How to Laminate with a roll laminator

[SLShop]

So far, I've been working with a manual cold laminator, which has always worked great for small prints. Now I've bought a large automatic laminator, the EMBLEM Easylam 140C, since I often want to laminate from a roll or work with large sheets. I could use some tips for perfect laminating with this machine, as I find it more challenging than doing it by hand. For loading the laminate, I've watched a lot of videos, but what's the easiest method? Should I use a thin board to align the laminate straight first? I’ve read that the brake on the laminate roll should be as light as possible and as even as the print roll. What I haven’t understood so far is the roller pressure. I’m using Oracal 3551 with Oraguard 210 laminate. According to the manual, you should use full pressure for self-adhesive films, but I feel like the stickers wrinkle a lot. What’s the best way to laminate 1m wide and 1m long sheets? I always leave a scrap piece in the laminator, which I drive about 2cm close to the rollers, then place the new piece under the old one as close to the roller as possible. But unfortunately, it often happens that the film is pulled in crookedly, and i get bubbles. Does it work better if you tape the two films together? I would be grateful for your experiences.

 

[DL Signs]

Laminating is trial and error till you get the machine dialed in.
First rule of thumb when laminating is "less is better". You just want the lam to set as it passes through the rollers, period.The more pressure, the more tension on the lam or liner take-up roll, the more stretch you'll get, and you don't want stretch. You want things to just flow through naturally, without force.

 

[Geneva Olson]

Laminating is trial and error till you get the machine dialed in.
First rule of thumb when laminating is "less is better". You just want the lam to set as it passes through the rollers, period.The more pressure, the more tension on the lam or liner take-up roll, the more stretch you'll get, and you don't want stretch. You want things to just flow through naturally, without force.

This is a really great explanation for people (me) who overtighten everything.