How long you wait for your wrap prints to dry before laminating?

[Peter Cassidy]

i think the general idea is to wait 24hrs.

[Mark Johnston]

we are the same peter. 24 hours for our prints.

[Colin Crabb]

We’ve laminated within an hour using Latex inks, no issues.

But prefer 24.

[Pane Talev]

Thank you for your reply.

I left mine 72h. It was for personal vehicle.

I can never get the GLIDE technology form the Arlon SLX. Mine is a bit more sticky.

[Simon Worrall]

Whaa? They still make solvent printers?😊

[RobertLambie]

The accepted industry standard is 24 Hours before lamination.

This is not:-

• Print the job at 4 pm.
• Laminate the job at 9 am the following morning.
  That’s only 17 Hours. You still have another 7 to go! 🧐

That aside, you have so many variables that must be taken into consideration when it comes to outgassing.

• What Type of ink was used?
• are the colours dark or light?
• Is it 100% dark ink coverage?
• Are the prints rolled/coiled up during outgassing?
• Are fans present?
• Is the room warm?
• Have the prints been suspended to dry?
• The list goes on…

But the list must be taken into account when it comes down to lamination. Particularly for vehicle wrapping where the performance of the film is pushed to the max!

This subject could go on and on, from one ink type to the next, blah blah blah.
So I will leave it at, companies expecting a full platinum type warranty from the likes of 3M and Avery. A 72-hour outgassing process is expected. And I have seen that specified even with HP Latex with some laminate types.

@pane-talev1

I can now see why you are asking the question mate.
What I will say on this is, I have noticed over the years, that in particularly “humid” weather.
No matter the brand of vinyl that you are using, you will often find the initial tack of the adhesive is particularly strong.
I think that we vinyl installers are led into a false sense of security if we are working in the shade of a workshop, when it may not be very sunny, just humid and muggy. I find these days the vinyl can be at its tackiest. the van panels are holding heat, the adhesive is soft in the heat and the vinyl itself is very soft and easily stretched. Combined, it can create unforeseen issues when applying.
Please note: I do not just mean printed wrapping films, but all vinyls in general.

I may be mixing up my vinyl brands but I am sure at one point, Arlon had “two grades” of adhesive tack for some of their films, one having a stronger initial tack than the other. I would contact your supplier and just check which of the two they have given you. I do not remember if they were phasing one out for the other, or keeping both. But worth asking the question anyway.

[David Hammond]

I had some issues with our Solvent Machine, inconsistent out gassing, like you said adhesive technology not working (in fact actually making it far more difficult)

What I’ve done is tweaked the profiles.

If you’re using Versaworks, you can easily reduce the total ink limit for the media/profile. We reduced some by a significant percentage with no visible variation in colours. I also purchased a spectrometer off Ebay, and performed the linearisation for each colour within versaworks.

I’ve also bought a steel cabinet, cut a hole in the top and installed a large fan, which seems to aid out gassing too.

It still needs a minimum of 24hrs, but it has improved vastly over the ‘stock’ settings, and is more consistent.

[Martyn Heath]

Ive had exactly same problems in the past. I now leave mine 72 hrs and its better but not perfect. This is probably then down to profile and fitting temperature