We're often asked wether the inks used in Canon wide format printers /plotters are suitable for outdoor use. The short answer is - Yes!
The longer answer is - It's not wholly the inks that are waterproof (though Canon's unique Lucia TD and Lucia PRO formulations do play a big part), it's actually down to the quality of the coating of the paper or media that is being printed onto that counts most.
Without any coating, bubblejet ink (regardless of the manufacturer) will bleed into a paper, rather than sit on top of it. If that paper gets wet, the ink will bleed further and the paper will likely disintegrate, tear easily or even fall apart.
There are special materials out there however, which have a special coating which is designed to encapsulate the ink and hold onto it, so that it doesn't run off or smudge under watery conditions.
We tested the water resistant features of the Canon TM Series ink on a roll of our matt polypropylene film and the results were stunning!
We pointed a hose at the printed document, wiped it with a mop and even kicked it around a little!
No matter what we did, the ink didn't come off.
Luckily we filmed the actual tests which we performed, so you can watch the video and judge the results for yourself...
We're not saying that these images will last forever being subjected to this treatment. And we should point out that if the majority of the work you are going to be printing will be displayed outside, then you are better off looking at alternative technology (such as solvent or latex for example).
However, we wanted to assure our customers that Canon wide format printers and plotters are perfectly capable of producing work suitable for short-term outdoor display.
The image in this video was printed on a Canon TM-300 A0 plotter using our 180mic matt polypropylene film.
Wanna get your hands on a roll?
It comes on a 2 inch core (like most plotter paper), is 30m in length and is available from our store in 610mm, 914mm and 1067mm widths from just £51.37+vat per roll.
Need more help? Still have questions?
As always - Feel free to give us a call and speak to a friendly member of the Plotterbase team!