Laminator Purchase Checklist

[Humble PM]

Cost/yard is peanuts in comparison to cost/time!

Do you have a part number for it?

 

[JBurton]

We use the blue painters tape. keep it in the 2" and 1" variety. I've got rolls of it all over the place.
IDK how much it costs. I don't buy it.

It's cheap, and if it's outside for a day, it's baked on. If it's inside for a couple of months, it's baked on. If the roll isn't used for a while, it's baked to itself.
I can leave this tape on a sheet of aluminum for months, and peel it off and reuse it. When doing multiple layers/colors of vinyl, I'll reuse the tape hinge.

I suspect supplier is right pondian only, and when I say framing, I mean picture framing.

F*ck me, I was confused enough to google pondian. You brits and your old english. I did find picture framing tape, acid free, looks like it would work well, but that price is as ridiculous as my tape, which is stupid high. Not saying I won't try it, just figured I must've been looking in the wrong place (amazon).

Cost/yard is peanuts in comparison to cost/time!

Do you have a part number for it?

3m 8979n? or Boudica's demonic blue tape?

https://www.3m.com/3M/en_US/p/d/b40065988/

Get the red in 24mm, you don't need more than 24mm, and red makes everything stand out.
Boudica's junk boss's junk:

https://www.3m.com/3M/en_US/p/d/cbgnaw011284/

 

[Boudica]

Boudica uses the blue tape for indoor and temporary purposes. Comes off a lot easier than regular masking tape.

 

[Jester]

For indoors, I prefer the purple masking tape for ease of release: 3M 501+ / Scotch Delicate Surfaces.

 

[Jeppe.Nielsen]

Hey all,

We are looking into buying a new laminator and applicator for our wide format products and while I am pretty certain of what I am looking for, I did want to put a thread up here in case I am missing something.
We are replacing some older re-re-branded Chinese cold laminators that took some damage in the last 2 moves/over a decade of daily use, they work "fine" but I want to improve efficiency and there is not much room for improvement with these machines. Our main goal is to run the laminators roll to roll (previously we would run the prints flat on tables in 8' sections and this just seems to waste time and space, death by a million cuts), we have upgraded our take-up system on our printers and can now print full rolls of vinyl without having to split rolls.

My checklist is currently as follows:
- Must Laminate Roll to Roll
- Must have a tech locally that can assist with install/training/repairs if required
- Must have parts readily available (even if they need to be ordered, as long as they exist)
- Slitters would be a huge plus (even bigger plus if using a generic blade)
- Roller replacement/repairs available
- Heat assist would be nice if we look into latex printing in the future

What do y'all think? Are there any other questions I should be including in my enquiries? Thanks!

I would also highly recommend the Kala Mistral 1650. If the laminate is wound with the liner on the outside of the roll you should opt for the single feeder version of it. Buy the lighting, the trimmer and you will be able to laminate STRAIGHT every time. (Given you are able to centre and align the medias)

 

[MarkSnelling]

You really don't need to worry about having a local tech with the Kala. 95% of the fixes you can EASILY do on your own. I've sold hundreds of these things and they work very well and last for years. I've got a shop in Michigan which is just now having some issues after running it two shifts a day, every day, for the last 8 years....and it is still humming along.

It would be a mistake to buy another laminator (Seal is too expensive now and GFP isn't as good). If you've barely heard of the brand of laminator then there's a reason. Get a Kala Mistral and you'll be happy. If you want a quote (I don't really know how to ship to Canada but it can't be that hard) let me know. Even if you don't buy from me, you are welcome to call me to discuss laminators any time. 216-903-8313

 

[Bxtr]

We have a Kala Arkane 1650, it's the same as the Mistral but it has heat assist. We've had it for 8 years, the only issue was people rolling over the foot pedal wire and it had to be replaced.
When we were looking into an application table, we also went with the Kala because of the reliability of the laminator. Both have been great! We haven't had to have a tech back out on the laminator since the purchase.

 

[White Haus]

How much are we talking roughly for a Kala Mistral?

 

[devdev]

I would also highly recommend the Kala Mistral 1650. If the laminate is wound with the liner on the outside of the roll you should opt for the single feeder version of it. Buy the lighting, the trimmer and you will be able to laminate STRAIGHT every time. (Given you are able to centre and align the medias)

The Lighting, anti-static, and the slitters would be a huge help. For us we have been manually trimming the edges on all of our prints, its not about how much waste we create, its about how we can manage it. I would hope we can figure out how to load our media straight lol.

You really don't need to worry about having a local tech with the Kala. 95% of the fixes you can EASILY do on your own.

This is good to know, not having any information about our current laminators and every tech saying "that's weird" when looking at them has been a huge hassle

We've had it for 8 years, the only issue was people rolling over the foot pedal wire and it had to be replaced.

This is classic.

Thanks everyone for the praise of the Kala, I knew they were the ones when I saw them way back when at Printing United (wish I could go this year). I am still going to demo some local models and see if any of my suppliers can bring them in. Obviously if anyone has any other thoughts I would love to hear them!

 

[JBurton]

How much are we talking roughly for a Kala Mistral?

Without a quote, I can see folks selling at $14k.

 

[devdev]

How much are we talking roughly for a Kala Mistral?

I got quoted between $15-16k USD approximately

 

[MarkSnelling]

I got quoted between $15-16k USD approximately

In USD, the laminator is $14K, the static string (recommend) is another $120.00 and the slitters are $1000.00. The slitters are cool but only get them if you typically get long runs of the same size prints. If your print sizes vary all the time, then the slitters are not nearly as useful. You can add the slitters at any time...they just drop right in on the back side of the table.

 

[devdev]

The slitters are cool but only get them if you typically get long runs of the same size prints.

Most of our prints are either 47" or 53" and we would try to do >50% of rolls per run. How do the laminators work with laminate overhang? Our media can be 48" wide but the laminate we get isn't offered in that size unless we get the rolls pre-sliced, then we would have to change laminate rolls every time we change media size.

 

[MarkSnelling]

Most of our prints are either 47" or 53" and we would try to do >50% of rolls per run. How do the laminators work with laminate overhang? Our media can be 48" wide but the laminate we get isn't offered in that size unless we get the rolls pre-sliced, then we would have to change laminate rolls every time we change media size.

so I haven't sold the new slitter which I'm told can slit "down" to cut prints after they've been laminated OR you can turn the blades up to slice "up" to cut excess laminate before the lam gets to the main roller. Sounds like a great idea, but sometimes when you try to do two things okay instead of one thing really well, it doesn't pan out. I'll take a look next week in Vegas and report back.

As for " how does it perform with laminate overhang?" No real advantage over anyone else. It would be a pain in the ass if you have 3" of laminate on either side with no prints under them.

 

[devdev]

It would be a pain in the ass if you have 3" of laminate on either side with no prints under them.

It is a real pain. I think the slitters were there last year when I spoke to the Kala rep. It would save a ton of time, so I would be willing to invest in a system that slits post laminate.

 

[victor bogdanov]

Get 5 or

It is a real pain. I think the slitters were there last year when I spoke to the Kala rep. It would save a ton of time, so I would be willing to invest in a system that slits post laminate.

I use 60" laminate on 54" media sometimes, No pain at all. Excess laminate slits away

 

[MNT_Printhead]

I have 5 blades on my slitter set up and it has been awesome at reducing the time to cut a part a roll of prints. I have not tried turning the blades around to cut the lam before it is applied yet, but will in the future.