferior. I got a marquee from Emdkay that makes my inkjet marquees look like crap.

Having said all of that, if you have access to a plotter, are on a budget, have a large amount of art to produce (several machines like me  ), and can accept the fact your stuff won't be top quality - well then it will work just fine for all the art on your cabinet.

My only advice, clear coat your work as soon as possible after it is dried. I didn't and alot of my stuff got scratches/ UV damage.

Good Luck!