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Lamination Advice
had my first shot today at laminating some prints a bit hit and miss!
first problem i had was the laminate was going up and wrapping round the waste spool after a few goes i tried adding a couple of half turns on the braking wheels that cured it and i went on to laminate the rest of the print trouble free it was about 10 mtr. long
but i am now wondering if this is the tension problem i’ve read about i did not feel the laminate was being stretched but i would appreciate the advice
of a more experienced operator -
3 Replies
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You`re quite right in your assumption that too much tension can cause future problems with shrinkage or edge curling. I have seen a few instances of a heavy handed operator having too much brake on and within a short time the applied vinyl curling back on itself or shrinking. This can be worse with lower tack vinyls especially monomeric.
2 important things to watch out for are (1) make sure your print has been thoroughly dried, as too much solvent in the print can cause problems and (2) only have sufficient brake tension to just stop the laminate from creeping towards the take up spool.
Hope this helps
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Thanks Stuart,
I don’t think i had the braking over tight but time will tell i am using for my first attempt camoflauge wrap and matching laminate, the permanent not the short term one supplied through my system supplier do you know of this material good or bad, is it better to laminate cold and then run the print back through warm?
John
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John
Never come across "camouflage wrap" but general rule for hot lamination would be to use the minimum amount of heat and tension to do the job.
Heat around 40degrees will allow the adhesive on the laminate to "flow" and therefore eliminates "silvering" – Too much heat makes the laminate too flexible and if you have too much tension on the brake will stretch the laminate (and not the base film). When it cools the laminate wants to return to its original form , shrinking and taking the base film with it causing the curling effect. The same problem can occur with cold lamination but the heat can exaggerate the problem.Stuart
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