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With this method the badge reels are printed
on directly. Instead, the full color imprint is applied to the
surface of vinyl with an adhesive back. The vinyl is very
durable and is the same material used for bumper stickers and
the like. The most common color is white, but clear is also
available.
Full color printing is based on the cmyk
color system. Basically, these four colors cyan, magenta, yellow
and black when combined in various percentages can produce
millions of colors. The actual machines range from basic table
top models the size of an ink jet printer to full blown floor
models with all the bells and whistles. All machines will print
and contour cut the vinyl to fit the object imprint surface
area.
Two common printing mechanisms are in use.
Machines using ribbon cartridges are slower and cost more to
run. Each color is put down one after the other. The faster and
more economical machines use ink cartridges. With these models
all four inks are applied at the same time. Of course the faster
machines cost about three times the slower ribbon based models.
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