Thermal printing 2.5 mil vinyl

[Awd_GT]

So I purchased a gerber edge as an entry level printer. Im very satisfied with the outputs, and what my current plans are for it. My question is I'm printing mostly on oracal 651 right now. That is 2.5 mil thick and it just seems too thin for application without tape, so I have been "laminating" with a 651 clear.
So basically my two questions are:
1. Do you recommend any thermally printed vinyl at least 4 mils that would not be laminated?
and
2. Is oracle clear 651 sufficient for lamination or should I look for something like oraguard but cut it down to 15" widths?
Thanks!

 

[Jburns]

Hello.
I have a Gerber printer, and looked for a stiffer calendared material also.
So I ended up with 3M Scotchcal Series 50. Its 3 mil thick and good for basic promo or novelty decals. Its stiff enough to lift off the backing paper and apply without laminate or application tape.

however, I would not use this material for business graphics, vehicle etc. - I would go cast with app tape and even laminated.

 

[Bill Modzel]

We use tons of 651 for small decals and never laminate them. They hold up well for years and I've never seen shrinkage with 651. However, for "permanent" commercial applications we always use high performance vinyl with "real" laminate.
We do allot of personalized high school team decals with 651 but because of their size or there name or number is not attached to the team logo, we pre-mask them. Premask is cheaper than laminate anyhow.

 

[Awd_GT]

Is there any difference between a clear 651 as laminate vs a dedicated laminate?

 

[Billct2]

We use a regular cast clear all the time, as long as you don't mix cast with calendared you will be fine. We do some small decals without premask, but for most we use premask.