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165
Amaral Street, East Providence, RI 02915
Tel: 800-888-9210 Fax: 401-438-8579 |
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FAQs for Roll Laminating
Q: When I laminate photographs or glossy paper in a pouch laminator, frequently blisters or bubbles will appear on the laminated item. Is there a solution to this problem? A: Standard pouch laminators are suited to laminate porous paper stocks without heavy ink coverage. Photographs and glossy nonporous paper sheets will blister or bubble, when run through a pouch laminator. There are several solutions with varying degrees of success. The easiest solution is to change the paper stock. If you cannot change the paper stock, then you can purchase a heated-roller type pouch laminator; witch will reduce the amount of blistering. The optimum solution how ever, is to purchase a roll laminator; witch will eradicate the blistering on all stocks of paper and photographs. Q: Why can't I get a good lamination, when I try to run the thicker 7 and 10 mil pouches? A: There are light duty laminators on the market, which are designed to laminate only the thinner gauges. National Laminating, Inc. sells American-made, heavy-duty pouch laminators, which come with a five-year warranty and are geared for continuous operation of the thicker laminations. Q: What is the difference between 10mil (4/6) & 10 mil (7/3)? A: The 4/6 & 7/3 refer to the composition of the laminate, particularly the number of parts polyester versus the number of parts polyethylene. The first number indicates the parts polyester and the second number indicates the polyethylene or adhesive. The polyester provides more clarity and rigidity; thus the 7/3 material is the better grade. Q: What are the industry norms for specifications on laminating pouches? A: Most suppliers
of laminating pouches adhere to the following specifications: Q: What are the industry norms for pouch laminators? A: Most suppliers of pouch laminators adhere to the following specifications: Three models:
4", 10", & 12" Q: How do I know whether a pouch or a roll laminator s the best choice for my application? A: In general, pouch laminators are geared for laminating paper sheets up to 11" by 17" in small quantities, under 50 sheets per day. From a cost standpoint, the capital investment with a pouch laminator is much less than with a roll laminator. In addition, pouch laminators are easier to use with fewer variables to control. You should
consider a roll laminator, if any of the following apply to your situation:
Q: I am having a problem with de-laminating or the film not adhering to the paper. What should I try? A: Make sure that the heat is set at 300 degrees F for standard film and 250 degrees f for the co-polymer film. If the heat is "ok" and you are using standard film, we advise using co-polymer film with a stronger adhesive. Q: The film is wrapping around the back rollers, is there a way to avoid this problem? A: Try using a heavier film, so that the film drops down rather than wraps around. If your budget does not allow for the costlier film, then we advise attaching a cardboard piece to the back of the unit to block the film from curling around the rollers. Q: My film is wrinkling as it passes over the heat shoe and I can't eliminate by increasing the tension on the rollers. Any suggestions? A: Make sure the mandrels are properly positioned on the top and bottom, (if the top mandrel is placed in the bottom position, then increasing the tension knob will not have any effect on the wrinkling). When the supply roll mandrels are reversed the core grippers point in the wrong direction to hold the rolls of film. Because the cardboard cores are turning on the mandrels, there is no supply roll tension control and the rolls of film are able to slide from side to side in the mandrel. Another possibility for wrinkling may be dirty rollers or dirty heat shoes. Make sure you have enough supply roll tension to take the wrinkles out of the film before it gets past the heat shoes. Make sure the film is threaded properly. The most frequent operator error is threading the film under the bottom stabilizer bar instead of the idler bar. Q: The film shrinks as it passes over the heat shoe (known as "necking" in the laminating trade). A: Reduce the heat and/or the supply roll tension. The film is not shrinking so much as it is being stretched by excess heat and tension, causing the web to get narrower as it is pulled over the shoes. Q: Wavy or rippled sections in the laminate, especially toward the center of the web. A: These "heat wrinkles" are caused by excess temperature and/or forgetting to turn on the cooling fans (on some models the fans go on with the heaters). Q: General haziness or cloudiness in the film after lamination. A: Increase the temperature. That cloudiness is a function of incomplete adhesion. On a variable speed machine loaded with thicker film, it may be that the film is being run too fast and is not getting enough time on the heat shoes. Q: Sometimes I get small fine wrinkles or a textured like surface in the laminate. How can I avoid this? A: This condition is commonly called orange peel, as the texture resembles the skin of an orange. Too high of a temperature, too much tension is the source of the problem. Simply reduce one or the other. Q: There is an odor coming from the laminator. How can we rid smell? A: We suggest using the co-polymer film, which runs at a lower temperature, (250 degrees vs. 300 degrees for standard film). In addition, we advise turning the laminator off, when not in use. The film sitting on the heat for a period of time will cause the odor. |