Laminator question

[tamif]

I currently have a hand crank laminator (hoping to upgrade soon). I have to put a hard surface under my material before laminating. I can’t just put my print in and run it through bc it leaves a lot of bubbles. Is this just bc it is a cheap hand crank or am I doing something wrong?

 

[rickmdc]

I’d like to watch this thread as well . I have one too and I’ve noticed that the pressure or tightness of the knobs plays a big part. When it’s too tight, the material eventually starts bunching up, but too loose and bubbles are inevitable. I’ve never tried adding something solid when laminating. What do you add underneath?

 

[tamif]

I’d like to watch this thread as well . I have one too and I’ve noticed that the pressure or tightness of the knobs plays a big part. When it’s too tight, the material eventually starts bunching up, but too loose and bubbles are inevitable. I’ve never tried adding something solid when laminating. What do you add underneath?

I usually put a piece of polymetal underneath.

 

[MarkSnelling]

This is easy for me to say as I'm not the one who has to purchase the laminator (as I sell them), but getting the right laminator will make your life so much easier and will also make you more money. I've always sold Seal and Kala laminators and I avoid any of the Asian laminators. While the Kala machines are nearly double that of the Asian machines, they will last 5X longer and provide much more consistent output over the next 10-20 years. The Asian laminators start to fall apart after 3-5 years. I've seen it hundreds of times. Save up for a Kala or buy a good used Seal and it will make you money.

 

[bigben]

I had a china manual laminator before and was able to do acceptable jobs. Now we have a kala mistral 1650 for two years and would have bought it well before if I new what it was capable of and how fast it get work done. I do full roll of laminate in less than 20min including setting-up the machine and I have a shift variance less than 1/8 on a whole roll. The heat feature is awesome for the silvering effect (there is none). Auto level roller is a nice feature too. I do it every 2-3 days before starting a job. It's pricey, but I will still have it in over 10 years. It's not like a printer that you need to upgrade every 3-5 years.

If you do mostly board, go with a flatbed laminator. It's great for that.

 

[dweavers]

Check your shore hardness of the rollers, or if looking to buy one ask the manufacturer, you want it around 80 shore or more (very hard) mine like alot is a chinese version and unfortunatley is only 40 shore and is too soft for good results ,even with a hard sheet underneath, was going to chuck it after years of frustration until I was given a tip and now use a heat gun to heat the rollers and laminate and it makes a huge difference

 

[rickmdc]

Check your shore hardness of the rollers, or if looking to buy one ask the manufacturer, you want it around 80 shore or more (very hard) mine like alot is a chinese version and unfortunatley is only 40 shore and is too soft for good results ,even with a hard sheet underneath, was going to chuck it after years of frustration until I was given a tip and now use a heat gun to heat the rollers and laminate and it makes a huge difference

oh cool! So you heat the rollers on the manual Chinese version and it works well?

 

[Stacey K]

I have a 54" Vevor from Ebay and been using it for 2 years - "love" it enough not to spend the money on a new one. Most likely you have TOO much pressure and your rollers are bowing. At first I used a board also - no need. Release all pressure in the top rollers and then just add a slight amount, like where you think it's not going to be enough, and try that. I'll try and find the last post on this because two of us posted a video.

 

[Stacey K]

Can't find it but here is one post you may find helpful.

Laminating Bubble Issue

Hey, iam pretty New to Signmaking and iam biting my theeth out with laminating, i mostly Produce motocross Graphics. I have a certain Issue which i cant get along, even my fellow technician from the Company i have my machines from cant help me. I have the Problem that when i laminate certain...

www.signs101.com

 

[Modern Ink Signs]

Factors in lamination

- Your pressure is too little or too much
- Same for the tension on your laminate and vinyl


We have the hand operated Graphic Partners and a pneumatic Seal. Both operate essentially the same.

The GP laminator we bring the rails together and then give it just a little bit more pressure. Think of it as going one more number on a clock. If they touch at 2 go to 3.

 

[jmasten]

I am looking to get a laminator to put rolled adhesive on the back of 4'x8' sheets of rigid material that is 1/2" thick. The adhesive is peel and stick so it will leave the release liner on the material for the customer to then remove when they install the material. I also would like to use it to adhere 2 of these sheets together (we would first manually remove the release liner). The Vevor 51" tabletop doesn't seem to accommodate much in the way of thickness and the worktable mounters are very expensive. I was thinking to use the roll to roll with tables on either side, but I can't seem to find any good videos of anyone using them in this manner. I would like to be able to put the roll of adhesive on the laminator to unwind it as well. Seems like the best way. Does anyone use a roll to roll in this manner? Or have any videos they can share?

 

[Stacey K]

I am looking to get a laminator to put rolled adhesive on the back of 4'x8' sheets of rigid material that is 1/2" thick. The adhesive is peel and stick so it will leave the release liner on the material for the customer to then remove when they install the material. I also would like to use it to adhere 2 of these sheets together (we would first manually remove the release liner). The Vevor 51" tabletop doesn't seem to accommodate much in the way of thickness and the worktable mounters are very expensive. I was thinking to use the roll to roll with tables on either side, but I can't seem to find any good videos of anyone using them in this manner. I would like to be able to put the roll of adhesive on the laminator to unwind it as well. Seems like the best way. Does anyone use a roll to roll in this manner? Or have any videos they can share?

I can get at least 5/8" in my Vevor? What about building something like I have for the masking, raising it up higher and placing the Vevor under it? I use my Vevor to apply 4x8 vinyl to 3mm/6mm ACM all the time.

 

[jmasten]

I can get at least 5/8" in my Vevor? What about building something like I have for the masking, raising it up higher and placing the Vevor under it? I use my Vevor to apply 4x8 vinyl to 3mm/6mm ACM all the time.

Stacey - Thanks. I was thinking that would work fine for applying the adhesive to one sheet. It just wouldn't give me the ability to adhere 2 of them together since the thickness it says it can accommodate is this: Maximum Laminating Thickness: 0.7"(17 mm). Do you think I could at least get .75" thickness into it?

 

[Stacey K]

Stacey - Thanks. I was thinking that would work fine for applying the adhesive to one sheet. It just wouldn't give me the ability to adhere 2 of them together since the thickness it says it can accommodate is this: Maximum Laminating Thickness: 0.7"(17 mm). Do you think I could at least get .75" thickness into it?

No, I think 5/8" is the max. I just checked and it doesn't allow me to unscrew the screws any further. If you have someone handy around you could for sure take it apart and just use the rollers, rig it up to make it however you wanted it. I think someone once posted that they used the rollers or made their own but I would not know where to begin to look for that post.

 

[MarkSnelling]

Stacey - Thanks. I was thinking that would work fine for applying the adhesive to one sheet. It just wouldn't give me the ability to adhere 2 of them together since the thickness it says it can accommodate is this: Maximum Laminating Thickness: 0.7"(17 mm). Do you think I could at least get .75" thickness into it?

A Kala or Seal will give you 2" clearance to put boards through them. Putting adhesive on a board in the manner you are describing is a very simple procedure and what the industry did - by the miles - back in the 90's before adhesive vinyl became so popular. The Kala Mistral laminator is outstanding....top heat-assist and you can get one for around $15K delivered and I'd be happy to come down and teach you how to use it. I will say that sticking to boards together can be tricky depending on the type of boards you are using (not all boards are truly flat...hills and valleys in the boards can make it difficult to stick them together so using a thicker mounting adhesive is suggested).

I love selling and running laminators. If I can help, by all means let me know and I'll send you some numbers.