Laminating straight and square issues

[heyskull]

We have an Easymount 1600SH top heated laminator which we purchased second hand.
Although this is so much better than our old chinese cold laminator.
I am still having issues with getting prints to run straight and no matter how I install them it still runs off after a couple of metres.
Also when loading different laminates this seems to waste a lot more laminate than our old machine.

I have heard also about using a piece of foam pvc to straighten the print on entry.
But when the board goes all the way the through it leaves a step until you put the rollers down.

Thanks
SC

 

[heyskull]

Anyone help me?

Or have we all got the same problem and are looking for the answer?

SC

 

[rjssigns]

Could be uneven nip tension. Or could be the way you load material. For long runs I go through a process to eliminate as many feed issues as possible. One of them is making sure the lead edge is perfectly perpendicular to the sides. Measure, double-check, then check again. I also use two-inch masking tape on the top and bottom of the lead edge. Usually two layers on top and one on the bottom. This does two things. First is it makes the material lay dead flat. Second is it gives you a chance to reverse the laminator if things are not perfectly square.(laminate doesn't stick to masking tape)
I also use my "patented" Rube Goldberg infeed device when running full rolls.

 

[TimToad]

I think it all starts with how square your media's lead edge is coming off your printer and then how squarely it is fed into the laminator. We make sure our media is running really straight through our printer, then always use the sheet cut feature.

We then adhere our media's leading edge to a 54" long x 6" wide piece of 1mm Sintra that has a line drawn exactly 1" in from the edge along its length. I start with a small piece of masking tape in the middle and ends and then a full length piece carefully laid so there are no wrinkles or puckers. On cold mornings, we usually wait until the shop warms up a bit so the material lays flatter and is a little more resilient.

Also, use really thin PVC or styrene or whatever you want as a sled, but it shouldn't be too thick as that can create too much roller pressure right off the start on the sled and then once the sled passes, that little bump and change in pressure could cause a little pucker in your media.

We then line up our sled with the laminate and only after we're sure its evenly fed, we start up the laminator on its slowest speed and send it through. I hate reprinting and especially hate the waste involved in reprints and relams, so we go at the slowest speed and keep an eye on the material the whole way through.

 

[MikePro]

uneven nip pressure, loading out of center, & uneven tension on material in/out causes drifting.

 

[HouckAdvertising]

I have seen a number of things about drifting and uneven roll pressure but can anyone help with how to go about fixing that? I am pretty sure that is what is causing my problem (very similar to the OP) I have read things about tightening set screws to adjust the nip pressure but not anything to to what ones or how much.

 

[Kentucky Wraps]

"Although this is so much better than our old chinese cold laminator."

Pretty sure Easymount is also a Chinese laminator.

 

[Snydo]

Take about 10 to 12 feet of scrap vinyl that is slightly narrower than your rollers and laminate it making sure to cut both ends squarely. On the feed table, draw a "square line" where the right edge of your vinyl will be when centered on the rollers. With your NIP down with moderate pressure, put your lead sqaure edge evenly to the pinch of the rollers then slowly feed it through making sure it started evenly all across the rollers. Now just keep adjusting NIP tensions and feeding it through until it feeds perfectly straight on your "sqaure line."
I would also add that it's a good idea to clean the floor thoroughly around your laminator before doing this, or lay cardboard.