Applying Vinyl To Boards With A Roll To Roll Laminator

[xxtoni]

We have a roll to roll laminator which we exclusively use to apply laminate to our vinyl, mostly for car wraps.

I am curious if you guys use roll to roll laminators for applying vinyl to boards (foamex for example) instead of doing it manually ?

We've considered doing it for a job once where we had to apply 200 vinyl prints on foamex boards that were 20cmx100cm (8"x40"). We tried a few times and it didn't come out quite right so we determined that it would be faster to just do it manually. We haven't tried since.

Is a roll to roll laminator suitable for jobs like the one described above ? If so is there a particular technique for doing it quickly and efficiently ?


Thanks in advance

 

[Jack Knight1979]

Good question. I have a big squeegee, which I have used for about five years. I've done everything from mounting graphics on boards, to vehicle wrap laminating with it.

My new seal laminator is being installed on Monday and I have no clue how to mount (proper registration) graphics onto boards with it. Any schooling would be appreciated.

 

[xxtoni]

I've talked to Dale regarding the big squeegee and we're probably ordering a whole bunch of them for applying vinyl faster.

Still would like to know experiences of the guys on here about doing big jobs with a laminator.

 

[Jack Knight1979]

Just watched this video...

[video=youtube;z8u5BHaBmIk]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z8u5BHaBmIk[/video]

I will probably stick with the big squeegee on the small jobs and board mounting. Great tool for mounting boards. I'll use the Seal to laminate full rolls.

 

[gregwallace]

We always use our laminator for applying on to sheeted substrates. The video jack knight posted is a good demonstration. We usually just align the vinyl to the substrate and tape down the front edge with masking tape. When you are getting it started it usually helps to pull the vinyl forward off of the roller so that its about a 30-45 degree angle from the substrate. Then as you begin to mount the decal pull it back so that its against the roller. This usually helps because as you probably know the hardest part of laminating anything is getting it started. You should always align your sheets with the center of the laminator as well.

 

[xxtoni]

Frankly that looks quite slow and tedious to do.

My guys can do a surface like the one showed in about the same time manually with a small squeegee and it's less tedious to do than through the laminator.

Is the example in the video the only/best way to go about it ?

 

[SightLine]

That was really only the last 2 minutes of the video but that's about the gist of it. We do it all the time on our GBC laminator. The leading edge method only works well if the print is somewhat thick, if you try that with something super thin the edge you ware trying to start is not going to go down the way you want it to. You can also center hinge with a laminator, load the board and print halfway in, position the print just right, lower roller. Flip first half back, remove backing and run it through, turn it around and reload it and run the other half. We also run the machine at full speed once it is started. One last thing we do, bleeds. Why set yourself up to have to trim all 4 edges of the board? Oversize the print then just trim the excess print off quick and easy. Once you really get it down it can be a very fast method and pretty much guaranteed zero bubbles or marks of any sort.

 

[xxtoni]

Thanks all for the suggestions.

I just talked to one of my boys that has applied vinyl with a laminator. From what he told me it isn't a lot faster than applying with the small squeegee, one of my original reservations of doing it with the laminator.

It's just that by the time you align the print and prepare everything to go through the laminator you could have already finished half of that task by hand.

What's your thoughts on this ?

 

[SignProPlus-Chip]

We have two Ledco Laminators. One is always loaded with laminate, the other is exclusively for mounting graphics to board. Using a laminator to mount graphics, whether its a vinyl print or cut vinyl, is usually more efficient. It's fast, usually bubble free and one person can mount larger graphics by themselves. I can do a 4x8 all by myself, no problem. Since we can feed boards up to about 1.5" through the Ledco, we use it for everything.

 

[MikePro]

I use my Seal 54 to apply 24"x96" boards with double-sided graphics ALL THE TIME. LOVE IT!
hardest part, is to make sure you're square at the start and the rest applies like a breeze.

recommended, however, if you have a LOT of smaller boards.... then apply multiple copies as 1 sheet and cut afterwards.
setup is the hardest part of the process, and if you're trying to do X-dozen/hundred small panels, then you may as well be doing them by hand.


edited: 200 - 8"x40" on FoamEX? heck yeah. I'd do a full sheet at a time and then cut them down afterwards.

 

[Signed Out]

You have to align the print to the substrate if you are going to lay it down by hand with a squeege anyway... There is no way a 8'x4' sheet can be laid by hand with a squeege quicker than with a laminator.

After you have the print aligned to the substrate, clamp it to the substrate using pads so not to hurt the print, then lay the first 4" of the leading edge by hand with a squeege (if thin/not laminated or fresh off the printer then apply 4" of transfer tape before applying first 4", this eliminates stretch). If done properly and if you draw alignment marks into your print this process takes maybe 3 minutes.

Then center substrate, pinch, flip vinyl over laminator, pull backer to top roll, laminate. This should take aobut 2 minutes. Trim excess vinyl. Done.

 

[SIGNTIME]

Thanks all for the suggestions.

I just talked to one of my boys that has applied vinyl with a laminator. From what he told me it isn't a lot faster than applying with the small squeegee, one of my original reservations of doing it with the laminator.

It's just that by the time you align the print and prepare everything to go through the laminator you could have already finished half of that task by hand.

What's your thoughts on this ?

you still have to line up the print if your doing it manually right? ... we save all our mounting and do it at the same time so the only set up there is (once your lined up) it to put down 2-4" of the leading edge, set in laminator square, lower jaw, hit go and pull the liner. I do small signs by hand but anything bigger than a yard sign gets mounted through the laminator

 

[xxtoni]

So I've spent an hour experimenting with the laminator.

It takes me 8 minutes to roughly cut up some vinyl for a 1.2mx0.80m piece of cardboard, apply a few centimeters and then do the rest through the laminator. I've picked cardboard because if you're applying anything to cardboard, if you don't do it well on the first try, you get no second chance because if you try to peel of the vinyl it will pick up some of the cardboard with it and you can't apply it because it's not sticky anymore. Each time I tried the results were perfect with the laminator and I couldn't apply a square meter of vinyl in my dreams with a squeegee. If I can apply it in 8 minutes, they should just quit their job if they can't do it in 4 or even less than that.

I'm gonna get them to do it tomorrow to see how it goes and if there are any potential difficulties with aligning and stuff and then we're gonna do all the bigger work with this.

Thanks a lot everyone, I'm gonna post an update tomorrow on how it went. So far I'm extremely satisfied.

 

[ironchef]

We just did 20 2'x3' alu signs mounted with printed vinyl on the laminator, came out really good, wouldnt do it any other way