Sailcloth and coatings

Can you print on coated or siliconised sailcloth?

Short answer

Yes. Coated and siliconised cloth is the hardest case in sail printing, because the coating is designed precisely so that nothing sticks to it. It is also the reason NaNo-Print exists: an ultra-light process that works on silicon-coated cloth and survives being pulled through a chute.

Why coatings defeat normal printing

Sailcloth coatings are there to control porosity, reduce friction and stop the sail from absorbing water. A low-surface-energy coating — silicone above all — gives ink almost nothing to bond to. Print applied without accounting for it will look correct in the loft and lift off after a season of packing.

So the coating has to be identified before the process is chosen. Manufacturer and cloth product name are usually enough; if the cloth is unknown, a sample tells us what we need.

Cloth types we work with

Coated and uncoated nylon spinnaker cloth, siliconised racing cloth, laminate and 3Di membranes, and woven polyester (Dacron). Each has its own route.

If you do not know the cloth

Your sailmaker will. Because sailprint.eu works through sailmakers rather than around them, the cloth specification usually comes from the loft that built the sail.

Keep reading

Related answers.

Every answer on this site is written from real sails, real cloth and real production — not from a template.

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