edge laminator

[bue95]

Hey fellas I am currently in the market for a edge 2 and envision. I am starting shop around for laminators as well. Looking for something small that would accommodate the edge media size well. I already have a 54" laminator to handle my inkjet stuff, would like to have another setup for the edge prints so I do not need to be switching media in and out of the 54" machine. Any suggestions? heat assist would be nice but not required. Thanks!

 

[Fred Weiss]

I would have to question your understanding of an Edge printed product if you think you have any significant need of overlamination. I've been Edge printing since 1998 and can count on the fingers of one hand the jobs I've Edge printed and then laminated. When I do, I use the same machine I use for applying premask, a Weeder/Sheeter.

What we do instead is to overprint with a clear UV/Abrasion Guard foil for all outdoor durable prints which is much easier than getting into laminates. It works quite well, costs less and doesn't interrupt your workflow.

 

[Gene@mpls]

I would have to question your understanding of an Edge printed product if you think you have any significant need of overlamination. I've been Edge printing since 1998 and can count on the fingers of one hand the jobs I've Edge printed and then laminated. When I do, I use the same machine I use for applying premask, a Weeder/Sheeter.

What we do instead is to overprint with a clear UV/Abrasion Guard foil for all outdoor durable prints which is much easier than getting into laminates. It works quite well, costs less and doesn't interrupt your workflow.

We also used a Sheeter- although now we mostly use our 54" laminator.
I would say that we do quite a bit of laminated edge printing- depends
on what you are making. We do a good amount of equipment labeling where
the printed clear does not stand up. Gene

Edit for clarity: Most of our edge printing we use the clear/UVguard

PS- I have a used 24" Sheeter I don't use much

 

[bue95]

Thanks guys, fred I am in the motosports industry and print all my products on 6mil with a 15mil laminate. I want the edge setup for printing on clear with white, special effex foils and for certain bright colors my inkjet refuses to hit. The material is very expensive, the laminate is very thick with a very finicky adhesive it likes a lot of pressure and some heat to get a nice clear finish.

 

[theskipman_98]

At a previous shop, we never laminated any of our Edge prints. If it needed extra "protection" we either used the frog foil, or we would mask the project and spray bomb it with frog juice in a can. Larger signage we used the brush on Frog Juice, but that was in areas where the local kids would tag signs, and it made cleaning them up easier. Now with that said, this was rare that we did this.

 

[MikeH]

How wide do you want/need?
How fast? What is your volume/ throughput per day?
How much?

 

[geb]

Fred, is that uv abrasion foil the SPF?

 

[Fred Weiss]

Fred, is that uv abrasion foil the SPF?

No. It is the Duracoat UV/Abrasion Guard foil sold under the private label brand of "Apex" by Advantage Sign Supply.