Need Help Laminator Issues with Silvering (Tiny air bubbles)

[Ashley348]

Hey all,

I have the royal Soverign 55" cold laminator that i use to laminate mx graphics (21mil thick) i use gloss and matte laminate but every time i laminate i get these tiny air bubbles and they wont come out no matter how much pressure i use or dont use. Any tips to help with the bubbles? And its not in one area or side its the whole thing. Thank You

 

[SignMeUpGraphics]

Leave it for a couple of days. They will disappear with time.

We laminated with some 12 mil last week and it needed a couple of days to settle. Even with heat assist, because the laminate is so thick and is on the rollers for such a short amount of time, the adhesive has no real time to warm up properly.

 

[Ashley348]

SignMeUpGraphics Thank you, i have let them sit for almost over a week and it doesnt go away, most of the companies around me i can order and pickup next day with no silvering. i dont have a couple days to wait for it to possibly go away. i upgraded to the sigmont 55h(heat assist) seems to be working better but having the hardest time with the tension nobs, they wont go past 1 on the nob.

 

[F1225hgB42w]

You probably need more tension on your feeding roll shaft, keep the laminate tight to the roller, when you get bubbles it isn't just silvering, it's that the laminate has sealed around a spot where the laminate wasn't applied to the print at the same time (creating a bubble, which is different than silvering).

Another possible issue is that your roller is not perfectly flat/level and as a result not all vinyl is making contact with the laminate at the same time.

Finally, sometimes we have "fingering" on our laminator when we don't have the laminate, print, and take up core for the release liner properly aligned and it results in the same thing you are referring too, when you web up your laminate do you see small wrinkles/gaps on the laminate on the roller before it makes contact with the print?

What you can try with your prints you have bubbles on is using a sharp blade or a needle, pop the bubble and squeegee toward the place you popped the bubble and it might be salvageable.

Best of luck.

 

[Subysti]

Just curious Ashley348 di you figure out the issue? I am having the same issue that I think is called silvering. Almost a metallic look after laminating.

 

[DL Signs]

Every laminator behaves different and it changes with every product you put on it. What I do to prevent silvering is reduce the roller pressure, and with thick, or some of the problematic lams prone to silvering, I slow it down to let the heat penetrate the lam, the adhesive needs to get warm to seal the best. On mine, adding tension always fails, on others it helps... Laminators can be evil.
Experiment, you'll find the sweet spot.