One guy....10 4x4 prints to mount....one hour to do it

[Slamdunkpro]

supplement to an Arctic Titan here.

45 minutes is not just good... Those who claim there roll feed machine is faster are not being honest with themselves. Most people with a roll laminator use it for lamination... meaning you have to remove the lam to use it for mounting & then re-web the laminator to use it for lamination... besides that, most of Pat's time would be aligning the print with the substrate, and trimming.. stuff you would do in both scenarios... so the only task you end up comparing is the pushing of the squeegee 10 times... I don't know about you guys, but I never run my laminator at top speed...

There is no way anyone is beating 45 minutes if they include stripping & re-webbing...

I dunno, I don't keep my Base54 webbed and Pat said that after he mounted them he took additional time to heat gun them and trim them. It would be an interesting side by side comparison. I have to mount 21 36 x 48's on foam core tomorrow, I'll run a clock out of curiosity.

 

[ericmitchell29]

I use mine all the time. Dales Big Squeegee is the best.

 

[Pat Whatley]

I dunno, I don't keep my Base54 webbed and Pat said that after he mounted them he took additional time to heat gun them and trim them. It would be an interesting side by side comparison. I have to mount 21 36 x 48's on foam core tomorrow, I'll run a clock out of curiosity.

I poked a hole in the bubbles then just pass over them with the torch...bubble disappears with no chance of turning it into a wrinkle. Trimming them meant I mounted them on 4x8 10ml coro...I had to cut it in half with on the Fletcher cutter.

 

[ova]

Looks like it's Babe and Paul vs the chain saw and locomotive.

I'm in store to get a BS. We use the laminator on some things, but it's only a 30".

Dave

 

[Slamdunkpro]

Results:

16 36 x 48 prints (customer canceled 5) from gang printed on roll to finished & trimmed on foam core took 47 minutes and 32 seconds according to my stopwatch.

This involved one man

• Separating the prints into 8 sheets of 2 up vinyl, trimming to 74 x 48 size and taping the end hinge
• Positioning the piece on Foam Core and attaching the hinge
• Mounting via the laminator
• Trimming into individual 36 x 48 finished pieces

Out of all that time I think maybe 5-8 minutes was spent actually mounting the prints so I don't know that there is that much difference between mounting via the BS and a roll laminator.

For the BS owners, how difficult is it to mount large pieces say 4x8 with the BS?

 

[LarryB]

Got a video?

Here you go. Just uploaded a video on Youtube. I'm applying a vinyl print 4' x 5' to .040 aluminum.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zdesISvUXeY

 

[The Big Squeegee]

How does that work on windows?

Here you go. Just uploaded a video on Youtube. I'm applying a vinyl print 4' x 5' to .040 aluminum.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zdesISvUXeY

This is like comparing apples and oranges. A roll laminator has its place in high production shops where space is not a prime concern. I've seen many shops that don't get enough use from a roll laminator to justify the cost.

There are some jobs that are more difficult with a roll laminator. Isigns, for example, did not have the room to mount a 10 ft sign in an 18 ft room with the roll laminator. The roll laminator is a bit cumbersome to take to the job site as well.

The Big Squeegee can be used to apply floor & window graphics. It don't take up a lot floor or table space when it is not in use.

It's not a matter of one being better than the other. Both tools have their place. The Big Squeegee fills the gap between little squeegees and roll laminators.