Weird bubbles/blisters under laminate.

[GVP]

Curious to see if anyone else has come across this. Materials are Avery EZ1005 RS and DOL1060 gloss laminate.

When laminating a section manually (by that I mean the laminate is not spooled onto the laminator, but as a cut piece) and pulling off the liner we occasionally get bubble/blisters appearing on the laminate, before it actually makes contact with the vinyl. This translates to a bubble in the finished item, of course. I wonder if it is anything to do with static build-up, especially since the 1060 laminate has a plastic liner, not paper. I think the DOL laminate used to come on a paper liner, and I don't remember ever having the same issues then?

I probably haven't explained it very well, and don't currently have any pictures - but has anyone else come across something like this?

 

[GaSouthpaw]

Not sure about the cause, but I had luck putting transfer tape on the laminate before hand applying. That gave the ability to truly bear down when squeegeeing.

 

[Posterboy]

So after you cut the piece of laminate, is that when you see the bubbles? Sounds kind of familiar, I wouldn't expect the laminate lifting of the backing sheet to translate into bubbles after mounting.
What technique do you use to mount the laminate?

 

[gabagoo]

How do you actually run it through the laminator? Do you tape one edge and hinge it?

 

[signed off]

Curious to see if anyone else has come across this. Materials are Avery EZ1005 RS and DOL1060 gloss laminate.

When laminating a section manually (by that I mean the laminate is not spooled onto the laminator, but as a cut piece) and pulling off the liner we occasionally get bubble/blisters appearing on the laminate, before it actually makes contact with the vinyl. This translates to a bubble in the finished item, of course. I wonder if it is anything to do with static build-up, especially since the 1060 laminate has a plastic liner, not paper. I think the DOL laminate used to come on a paper liner, and I don't remember ever having the same issues then?

I probably haven't explained it very well, and don't currently have any pictures - but has anyone else come across something like this?

We on occasion have this issue and we found because it is a piece of laminate and not tight on the roll, we apply a little pressure to the print by placing our hand on the edge and let the laminater pull it ( this slightly forces the machine to pull the print and for some reason keeps the laminate tight as well)

 

[T_K]

The main time I see the laminate bubble up before application is due to heating/cooling. We're currently running the Oracal 6mil clear bra overlam through our Versacamm to cut it, and I haven't figured out how to turn the heater off. No problems with the cut pieces as of yet, but if I leave it clamped down overnight, I notice bubbles or waves have formed on the section that had been heated.

It could also be that the laminate is trying to hold it's shape. It was curved around a roll and when you cut it off, it pulls off the liner trying to retain it's "memory".

 

[Rickey J]

Do you roll up the material after it has been laminated? If so its because the laminate has not fully adhered to the printed surface completely. Make sure you leave flat for a period of time before rolling up.