There are UV protectant laminates but they cost more and don't always last as long as they claim. Somewhere there is probably a spray-on but I wouldn't count on it to do all that it claims either.

One way to add life to your color signs is to print them off and then color laser copy them at a local copy center (here we have Kinko's). Most places now have color laser copiers that you can use on your own for about $1 per copy (8.5 by 11 inches). If your signs are small you can gang them up before you make the color copy and then cut them out to laminate. The inks used especially by Cannon Laser Color Copiers has the longest life as far as my experience goes.

You can also just run off duplicates when you do your initial printing so that you have back ups to replace the ones that fade.

Red is usually the first color to suffer, then yellow, then blue. So as the signs fade color balance gets distorted.

There are UV resistant inks available as well, at least if you are printing your own photos. But they do not seem to last as long as the hype say they do.

I am trying a thin flat sheet of polycarb cut to the sign size and slipped in front as a UV sheild this year... so far so good but it has only been a month or so since I started my test. I found 1/16" Lexan in small precut sizes at my local hardware store with the precut plexi and glass. The UV shield text made me think about the signs fading and that it might help. But with what the thin precut polycarb costs, it might just be cheaper to put together extra signs.

I know art and craft stores sell spray on UV protectant for artwork. Maybe that plus the UV laminate. The spray is not expensive, maybe $5-10 and should cover a lot of Sq. Ft.

Vouts, I have had the same problem here, it took me weeks to make out lovely item cards with a picture of the flower ,the seed head, any fruits and the plants shape and description and culture of the plant. Within a few months they are all faded. It was a waste of time and money (bought a laminating machine and a lot of stock of laminating pouches). Gone back to black koki pen handwritten on a plastic t-marker.

I don't know how much better it will be, but Tony Avent suggests using Xerox never-tear paper. I tried it, printing with a laser printer, and it held up pretty good with no extra protection for 6 months, when it got knocked down and messed up. It had faded some, but it is probably easier to deal with than regular paper which you then have to laminate.

Lisa P.

Here is a link that might be useful: Paper Link

Thanks for the suggestion, however my laser is black and white only, not color. I have to cut out the photos and stick them on separate hence the need to laminate. The black laser ink is pretty UV stable so no problem with the text fading, only the photos.

I did try avery weatherproof self-adhesive labels last season, which were great for text only. Even then the laser ink was erroded by a couple of hailstorms and the force of the rain. They are also quite pricey, especially when I have over 500 varietes to do each year.

I'll try some of the spray-on UV protector next year on my laminates and see how many sunny days they last this time.

Vouts

I buy sign material from a company called C. FRENSCH LTD in Beamsville ON Canada. They sell a plastic card stock that you can use with color ink jet printers. They recommend the Epson C86 pronter because the ink is waterproof. They also sell a sign coat spray that is supposedly water and UV resistant, although I have found my signs last all season without coating. The 8 x 10" size is just over $1.00 Cdn each. I don't see any mention of a website in their catalogue, but they have an email cfrensch@idirect.com

This will not help with your laser printer. However, I have an Epson stylus C82 printer. It uses what they call durabrite ink. Signs I have made with photos in my computer and laminated have looked good outside for over 8 months. I bought the printer about 3 years ago and I do not remember the cost. I do remember thinking that is was obsenely cheap.

Thanks for the tip on the epson durabrite inks. From what I have read from the reviews these are the only UV resistant home printer inks on the market.

Looks like it's worth the initial investment versus the cost of redoing 400 odd signs every season!!

Thanks again.

Vouts, I am very curious to find out (now that it's January and you started this thread back in July) how the Durabrite color signage held up for you? Are they still in good shape or will you have to reprint all of your color pictures once a year?

At the previous nursery where I worked, they leased a Canon color copier and those pictures lasted us for years (in the hot California sun!). Now I am in the situation where I need to have a color printer for signage here at my home-based business.

Many thanks for any tips.

Hi,

well I'm not in a position to give a definitive answer. My first batch of new signs went onto the nursery at the beginning of september and there hasn't been any noticeable degradation so far, however the sunshine is not the same as in high summer. I'm currently working 400 or so others that need updating - hopefully for the last time for a while!!!