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DO I NEED A LAMINATER?
i HAVE WRAPPED THE SIDES OF A COUPLE OF ARTIC TRAILERS(WELL PARTIAL WRAP I SUPPOSE). BUT THEY ARE ASARING TO SHOW SIGNS OF WEAR AND TEAR. I WAS STARTING TO THINK I NEED A LAMINATTER. WHAT DO YOU THINK?
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33 Replies
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I reckon you’ve answered your own question. Nothing is completely damage-proof, but laminating is certainly going to give a lot more protection than not.
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I think you need to stop SHOUTING at us and tell us a bit about your self what you do etc. most wrapping vinyl needs laminating especially on Artic’s, vans etc. because of the amount of dirt they collect on travelling, and the harsh way they get cleaned.
Lynn
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thanks. i’ll have to see. not really in a postion to buy one at the minute though.
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I don’t care what anyone says, you can’t do vehicles without laminating.
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I’m with John,
Nearly everything we do is laminated For inside use and out.
I find it easier to handle as well.
Cheers
Adam -
Me too I laminate everything 😀 😀
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I laminate just about everything as well. I hate guessing if it needs it or not so it gets it whatever now
Steve
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all vehicles should be laminated unless short term. by that (i would class that 6 months) but most go 12 months. e.g. taxis
regardless, we always push to laminate and always manage to convince the customer. lamaination shouldnt just be looked on as preventing come backs. you should be "making money" from your laminator investment, on top of the price of your prints… -
Get yourself a laminator, you will not regret it.
Great for mounting foam board with colour vinyls, quick and easy, great finish. -
If you can afford the Printer then surely you can afford a Laminator. You don’t need anything fancy. Just a cold one is all you need, you can pick them up very cheaply these days. Surely cheaper in the long run than at best re doing stuff for people. And at worst losing business & getting a bad name for the work you produce.
Just my Friday evening take on it 😳 😉
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No, you do not need a LAMINATTER. or a laminater.
I would go for a decent laminator though 😉Peter
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I would say that you are not in a position NOT to buy one Eddie. It is very easy to give yourself a bad name if customers start to complain and it is very difficult to put things right and repair the damage that has been done to your reputation.
I’m actually surprised that this wasn’t explained properly to you when you bought your printer.
If you are any good with vinyl you might find that you can apply a laminate by hand which is obviously a bit of a pain but might do you until you are in a better position to buy one. -
liquid lam if you don’t have a lam
although saying that our own van (which is now going) is printed but not laminated, the wear and tear on it for 4 years shows up particurly on the back doors where people slam it, the whole area is faded.
Regardless of what was told about "you do not need a laminator" with a solvent printer, you actually do.
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quote Peter Normington:No, you do not need a LAMINATTER. or a laminater.
I would go for a decent laminator though 😉Peter
ho ho ho.
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thanks guys. looks like a laminater is on the cards. anyone know where i can get a good price?
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Ring a few people, not sure in Ireland. Should get something decent for around £2k maybe less 🙂
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Eddie if you are only doing smallish prints, you can laminate by hand which would get you by while you buy one
Lynn
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quote Lynn:Eddie if you are only doing smallish prints, you can laminate by hand which would get you by while you buy one
Lynn, Eddie says in his first post that he’s doing artic trailers. 😀
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IF YOU GO ON ALIBABA – CHINESE SITE YOU CAN GET A 1300MM LAMINATOR WHICH IS REBADGED BY A BIG SUPPLIER IN THIS COUNTRY FOR £360 ALL CE RATED AND 240 VOLT I HAVE THE 720MM VERSION OF THE LAMINATOR AND PAID A GRAND FOR IT FROM A UK SUPPLIER. THEY WILL SHIP IT TO MAJOR UK PORTS PORTSMOUTH, SOUTHAMPTON ETC. 4- 6 WEEKS DELIVERY FOR ANOTHER £250
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KIND REGARDS
SIMON
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Simon – thanks for turning off the caps lock… :lol1:
quote SIMON JAMES:…YOU MUST HAVE A LAMINATOR FOR OUTDOOR GRAPHICS!!! REMEMBER YOU NEED A COLD LAMINATOR FOR OUTSIDE AND HOT FOR INDOOR GRAPHICS…Care to explain the reasoning. I don’t have a laminator yet, but am slightly confused with the COLD outdoor / HOT indoor. I normally chose whether I coat my media or not* for outdoor use depending on UV exposure, mechanical wear etc.
I can appreciate that the indoor ones would benefit from a hot lam to improve the initial appearance & reduce silvering – but why cold for outdoors?
* got myself a nice technique to cold lam up to about 2′ 6" x 10′ long (dry) with almost perfect results. Handy for the majority of the vehicle stuff.
Dave
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hot laminating is the best quality as it can cope with dark colours better and does not give any or very little silvering on solid blacks etc, where as cold laminating gives a silvering, when you get close up it looks a bit like fish scales on areas, where this a big build up of ink. i think but not 100% sure if you put a hot laminate outside that the type of adhesive is going to heat back in the sun and cause problems, making the cold lamination more stable for outdoors.
I am firm believer everything needs laminating.
simon
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Hi
we use a laminator that has a hot top roller and although not getting as hot as a proper Hot Laminator does a excellent job, no silvering and a very nice high gloss finish. The top heated roller helps in softening the adhesive & if anything helps it bond quicker. Problems can occur if you have too much tension with the heat but again it is just a case of the operator knowing how to set the machine (Prints Curl etc).Kev
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Hi guys
ive been away awhile, im actually looking at a roland 54" print and cut and laminator on wednesday, a hot laminator has been mentioned…is that better?
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take a look at this link on ebay a 63 inch electric laminator with delivery for less than £500 you would need to ask the seller about repairs and parts in the uk. but i know there is people doing it. there are uk suppliers rebadging these units and making a fortune, you will need to pick up from a uk shipping port most nearest to you.
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Simon,
thanks for your post ,
However I must point out that links to ebay are not allowed on UKSB.
as in the past, people have pointed to their own products (not saying you are)
You would also need the machine CE approved, and pay vat and import duty.
and still no guarantee the machine is good quality…..the seller does not charge vat or customs? thats true but you will be charged by hmc&e, and port clearance agents.
declaring a lower value…. dont go there either,Peter
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i john
i bought a mimaki jv3 sp11, 760mm the same time as my mate bought a roland 54 print and cut unit, i frequently sent 30 metres at a time down to print it is all dry and goes on to the take up roll while i got to bed.
my mate with the roland does one print, no take up roll print still wet and you have to store it cut flat if you put anything on it, these machines are dreadful for doing any volume work and you will need loads of space for storage.
the advantage with roland is they throw in trooper rip software and print and cut
but i know you would be better off with the mimaki bundle (printer and a cutter) about £8,995 and shiraz rip about £1200 – £1400 760mm
or about £13,000 for the 1300mm version
but there are some good demonstrator deals through AIT AND HYBRIB
also mimaki give a 2 year onsite warranty which in the 2nd year is worth £2,400 to you, not sure what the warranty package on roland is but its worth checking, cos you dont want to run a solvent machine without a warranty!
kind regards
Simon
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I had forgotten about this and only found it when I moved units last week, I did 4 prints on HP Designjet 5500 60" I have both UV and Dye inks so printed 2 Dye and 2 UV copies of a logo then laminated 1 of the UV and 1 of the dye.
They where printed on photosatin paper not vinyl however you can really see here what a difference the laminate makes (the UV unlaminated had fallen over so did not get full force of the sun). Results are clear no laminate no sign remaining especially the darker colours, with laminate signs still readable however faded in the case of the dye ink.
The laminate i think was supposed to give 80% UV filteration, so sometimes it is not just the physical protection of laminate.
Regards
Russell.
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Simon – please refrain from ending your posts with your business name as it is against forum policy to advertise your own company.
If you spend a few minutes reading the https://www.uksignboards.com/rules.php it’ll clear up a lot of questions for new members and it makes for a friendlier & fairer site.
Cheers
quote :hot laminating is the best quality as it can cope with dark colours better and does not give any or very little silvering on solid blacks etc, where as cold laminating gives a silvering, when you get close up it looks a bit like fish scales on areas, where this a big build up of ink. i think but not 100% sure if you put a hot laminate outside that the type of adhesive is going to heat back in the sun and cause problems, making the cold lamination more stable for outdoors.Still not getting why cold lam for outdoors is best.
eg. a vehicle with laminated print almost certainly is going to be heated in place by both a heat gun & then the sun. If anything, I think hot laminating would stabilise the layers MORE before working with it. (I stand prepared to be corrected by those that may know better).
Also – cold laminating, whilst it initially gives a silvering, this disappears after a day or two anyway especially if outdoors.Obviously, if you have a laminator then you’ll be laminating the majority of your work just for peace of mind.
Dave
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david its a bit confusing the hot laminator.
kevin flowers and i seem to use similar a 40 deg top roller this is preferable over a cold one. to stop silvering etc.
a hot laminator is very hot and is used for encapsulating only.
the best bit is you can regulate the temp of mine upto 40 deg allowing for different materials like very thin rap lam.
cold is a way forward over hand laminating but worth spending the extra.chris
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How does hand laminating work?
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quote Chris Wool:david its a bit confusing the hot laminator.
kevin flowers and i seem to use similar a 40 deg top roller this is preferable over a cold one. to stop silvering etc.
a hot laminator is very hot and is used for encapsulating only.
the best bit is you can regulate the temp of mine upto 40 deg allowing for different materials like very thin rap lam.
cold is a way forward over hand laminating but worth spending the extra.chris
Yeh, by ‘hot’ I really meant ‘heated’. I’ve used hot laminators in the past for encapsulating paper prints – totally different machines altogether!
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quote :How does hand laminating work?
same as flood coating a flat panel dry – some do do it wet, thou backing paper suffers
chris
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maybe i shall put in my 2p worth of comment.
you are able to import equipments from china at a much lower cost, as i have been working in import and export for many years. but you must be aware that there is other charges on top of what you are paying from the machine, such as delivery cost to port, clearance fee, delivery charge from port to your door, and all import duty and VAT.
mostly speaking once your goods landing in the port there is about £150 charge for docking, documentation etc, plus import clearance fee of around £50. so you will end up paying a lot more then what those people advertise on ebay.
you will also be risking the chances that the goods are not as what you expect, plus there is very little or no after sales service, if anything went wrong you would need to cost the repair yourself.
we do tend to laminate most of our prints, just to give it an extra protection and better handling in case anything got scratched up during transport to save any hassle of jobs coming back.
regards
Peter
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