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HELP - laminator

M

mountainsigns

New Member
Hi,

I am new to using our laminator and I have no idea how to start the job so that the lamination doesn’t pull or bunch. See photos for what’s happening. I’ve watched several videos but I don’t know how to fix it or improve
 

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brdesign

brdesign

New Member
Lift the roller and pull the laminate from the backside to get it taut and even across the roller. Lower the roller and try again. Make sure the leading edge of the print is flat with a straight edge as you feed it into to rollers. It takes a lot of practice, every laminator has it's own quirks.
 
U

unmateria

New Member
Like riding bycicle... One day you will begin to do all good... Meanwhile, there are many tricks altought difficult to explain with my english lol
Easier to success one... Level up the roller to the top, insert the laminate with a piece of paper and while one person tights it from behind, you lower the roll to the bottom and put the paper/vynil. If its not completely flat, try again.

Another trick on little pieces (up to 2-3 meters) is just fixing a strip of the laminate sheet (not in the roll), and just remove the linear/paper from the laminate while going forward, tensioning at the same time... For me is usually the fastest way for things under 137cms and never fails. The strip you fix has to be completely flat, thats the most important (even more important than more or les tension)

You can use a big piece of 1mm forex/pvc and use it always as starting. Novice people in our shop usually like that way until they get more comfortable with the laminators.

If it has heater you can add up to 60C to make it softer (and make blacks look better)... But well... Not all laminates or vinyls works the same way.

Anyway... You have to look to 2 things... Too low tension will make things like that to you in the main roller. Too much tensión will make like stretched marks just in the vynil (ruining it) but the roller while be tight and will look good.
 
Kemik

Kemik

I sell stickers and sticker accessories.
Your photos are a bit confusing to me.
It almost looks like you're feeding the material through backwards?
Also, is that a piece for corrugated plastic under the print and between the rollers?
I think you need to zoom out and show us photos of your whole process from setup to finish.

1668780389932.png
 
L

Lindsey

Not A New Member
I call those wrinkles out at the edges/sides a "boat wake".

If the wrinkles are there before you start, they are going to be there in the final result. You need to get those wrinkles smoothed out before you start pushing the print in.

Before you begin to laminate, you can lift the laminate roller up, then pull/tug on the laminate from the backside of the laminator (maybe pull out 6" to 12" of film) to create some tension and get the laminate film to lay smoothly across the entire width of the roller.

If you see boat wake wrinkles begin to form as you are laminating, try increasing the tension on "tension knob" of the laminate roll, as you go.
 
MelloImagingTechnologies

MelloImagingTechnologies

Many years in the Production Business
On most laminators boat wake is caused by too much pressure between rollers.
The reality is if you apply too much roller down pressure you will have excessive pressure left and right and minimal in the center since the rollers will bow.
 
Goatshaver

Goatshaver

Shaving goats and eating bushes
Kemik said:
Your photos are a bit confusing to me.
It almost looks like you're feeding the material through backwards?
Also, is that a piece for corrugated plastic under the print and between the rollers?
I think you need to zoom out and show us photos of your whole process from setup to finish.

View attachment 162647
Click to expand...
Yeah wondering this as well.

Are you running from a roll of laminate or a cut sheet?

To me it looks like you're too loose by the way it's not tight to the upper roller.
 
Floridaman

Floridaman

New Member
MelloImagingTechnologies said:
On most laminators boat wake is caused by too much pressure between rollers.
The reality is if you apply too much roller down pressure you will have excessive pressure left and right and minimal in the center since the rollers will bow.
Click to expand...
That's 100% right, but look closely to the clutch roll on top, there's no tension. In this case I would have someone pulling out the lam on the the other side (Just enough to create a flat and even surface along the roll) while open...
 
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