Best Printers for Printing on Magnetic Sheets
Custom magnets are great personal items to decorate the home or share with family and friends. Even companies can use customized magnets to share unique business cards, advertisements, and information with loyal customers and potential clients. With the right printer, creating your magnets can be easy.
Choose the Right Printer for the Right Material
You'll need a suitable printer for the job when you want to print something. Your printer needs might change depending on what you're printing and your materials. Each printer type can accommodate different printing materials and functions, including:
- Large-format printers: Also called wide-format printers, these devices print on larger paper and materials. You can use them with several transfer processes, so they work for many projects and applications. Some common uses for large-format printing include banners, architectural blueprints, construction plans, signs, and car decals. Depending on your transfer process, this printing type can be very cost-effective.
- Digital printers: Digital printers print words and images from online sources. They work well for jobs of any size because they can produce results quickly. You can often use them for photos, offices, and advertisements.
- Flexography printers: Often shortened to flexo printers, this type involves a process with a flexible plate and a rotary. This process is excellent for less standard printing materials, like plastic, foil, cardboard, and corrugated paper. The increased material capabilities make it standard for packaging materials, wallpaper, and newspaper.
- Offset printers: If you're looking for a printer with incredible image quality and product life span, offset printing is ideal. This printing process involves transferring images from a metal plate and a rubber blanket to the material. The process can be time-consuming because of its complex setup. Applications include books, documents, flyers, brochures, and newspapers.
- Screen printers: Screen printing is where ink transfers to your material through a mesh screen and stencil. Businesses commonly use this method to print fabrics and textiles, like clothing. You can also find this process implemented with printing on medical devices and balloons.
- Desktop inkjet printers: Desktop inkjet printers are one of the most common printer types, appearing in homes and businesses. Many people and companies use them to print documents and photos. You can also see them used for banners, graphics, and magnetized materials. The printing process involves jets spraying ink onto materials from digital sources, like computers or phones.
Printing With Inkjet Printers
Inkjet printers have many applications. They're flexible office and home tools you can use as custom magnet printers. These devices work with various paper types and sizes, making them versatile tools for office spaces looking for new types of promotional content.
Whether you need larger, thicker paper for brochures or pamphlets or smaller, glossy material for personal photos, an inkjet printer has the settings and solutions to manage your jobs. Avoid using other printer models, like laser printers, to customize magnetic sheets. Laser printers use heat to fuse toner onto the paper, and many magnetic materials can't stand that heat application. Instead, opt for your home or office inkjet printer to create custom magnetic sheets.
Magnetic sheets can be a great marketing tool for businesses with an inkjet printer, but individuals can also enjoy making magnetic creations. Print business cards that people can stick to their fridge for easy reference or family photos you can apply to any metal surface. Inkjet-printed magnets are great for DIY projects and marketing materials, as you can easily incorporate text, images, and graphics.
When working with magnetic sheets and inkjet printers, you can only feed in one sheet at a time. Otherwise, the sheets will stick together and cause issues for the printer or the sheets.
The 3 Best Printers for Magnetic Sheets
When trying to make custom magnetic materials, you'll want the best printer for magnetic sheets. While most inkjet printers can handle this capacity, finding the right printer will give you a higher-quality result.
1. Epson EcoTank Photo ET-8550
If you're looking for a quality wireless printer to print with magnetic sheets, consider the Epson EcoTank Photo ET-8550. This printer can accommodate several media types and thicker materials, making it great for creating custom magnetic items. It also has wide-format options, so you can print larger photos, graphics, and documents with excellent resolution — with this printer, you have more freedom to customize your magnet sizes.
While this printer might be a more expensive upfront investment, the ink is less costly and can last for several years before running out. If you are looking for a quality inkjet printer you are going to use frequently, the Epson EcoTank can be a cost-effective option.
2. Epson Expression Photo HD XP-15000
The Epson Expression Photo HD XP-15000 can connect to several devices, including smartphones. Like the Epson EcoTank, the Expression printer has wide-format capabilities, making it great for printing pictures, posters, signs, and other large materials. It supports thicker sheets like magnetic ones, allowing you to create your custom magnets.
This printer has many smart features, including one that tracks ink usage. You can carefully monitor ink levels and ensure you always have enough to complete your printing jobs. The high-quality ink it requires enables you to create magnets featuring detailed pictures and texts.
One downside is that this printer works a little slower than others on the market. While you'll still receive excellent results, speed is something to keep in mind, especially if you're looking for a high-functioning corporate printer.
3. Canon PIXMA PRO-1
Developers designed the Canon PIXMA PRO-1 to print professional-grade photos. Quality ink and other features create long-lasting products you can depend on for personal and professional needs. This printer has several ink slots to create beautiful color gradients and other intricate visual details on your custom magnets.
Like many other inkjet printers, this one accommodates thicker printing materials because of its function as a photo printer, making it an excellent choice for magnetic sheet printing. You will also have the option to choose the finish with this printer, letting you offer glossy final products that will impress family and friends or customers.
Because this printer is for professional photography, it has fewer capabilities than others. You can only connect through a wire, and it offers no scanning. Everything you print will need to come from an online source on a device you can connect through the wired services it provides.
Magnets are everywhere in our daily lives. You can find them on refrigerators, cars, whiteboards, and more. That's why the experts at Magnum Magnetics created this helpful guide of tips for using printable magnetic sheets. These products offer an easy way to customize magnets quickly with anything from colorful logos to office supply labels.
Whatever your magnet needs, Magnum Magnetics is here to help you learn more and provide you with the highest-quality magnet products.
Check Printer Compatibility
The number one tip for printing on magnetic sheets is to check your printer's compatibility. The magnetic sheet material can only withstand a maximum temperature of 70 degrees. Laser printers can generate more than this amount, so it's important to use an inkjet printer when printing directly onto the sheet.
There are several specific types of printers compatible with printable magnets. For example, Magnum Magnetics sheets are compatible with inkjet, screen, offset HP Indigo, Xerox, Kodak NexPress, Xanté, Oki, Ricoh, and Konica Minolta printers.
A few of these options include flexo, offset, digital, screen, wide format, and desktop printers. Each printer has unique requirements and capabilities. For example, you can create magnetized direct marketing materials with sheets specially designed for the offset printing press.
Before Printing on Magnetic Sheets, Consider Mil Thickness
It's also critical to ensure you use the correct magnet thickness for your application. Outdoor magnets usually need a greater thickness than indoor magnets for durability. Manufacturers measure magnet thickness by a unit called a mil, which is one-thousandth of an inch.
Some examples of the mil thickness of magnets across applications include:
- Home: A label organizer would take a 60-mil magnet, and a dry-erase whiteboard would take a 20-mil magnet.
- Office: A business card magnet can range from 12 to 60 mils in thickness.
- Warehouse: A dry-erase scheduling board would need a 30-mil magnet.
Use Vinyl Laminated Sheeting
In the past, printers could only print directly on vinyl, and some still do today. Unfortunately, this process is costly and challenging because you must print the magnet in one step and then laminate it in another. Also, printing on vinyl often causes fraying at the edges of the magnet and peeling and delamination of the top layer.
Companies like Magnum Magnetics can now offer direct printing onto coated and uncoated vinyl laminates. We can print the magnet with lamination in a single step to avoid issues and move faster, resulting in efficiency and convenience.
Get Your Magnetic Sheeting From Magnum Magnetics
When you have the right printer for the job, you can expect better results, even when you're printing on magnetic sheets. Now, you just need the right magnetic sheets for your creations.
If you're looking for great magnetic sheets, try DigiMag® Paper from Magnum Magnetics. We designed our magnetic sheets to work with inkjet printers, allowing you to use them with your personal or company printer. You can purchase standard A4 paper or die-cuts for business cards and photos, meaning the DigiMag paper will meet your every need.
Explore our magnetic printing paper today, or contact Magnum Magnetics for more product information!
