Mimaki prints curling!!

[David Rowland]

normally related to how warm your materials are and how they are stored.

It’s friggin getting colder now…

curling is reduce if the tempreture change is short, e.g. from 20degrees stored to 30degrees print.

[capitalcookie]

Thanks Dave for your reply,

it seams to be after we apply the prints to a panel and cut out an aperture for push through letters ..after being left over night the prints have curled away from the panel around the cut areas.

i was wondering if the prints needed gassing of longer , they were left for 4-5hrs before laminating could this be to short?

[Chris Wool]

is this after being fitted or just laying around in the workshop

cjris

[capitalcookie]

hi Chris

Both, some we applied to painted alu panels and some which are cut up and laminated ready for application to panels

[Chris Wool]

if they are pulling where there is a heavy ink load then perhaps more gassing time.
i like mactac stuff but might be a compatibility problem between inks and laminate causing the laminate to shrink and pull. also the laminate must be a least the same quality if not better than the printed vinyl.

chris

[Peter Normington]

It could also be if there is too much tension on the laminate through the laminator.
This can cause the laminate to stretch when applied, then it wants to return to its original size,

Peter

[John Childs]

quote Peter Normington:

It could also be if there is too much tension on the laminate through the laminator.
This can cause the laminate to stretch when applied, then it wants to return to its original size,

:yes1:

That’s what I’d look at first.

And 4-5 hours outgassing isn’t enough.

[leerees]

We had the same issue. We also use mactac vinyl.

Our solution was a washing line which the prints would be hung from. We would give all prints at least 12 hours "drying" time before lamination / application.

The prints are so much easier to apply the next day.

[Fabrice Menard]

sorry, my pour english makes me misunderstand the "gassing" word. What does this mean?

Could curling happen when not waiting enough before cutting the outlines?

[John Childs]

quote Fabrice Menard:

sorry, my pour english makes me misunderstand the “gassing” word. What does this mean?

Could curling happen when not waiting enough before cutting the outlines?

Hi Fabrice.

"Gassing", or "out-gassing", basically means the same as drying. The difference, and the reason we have a different word, is that it is not quite the same.

Drying is what happens, for example, when you take your shirts out of a washing machine and hang them up.

With prints it’s a little more complex. The ink doesn’t just dry by evaporation, like your shirts, but there is an element of chemical action there too. That action produces a gas which, if not allowed to go completely can have bad effects. The gas bubbles may appear under the laminate, giving a silvering effect which won’t go away. Alternatively, the gas may migrate the other way, through the vinyl, and affect the adhesive.

I hope that helps.

Curling can happen when not waiting long enough before cutting.

The print should be allowed to settle, and all reactions cease, before anything is done to it. Laminating or cutting. I don’t think that people here are allowing enough time. We wouldn’t consider doing anything with a print for at least 24 hours and, if dense ink coverage, a lot longer. Some of our stuff is left for four days before lamination.

[Steve McAdie]

Gassing refers to the solvent fumes still evaporating from the ink. I always try to leave prints 24hrs before laminating if in a hurry then I place fan heaters to blow warm air on the prints then laminate after8-12hrs.

Steve

[Fabrice Menard]

ok, thanks for your helpful answers.

(hot)