Magnetic signs have long been used as a removable signage solution for vehicles, SUVs and trucks, but magnetic signage material is increasingly being used in P.O.P. applications on shelving and other retail applications. Understanding the properties of the material and its print properties can help shops take advantage of these unique opportunities.
长期以来，磁性标识都作为优秀的可拆卸标识解决方案应用于小汽车、越野车和卡车的实际使用中，但如今磁性标识材料越来越多地应用于P.O.P.置物架和其他零售应用的解决方案。了解材料本身的属性及其打印的相关性能可以帮助标识商店更好地利用这些独特的机会，来为自己的业务创造价值。

Material Types
材料类型
The most common types of magnetic signage material are based on magnetized flexible substrates—either magnetized vinyl or inkjet magnet paper. Magnetized paper is readily available, but it is generally sold in 8.5" x 11" sheets and is intended for small-format desktop inkjet printers for the home craft market. However, some manufacturers also sell rolls of vinyl-based magnetic material with a paper top coat material (up to 42" wide), for use with water-based wide-format printers. 
最常见的磁性材料类型就是磁化的柔性基板——磁化乙烯基材料或喷墨磁铁纸。磁铁纸很容易买到，出售的纸张规格通常为8.5”x 11”，适用于家用手工艺品市场的小型桌面喷墨打印机。并且，一些制造商还销售带有纸面涂层（最大至42英寸宽）的乙烯基磁性卷材，用于水基宽幅打印机。
Magnetized flexible vinyl material is available from several manufacturers including Master Magnetics, Castle Rock, Colo., and Magnum Magnetics, Marrietta, Ohio. The material is much thicker than its paper cousin—typically 12 to 30 mil—and is either designed for use as a mounting substrate for self-adhesive vinyl, or for large-format direct printing. The imaged side of the material is generally white, but colors are available, and you can choose between a gloss or matte finish. 
磁化的柔性乙烯基材料可从以下几家制造商获得，包括Master Magnetics、Castle Rock、Colo.和美国俄亥俄州玛丽埃塔的Magnum Magnetics。该材料比其纸质材料厚得多（通常为12至30密耳），并且被设计用于自粘乙烯基的安装基本材料或用于宽幅直接印刷材料。材料的成像面通常为白色，但有多种颜色可供选择，并且你还可以选择光泽或哑光表面。

The most important distinction among magnetized vinyl signage products is the thickness of the magnets. The thicker the magnet, the more magnetic pull it has. This is critical because the stability of a magnetic sign depends entirely in its pull strength. Pull strength is generally measured in grams per square inch or pounds per square foot. 
磁化乙烯基标识产品中最重要的区别是磁性材料的厚度，磁性材料越厚，磁力越大。这个条件非常关键，因为磁性标识的稳定性完全取决于其拉伸强度。拉伸强度通常以克/平方英寸或磅/平方英尺来度量。
The required thickness of the magnet will vary depending on the application. For example, 30-mil magnetic sheeting will offer sufficient of pull strength to resist peeling off of a vehicle door at highway speeds. And 12- to 20-mil magnets are good for stationary signs, but might not cut it as a vehicle graphic.
所需的磁性材料厚度通常根据应用的不同而有所区别。例如，30密耳的磁性板材可以提供足够的拉伸强度，以帮助车辆在高速公路上行驶时抵抗车门图形的剥落。12~20密耳的磁性材料适用于固定标识，但很少用于车辆图形的安装。
When looking at vinyl-based magnetic signage products, it at first appears that the vinyl and pull strength are fairly standardized, but are they all really the same? 
当我们在了解乙烯基磁性标识产品时，我们通常会以乙烯基和拉伸强度为标准，但是所有的磁性材料标识的判断标准都是如此统一的吗？
“Shop owners should look at print quality,” says Mike Gertz, marketing manager of Master Magnetics. “There are big differences in print surfaces. Each manufacturer has its own ‘secret sauce’ formula for creating the vinyl base material and especially the print surface. We invite sign shops, when checking out products, to compare print quality on their own equipment. Our vinyl has the ability to print high resolution graphics with different ink types—UV, solvent, eco-solvent and Latex.”
Master Magnetics公司的营销经理Mike Gertz说：“卖家应该对材料的印刷质量有所关注，当表面材料不同时，印刷也会有相当大的差异。每个制造商都有自己的‘秘密武器’，用于制作乙烯基材料，尤其是印刷的表面。我们经常会邀请标识商店的管理者来考察我们的产品，观察我们的产品用于他们的设备上时的印刷质量。我们的乙烯基材料可以使用各种不同的油墨类型（比如UV固化油墨、溶剂型、环保溶剂型油墨和乳胶油墨）来打印出高分辨率的图形。”
But not all magnetic signage products are vinyl based. There is a non-traditional magnetic signage system that employs some unique materials, and is primarily aimed at P.O.P. and retail graphic applications. The system, available from Visual Magnetics, Mendon, Mass., matches magnetic-receptive technologies with a thin, lightweight printable media. Its components consist of three parts: a micro-iron latex primer that can be painted onto a wall or other surface; a double-sided adaptable high-performance substrate magnet that will stick to the primer on one side; and a micro-iron impregnated print media that is printable on one side and mounts to the magnetic substrate on the other. The printable media is available in polyester or cotton fabric and polypropylene.
但并非所有的磁性标识产品都是以乙烯基为基础的。有一种非传统的磁性标识系统采用了一些独特的材料，主要应用于P.O.P.和零售图形展示。该标识系统由马萨诸塞州Mendon的Visual Magnetics公司制造，它将磁性接收技术与薄而轻的可印刷媒介相匹配。其材料由三部分组成：微铁乳胶底漆，可涂在墙壁或其他表面上；双面可用的高性能磁性基板材料，一面通常粘在底漆上；微铁浸染的印刷媒介，其中一面可进行印刷，另一面则安装在磁性基板材料上。这种印刷媒介可利用聚酯、棉织物和聚丙烯制成。

Printing onto Magnetics
在磁性材料上打印
There are several ways to image onto vinyl-based magnetic material, the most common being screen printing. However, sign shops also can use cut vinyl, or print to PSA vinyl and mount it to the magnetic sheeting. A laminated vinyl print mounted to magnet sheet is very durable.
有多种方法可以在乙烯基磁性材料上成像，最常见的是丝网印刷。然而，标识商店也可以通过对乙烯基材料进行切割或是在PSA乙烯基材料上进行图形印刷后，再将其安装到磁性板材上。使用层压工艺将乙烯基印刷图形安装在磁性板材上，将会使整个材料变得非常耐用。
Manufacturers also offer direct-printable magnetic products—both coated and uncoated. Direct-printed magnets have some advantages. Direct printing reduces the cost of producing the job, the end product looks and feels like it was screen printed, and there is no concern about vinyl peeling off the material.
制造商还提供可直接印刷的磁性产品——分为涂层和非涂层。直接印刷磁性材料的优点在于：直接印刷降低了生产的成本，成品的外观和触感与丝网印刷的成品质感相似，并且不用担心乙烯基原料从磁性材料上剥落。
“We sell a lot more material that’s direct printable,” says Doug Rummer, product technician for Magnum Magnetics. “I think the guys who mount, because of the added cost in materials and labor, are having a tough time competing.”
Magnum Magnetics的产品技术人员Doug Rummer说：“我们更多的情况下是对可直接印刷的磁性材料进行销售，随着材料和劳动力成本的增加，商家的竞争也会不断地加强。”
In terms of inks, most magnetic vinyl today is compatible with UV, solvent, eco-solvent and Latex inks. Coated magnetic sheeting is available that improves image quality, but was once considered critical for use with UV-cure printer systems. However, manufacturers now say that for UV-cure printers the coating is not as critical as it used to be. 
在油墨方面，目前大多数磁性乙烯基材料都能与UV固化油墨、溶剂型和环保溶剂型油墨以及乳胶油墨兼容。有涂层的磁性板材可以改善图像质量，但曾经被认为是使用UV固化打印机系统的关键。然而，制造商现在则表示，对于UV固化的打印机来说，涂层并不像以前那么重要了。
“When UV-cure printers first came onto the scene, coatings were necessary,” says Rummer, “But for whatever reason, the newer models don’t require the topcoat. Of course we still offer a coated version for improved image quality.” 
Rummer说：“当UV固化打印机首次出现时，涂层是非常重要的，但无论出于何种原因，新型材料都不再需要表面涂层了。当然，我们仍然会提供涂层版本，以提高图像质量。”
Many shops use flatbed printers to image directly onto magnetic materials, but roll-fed printers can be used as well. Manufacturers caution that the thicker (30 mil) material may be prone to headstrikes, and so advise shop owners to be sure of head height adjustments prior to printing. Rummer notes that his company will soon offer “MuscleMag” a 15-mil product with a higher-energy magnetic pull. “It has about the same magnetic strength as a 30 mil product, is less prone to headstrikes and is much less expensive to ship,” he says.
许多商店使用平板打印机直接在磁性材料上进行图形打印，但卷筒式打印机也十分常用。制造商提醒到，较厚（30密耳）的材料导致头部碰撞的可能性非常大，因此建议卖家在打印前调整好材料的安装高度。 Rummer指出，他的公司很快将为“MuscleMag”提供一种15密耳厚但是磁性拉力更强的产品。他说：“这种产品的磁性强度与30密耳的磁性强度相当，但能够有效减少碰撞的发生，并且运输成本更低。”
Many manufacturers offer downloadable ICC profiles for their printable magnetic products. Check with your supplier.
许多制造商为其可印刷磁性产品提供了可下载的ICC配置文件。详情请向你的供应商进行咨询。

Finishing Magnets
对磁性材料进行切割
Printed vinyl magnets, for most applications, will need to be cut—rectangle with rounded corners for vehicle door magnets, or shape-cut for many other applications. Typically car magnets are 20" x 16" and are cut with a ruler and then a corner rounder is used to clean up the corners. It’s important to round the corners if you are cutting your own vinyl for a vehicle application. This makes it less likely that wind will catch an edge and lift the sign from the car. Or, you could take the quick and easy option of buying magnetic sign blanks that are pre-cut with rounded corners. 
对于大多数应用来说，印刷的乙烯基磁性材料需要切割成带有圆角的矩形，用于安装在车门上，或者将根据许多其他应用进行相关的图形切割。通常应用于汽车的磁性材料的尺寸为20”x 16”，并用切割成带有圆角的矩形以方便车辆角落的清洁。在为自己的车辆选择切割的乙烯基磁性材料时，材料带有圆角是非常重要的。它可以避免风吹起磁性材料的边缘而导致的整个标识图形的脱落。或者你也可以选择一种更加快速便捷的方法，那就是提前购买边角已经被切割成圆角的空白磁性标识。
Shops equipped with a flatbed printer often also have a digital die cutter on hand. The digital die-cutter is by far the easiest way to cut magnetic vinyl signs of all kinds, especially where higher volume jobs are concerned. Cutting smaller refrigerator magnets from a large sheet is a snap with this type of system.
拥有平板打印机的商店通常还配备有数字模切机。数字模切技术是迄今为止切割各种磁性乙烯基标识最简单的方法，特别是在工作量大的情况下。使用这种类型的设备可以轻松地从大型的板材上切割出体积较小的冰箱磁贴。