Laminate with clear vinyl?

[Kemble]

Just wondering how many ppl have done/tested it?

Had recently finished an order which caused me to wipe the dust off the roll of 651 clear that I have and after playing with it made me think of how much it resembled 210 lam.

Obviously there are chemical differences in the 2 materials, but as far as the tackyness, thickness, elasticity, they pretty much seam the same.

How many of you have laminated with 651 clear and how long does it last? What would happen?

Obviously I wouldn't do it for a customer, but for testing/fun purposes. /shrug

Just curious

 

[MikePro]

my guess is that it works just fine. You'll have your bill paid and the customer will be happy with it for years before anything could potentially happen.

I think the only thing you'll lose is durability, since the laminate is thicker.
The clear vinyl may scratch easier and not last as long, but it will still get the job done.

 

[particleman]

We've done it in a pinch. Some of the benefits you get are the same obviously like scratch resistance. I wonder what kind of UV protection you get though? I wouldn't think thinkness would be an issue either as 290 can be had in 1 mil and still last a long time.

 

[Gino]

We did it years ago back around the mid 90's with another manufacturer.... I honestly don't remember which one but it worked fine. However, to my knowledge, back then there were no U/V inhibitors in it at all so it only protected from scratches and marring. It still faded within about 5 years. Again, that was a thermal printer and we were protecting against tree branches and the likes. We didn't do it often.... only when we were asked to protect our PC-50 prints. We also did it to Fire Engines.

 

[Kemble]

Wow, better responses than I expected.

So would would you consider doing it for certain jobs? Ones that don't technically need a lam for overall scratch resistance and UV protection, possibly for indoor posters or wall graphics?

 

[omgsideburns]

I lam tiny stuff with clear instead of trying to pull a piece off the big roll.

 

[gabagoo]

one can only assume that a clear vinyl has uv inhibitors simply because they rate them for 5 years outdoors.

 

[Jackpine]

I've used Shinerite clear with my PC600 for protection and it has lasted as long as the prints. I use it with ecosolvent prints also. It is clearer than 210 and for some applications as good or better. As gabagoo said it is a 5 to 6 year rated material. Just use intermediate with like print vinyl and cast with cast.