Laminate Help Needed

[equippaint]

Quite the contrarian, huh? Hand painting signs isn't even remotely similar to digitally printing signs. Hand laminating and machine laminating are the exact same processes, just done differently.

You clearly didn't read my post or you're being intentionally obtuse and confrontational (or maybe just didn't understand my point).

You're welcome to your opinion, but if you think hand finishing skills aren't worth knowing, you and I have drastically different opinions. There will eventually be a situation in which you need something laminated and for whatever reason you don't have access to a laminator. It's like saying a carpenter doesn't need to know how to use a hammer because nail guns exist. It's a ridiculous statement.

I'm not being anything. You may hold unnecessary skills close to your heart but not everyone else does. Anyone can hand laminate good enough in a time of need. Being a pro at it is about as useful as tits on a bull. If I had a cnc router I wouldnt hire a guy that was a master at hand carving, Id hire a guy that could run the machine even if he didnt know dick about carving.

 

[DerbyCitySignGuy]

I'm not being anything. You may hold unnecessary skills close to your heart but not everyone else does. Anyone can hand laminate good enough in a time of need. Being a pro at it is about as useful as tits on a bull. If I had a cnc router I wouldnt hire a guy that was a master at hand carving, Id hire a guy that could run the machine even if he didnt know dick about carving.

You're comparing apples to oranges. Hand carving is not the same as running a CNC router. Hand painting is not the same as digital printing. You're not getting the point, which is pretty clear by now.

No, "anyone" can not laminate "good enough" in a time of need. Feel free to prove me wrong. Go back in your shop and laminate a 24" x 36" print with dry erase on the first try. Should be easy enough, since "anyone" can laminate "good enough", right?

You're diminishing the work we do.

 

[TimToad]

That was the main appeal for me: not having to unload and reload a laminator.

We just don't do enough lamination any more to justify the purchase.

What jobs in your shop DON'T get laminated? In our shop, far more get laminated than the ones that don't. Only the most temporary of signs, bumper stickers, decals, etc. don't get laminated here.

 

[equippaint]

You're comparing apples to oranges. Hand carving is not the same as running a CNC router. Hand painting is not the same as digital printing. You're not getting the point, which is pretty clear by now.

No, "anyone" can not laminate "good enough" in a time of need. Feel free to prove me wrong. Go back in your shop and laminate a 24" x 36" print with dry erase on the first try. Should be easy enough, since "anyone" can laminate "good enough", right?

You're diminishing the work we do.

Why would I go do that? That is why i have laminators. No reason to get all butthurt because you have a skill that i think is virtually worthless. When my laminator breaks, I will call you and see if you are looking for a job, dont worry. Then you'll show me.

 

[DerbyCitySignGuy]

What jobs in your shop DON'T get laminated? In our shop, far more get laminated than the ones that don't. Only the most temporary of signs, bumper stickers, decals, etc. don't get laminated here.

We do a ton of direct print.

 

[DerbyCitySignGuy]

Why would I go do that? That is why i have laminators. No reason to get all butthurt because you have a skill that i think is virtually worthless. When my laminator breaks, I will call you and see if you are looking for a job, dont worry. Then you'll show me.

I'm not butthurt, it's just mind boggling to me that you think a basic shop skill is worthless.

 

[TimToad]

We do a ton of direct print.

Gotcha. Our printed work probably flows 70/30 large format ecosolvent to our flatbed. We also have an older EDGE and do plenty of decals on our Roland, but it seems like we should do more samples off of the EDGE to see if we can't build that market also.

 

[AF]

Use what you have. Then figure out if you need something better.

 

[TommieA]

I use the big squeegee on everything. I found out if using thin laminate is really tricky to get it to lay with out wrinkles and bubbles. I use 3.2mm and I do 180x45 with no problems at all,good flat surfice. Hope this helps.

 

[DerbyCitySignGuy]

Gotcha. Our printed work probably flows 70/30 large format ecosolvent to our flatbed. We also have an older EDGE and do plenty of decals on our Roland, but it seems like we should do more samples off of the EDGE to see if we can't build that market also.

We kind of just switched over and gave customers a heads-up that the prints might look a little different, but they were going to be getting prints faster and cheaper and the quality would be the same. Unless they had very specific needs or were matching existing prints, they were almost all fine with it.

 

[dkk]

I use the big squeegee on everything. I found out if using thin laminate is really tricky to get it to lay with out wrinkles and bubbles. I use 3.2mm and I do 180x45 with no problems at all,good flat surfice. Hope this helps.

OK, I have to clarify, what I'm having is not air bubbles but silvering. Literally just found out that term. Please don't judge me, zero training on anything, been in business 6 years and when I say I've had to learn everything the hard way, I mean it. I've read where maybe applying heat will help. It's only super noticeable and frustrating on my black backgrounds. I have not had many problems with the Big Squeegee and seriously have minimal waste. Most of my graphics are 30" or under so it's not a huge problem...

Any tips on the silvering? I'm also in SE Oklahoma so I'm pretty sure my humidity is screwing with me.

 

[equippaint]

It will go away but youre going to get it some with calandered material. You can try cast but you really need to get a laminator, either a real one or a cheap hand operated one. Its so excessive because you're using a big squeegee which cant give you any tension or enough pressure.

 

[AF]

Heat assist laminator will have the least amount of silvering. Cold laminator is still far superior to hand laminating anything over a couple of feet long. Silvering goes away in a day, but bubbles are here to stay.