Laminating and the dry winter air

[gabagoo]

During the xmas break I cleared out an area underneath our mezzanine area in the back shop to make a lamination room.

It seems a little better than working on the main shop floor with overhead heater fans and possible small debris floating around.

I do find however that even when I painstakingly do what I can to keep the material as clean as possible and the surrounding area, little somethings seem to manage to find their way onto prints.
For the most part they are not really noticeable but on dark colours it really starts to be a pain.
How do others here deal with the static and tiny particles that no matter how hard you try find their way onto finished prints.

 

[2B]

Exactly, we constantly have this issue. Normally it is hair that get under the lam and its always at the end of the job.

Will be interested in knowing how others overcome this

 

[HulkSmash]

tac clothes. Wipe as you laminate. takes everything that's not ink off.

 

[strypguy]

I use swiffer sweeper refills and go back and forth over the print as it's going through the laminator. It's a bit of an inconvenience to do all the time but I've never had a contaminated print since.

John

 

[gabagoo]

Exactly, we constantly have this issue. Normally it is hair that get under the lam and its always at the end of the job.

Will be interested in knowing how others overcome this

I realize tha humidification would help but being in the back area with so much sq footage would be very hard to keep moist, but maybe worth a try in the laminating area.

I guess I am curious with what do you do when this happens? Do you turf the stuff and start all over?

I had printed 10 posters 32 x 40 and they were primarily a very dark blue background. The customer wanted a gloss laminate which i was very hesitant to want to do. Most of them came out good but a few have more than a few bubbles and I know i can pop them out but I wonder why I am getting air bubbles as well.
Probably the cheap 3ml laminate (Avery BTW)

 

[gabagoo]

Maybe I will go with the swiffer.

I have these dollar store wipers with nice handles, but I dont think they can hande static and may indeed create it

 

[petesign]

I had some prints come out of the laminator today with all sorts of garbage in them, was wondering the same thing. We have a duster we bought like one for cars at car shows. It works okay, but doesn't get everything every time.

 

[strypguy]

I dont use anything but my hand to wipe with. Those plastic handles are going to attract static.

John

 

[john1]

No no, no swiffer. Use tac clothes from a automotive supply store. Been using it for 2 years.

 

[MikePro]

i buy cotton gloves from Blain's Farm & Fleet @ $7/dozen pair and keep them in a cupboard above my laminator.
"wax on, wax off", as the laminator runs. Reuse the gloves til they start to fuzz, then i turn them into gloves that I oil/clean the carriage rails of my printer with.
(moving hands from center to outer edges, also keeps my prints from buckling during lamination.)

i also keep something clean/dust-free to throw on when i laminate, as to keep from particles of whatever jumping off my clothes and into my prints.

 

[strypguy]

Yeah don't use the swiffer it only works for me....lol


John

 

[the graphics lab]

First I delint my self with some waste vinyl. Then I usually turn off the heat as our vents are pointing down. I position our laminator underneath the spot where there isn't a vent. We also have a static elastic bar that goes over our material as it is going in the laminator. Then I use a tac cloth and wipe as it is going in the laminator. It is the worst on PVC, it is so statically charged it just attracts everything. We also use a rigid wand and that usually gets rid of the charge.

We sometimes pull off the laminate if we notice something and we only need one of the sign but you need to do it fast.

 

[gabagoo]

First I delint my self with some waste vinyl. Then I usually turn off the heat as our vents are pointing down. I position our laminator underneath the spot where there isn't a vent. We also have a static elastic bar that goes over our material as it is going in the laminator. Then I use a tac cloth and wipe as it is going in the laminator. It is the worst on PVC, it is so statically charged it just attracts everything. We also use a rigid wand and that usually gets rid of the charge.

We sometimes pull off the laminate if we notice something and we only need one of the sign but you need to do it fast.

where do I get tac cloths from?

thanks

 

[mopar691]

where do I get tac cloths from?

thanks

Any automotive paint supply store, NAPA, Ace Hardware, I think even like Menards and such places will have them.

Very common in auto body and wood refinishing sections.

I use them for laminating and wiping down substrates, delinting screens prior to adding emulsion onto them. When they get dirty then I use them as dusters on equipment in the shop before tossing them.

 

[HulkSmash]

also what works REALLY well (no joke) is dryer sheets

 

[john1]

where do I get tac cloths from?

thanks

Use tac clothes from a automotive supply store.

See above

 

[gabagoo]

Seriously!? Which flavor works best?

I'm always getting little fibers and sh*t under my lam....drives me insane.

I turn all the fans and furnace off....spray down the floor...and wipe the prints with a slightly dampened rag ("lint free") but I still get stuff in there.

I'll have to give the tack cloth a shot, I know I've got some lying around here somewhere.

Must be a Canadian thing

 

[HulkSmash]

wait, you guys laminate without wiping? Big mistake. We always have someone sitting there watching it, and wiping every inch as it goes through the lam.

 

[gabagoo]

just the static created from the laminate being pulled off the backing paper can pull small paper dust debris from just about anywhere around the laminator rollers, which continually keep pulling from the vinyl sheet is all I can figure. Not a ton of it but when it gets in there it usually is in a critical area that the eye just catches.

 

[2B]

will give the tac cloth a try and see how that goes

 

[CheapVehicleWrap]

Me no wipey either. No problems.

May I ask; are you a crumpler or a folder?

 

[shakey0818]

I wonder is something can be made that goes accross the meterial as it feeds in like a bar wraped with terry cloth or something that will self wipe and all u have to do is change the cloth from time to time.

 

[adrock]

I use a swiffer sweeper every print I laminate. Our shop is extremely dry in the winter ( 2 humidifiers running non stop to keep above 20%). They work awesome, definitely don't create more static for me.