Question UV of Laminate vs UV of Substrate - effect on UV Overall?

[robynd]

I'm wondering how everyone values the UV life of a laminated product.

Say if;
A 2 year Vinyl Substrate is laminated with a 7 year Laminate?
A 7 year Vinyl Substrate is laminated with a 2 year laminate?

Acknowledging that no vinyl will make 6 month ink last longer than 6 months. But assuming that the ink isn't the factor and that on a 10yr substrate the ink would last a record breaking 10 years.

Really interested to hear how others view this. Cheers!

 

[robynd]

.... Or if this is a stupid question! .. Please let me know that too.
Also be interested in any links or info resources I can check out.
The question is quite hard to pose in google that gets me any responses.. and material reps are just giving me safe answers.
Appreciate any help or advice.

 

[Bly]

The printer manufacturer probably tells you how long the inks should last both with and without lam.
The amount of UV exposure will be the main factor.
Good inks should last up to 3 years unlaminated. With a lam that has UV inhibitors that should extend to 5 yrs +.
Depends a lot on the laminate.

 

[robynd]

oh... ok... so the Laminate should extend the life of the substrate?
So if I was to put a 2 yr lam onto a 2 yr stock I could potentially get 3/4 years?

I'm trying to disregard my inks. I know the life of my inks on each machine type. But I am really just trying to ask myself ... If I have a 7YR substrate, will it be inhibited by putting on a 2yr lam. Or, will it still be a 7yr solution.

 

[SignMeUpGraphics]

I think you should be getting the concept of "year vinyl" out of your head and aim to match laminate to vinyl types.
e.g. monomeric to monomeric, polymeric to polymeric, cast to cast. Mismatching is going to lead to different expansion/contraction rates and inevitably failure.

 

[robynd]

Absolutely... and yes we do.

The question came about when I was reviewing the number and combo of stocks that we use.. and was horrified to see how many different types we are using. I also noted that we were quite often putting a 7 year poly lam onto a 2 year poly substrate. It raised the question.. is there any advantage to that? Does it extend the life of the substrate?

Then the second question I asked myself was.. that if by putting a 2 year lam onto a 5 year substrate.. am I inhibiting the life of the outcome?

 

[equippaint]

I wonder this too.

 

[robynd]

Yeh.. it's driving me nuts.

 

[robynd]

Still super keen to hear peoples opinion on this one if anyone has a moment to weigh in please.

 

[White Haus]

Does it extend the life of the substrate?

I would have to say, short answer is no. As far as I understand it, the "UV" extension of laminate is referring to the ink/media and not to whatever it's being applied to. If you use a 10 year vinyl/laminate combo on a sheet of coroplast, you wouldn't expect that substrate to last that same 10 years out in the sun. (it can, but might also disintegrate into dust, regardless of what's applied to it)

I get what you're getting at, but personally I wouldn't try to re-invent the wheel. If you're worried about all the different substrates you're stocking, would you really want to start stocking more short term laminates on top of that just to match the durability rating?

We have 5-10 different substrates that we stock and use regularly. We probably have 10-20 medias and laminates that we stock and use regularly. It's just the nature of the business as far as I'm concerned. I have been told we stock way more different materials than most smaller shops, but I like the flexibility of being able to use the correct media/lam combo for every job that comes our way.

 

[robynd]

I so appreciate your answer and found it so helpful.

Can I ask now your opinion in regards to media / laminate? If say we had a piece of laminated media, regardless of what it is being applied to...

Do you think that a higher grade of laminate in comparison to the media would extend the product or have no benefit.
Similarly, do you think that a lower grade laminate would decrease the life of the product.

 

[Joe House]

Let me preface this with the fact that I've been out of the media side of this business for some time, but somethings don't change so I'll give my input anyway...
Laminates do a couple of things...
If designed to do so (and not all are) they will inhibit the UV radiation that gets through them to the substrate and ink below it. They also supply a physical barrier to protect against abrasion. Some specialty laminates also protect against graffiti or provide a wipe off surface for dry erase products.
The life of what's underneath it will generally be extended to some extent by those protections, but its not simple addition or multiplication. Matched materials will generally have some documented life expediencies (not necessarily guarantees). But mismatched materials, will generally only have the life of the weakest link - so to speak.
So a one year substrate, like corrugated plastic with a 7 -10 year vinyl will probably last a year (maybe a little more, but not worth counting).
A 10 year substrate like a good ACM with a 2 year vinyl on it will probably survive, but the 2 year vinyl will probably have shrunk so much that you'll see a nice adhesive halo around it with dirt that an observer may think it was outlined in dirty gray as part of the design.
Likewise, I've seen a customer put a calendared laminate on a cast vinyl and had it pull the edges of the vinyl up within weeks of installation.
As pointed out by others, just match your media and your laminate and consider the application choosing them. I think we might be overthinking it (I think)

Good Luck

 

[robynd]

Seriously helpful. Thank you.

The issue arose for me when I was reviewing our stock inventory and the combination of vinyl/laminates that were being used. I found that while our range of printable medias varied greatly in terms of UV life, that the tendency was always to put a nice 7year laminate on everything. Even the 1 year printable medias.

Your answer though makes complete sense. I think you're right, that for the most part, it defaults to the weakest link.

I also agree with you.. I've been noodling way too much over this.. but sometimes, something just gets stuck and you can't move past it until you have an answer.

Thanks everyone who jumped in on this question!