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Lamination issue

rmtosh

New Member
A customer just brought back his truck after I had wrapped the tailgate for him a week or so ago. The laminate is coming off the vinyl where the vinyl was "tucked" around the edges of the tailgate. The vinyl is holding nicely, but the laminate is coming away from the vinyl at the edge.

I used oracal vinyl and laminate, and laminated it cold. I did have to trim the edges of both sides of the tailgate. We are new to digital printing/laminating/wrapping but have never seen this before. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Also, was wondering if you can apply cut-vinyl over a laminated print?

Thanks in advance
Ryan
 

Letterbox Mike

New Member
What vinyl/laminate did you use exactly?

How long did the print sit before it was laminated?

Was it properly post heated after installation?
 

petesign

New Member
Kind of what I am wondering too. If you used a cast vinyl and calendared laminate, the laminate has shrunk.
 

rmtosh

New Member
Oracal 3551 vinyl and Oracal 215 laminate is what I used. Printed with eco-solvent ink and allowed to sit for over 12 hours ( don't recall the exact amount but I know it sat overnight at the least ).

Post-heating is a term I am not familiar with, sad to say. Could you describe the process? Seems that I am missing a step. Thanks for your help

Ryan
 

Letterbox Mike

New Member
Bingo, there's your problem. 215 is a low-end economy laminate, 3551 is a higher-end calendered. Probably still should have used a true cast vinyl like 3951 but at the very least the laminate should have been 290 cast.

Post heating is when you reheat the surface of the vinyl after it's applied, typically as warm as you can get it without burning. This will realign the molecules, resetting the vinyl's memory to it's new shape and will make it much less likely to lift in areas where it's been stretched or pulled around tight curves or edges.
 

rmtosh

New Member
Thanks a lot, being new to this ( digital printing / laminating etc ), I went with my suppliers recommendation on vinyl / laminate. I'll research a bit more thoroughly in the future. I guess my last question is, can it be fixed without removing and starting over?

Thanks again. I think a premium membership is now in order

Ryan
 

fmg

New Member
Thanks a lot, being new to this ( digital printing / laminating etc ), I went with my suppliers recommendation on vinyl / laminate. I'll research a bit more thoroughly in the future. I guess my last question is, can it be fixed without removing and starting over?

Thanks again. I think a premium membership is now in order

Ryan
Maybe you should change your supplier if they are giving out bad info!
 
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