| "Outdoor durable"
is certainly a relative term, and one that is tossed around rather loosely in
the printing industry. You will often see it used to describe or rate digital
output devices. You may find some flexographic printed labels that are said to
be "outdoor durable". The fact is, without clearly defining what
"outdoor durable" means, the term means nothing. Is a graphic
"outdoor durable" if it weathers outdoors for two years in Canada,
but the same graphic only weathers six months in Florida? A more detailed
definition is needed.
We define "outdoor durable" as: A graphic "vertically
mounted" that will weather outdoors without fading, cracking, peeling,
yellowing, "chalking", edge curling, or other form of deterioration
for a period of not less than 5 years. This is based on typical UV exposure in
the central United States.
This rating of outdoor durability rules out many forms of printing, because
they simply do not use as much ink or pigments as screen printing. In fact,
this definition rules out many screen printers who do not know
how long their inks or the products they print on last. We test all our own
constructions to be sure they can meet this requirement. We can also
manufacture graphics that exceed this definition of outdoor durability. By
carefully choosing a material, ink, and adhesive we can meet your most
demanding outdoor requirements.
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