EverythingLaminated.com
EverythingLaminated.com
1452 West 110th St.
Cleveland, OH 44102
216.458.0604
www.EverythingLaminated.com
Introduction____________________________________________
With proper webbing of the laminator, issues like film drift, wrinkling, bubbles and other
defects can be eliminated which can be a direct result of operating the laminator. The
steps below will help the operator to be aware of mistakes, correct problems, or start the
webbing process over before committing to laminating a print. Our goal is to spend a
little extra time in the beginning in order to help eliminate issues in the end. The last
thing we want to do is reprint a job because it was lost in the lamination process.
Royal Sovereign Laminators are supplied with a top Release Liner Take-Up which is used
as a separator for Pressure Sensitive films. These films are comprised of a sandwich
made up a three layers, film, adhesive and release liner. During the laminating process,
the release liner must be separated from the adhesive-backed film before it reaches the
nip of the main film rollers. In doing so, the film’s adhesive is exposed in order for it to
be applied to the surface of your graphic.
Steps toward successful lamination________________________
Remove the feed table, document guide and clear safety cover from the laminator.
Load and center the laminate on the top supply shaft and separate the release linear from
the lamination film. Tape the release linear to the take-up shaft core. Use three to four
pieces of tape in this process so that the release liner is securely fastened to the core
while making sure that film is tight against the idol roller and take-up core. The exposed
laminate should be draped over the top and bottom feed rollers.
Open the laminator feed rollers to the proper gap so that they will accept the thickness of
a leader board. This roller adjustment is accomplished by adjusting the handle on the
right side of the laminator. A stiff substrate about 3mm thick will work the best. Push
the leader board evenly through the laminate and into the laminating rollers. The leader
board should be as wide or wider then the lamination film that is loaded on the laminator
and at least twelve inches wide. This will assure even tension on the width of the film.
The laminate should be tight against the top roller at this point.
Replace the feed table, document guide and clear safety cover.
Run the laminator several inches so that the leader board catches into the rollers and
pulls the film down over the top roller.
Check that the release liner to pulling evenly over the take-up core and the lamination
film is taught over the top lamination roller. Run the laminator until about four to five
inches of the leader board is exposed. At this point tape the leading edge of you job to
the leader board assuring that is centered and straight. It is best to have the laminate
and printed media to be the same width or the laminate slightly narrower then your
printed media. If your printed media is rolled on a core you can place it on the bottom
supply shaft of the laminator to ensure that it will feed straight and evenly into the
laminator before taping to the leader board.
Run the laminator until the leader board passes through the rollers. Stop the laminator
and adjust the roller pressure to the appropriate setting for the printed media that you
will be running through the laminator. In most cases you will want to use the lamination
setting.
If during the lamination process you see the laminate forming vertical wave lines running
down the top lamination roller, tighten the brake pressure slightly on the laminator to
increase tension on the roll of lamination film.
Glossary of Terms______________________________________
Adhesion
The holding of two substrates by surface attachment.
Abrasion Resistance
The ability of a film to withstand rubbing without showing scuff marks.
Adhesive
(Noun) A substance capable of holding materials together by surface attachment, in this
case acting as the mechanism which attaches film to a graphic arts media. (Adjective)
Type of bonding interaction between a thermal adhesive and the surface of a graphics
media or film to which it is laminated.
Brake
The amount of hold back tension that is placed onto the supply roll of film during the
lamination process.
Bond Strength
Refers to one of three conditions:
1. Anchor strength of adhesive to the substrate in laminating film
2. The anchor strength of the laminating film to the product that has been laminated
3. The strength of adhesive-to-adhesive bond when two layers of film are laminated
together.
Cast Vinyl
A premium vinyl lamination film used in the vehicle wrap industry because of its high
durability and conformability characteristics.
Conformability
The ability of film to fit snugly or make essentially complete contact with the surface of
an irregular surface without creasing or folding.
Core
The cardboard tube to which the laminate or adhesive is wound too. The size is referred
to the inside diameter of the tube.
Decaling
The process in which the image has laminate on the top side and an adhesive on the
bottom forming a sticker.
Delamination
Most commonly referred to as the separation of the lamination film from the substrate
that it was originally adhered to in the finishing process.
Dimensional Stability
The ability to retain its shape with temperature and or humidity shifts.
Encapsulation
A finishing term when the end product is totally encased with the lamination film on the
top and bottom side and usually at least at 1/8 of an inch of lamination film bleeds past
the image on all sides. The image is totally sealed with lamination film on the top,
bottom and particularly the sides.
Film Gauge
Refers to the total thickness of a particular film construction including its individual
layers. The gauge is measured with a micrometer. The unit of measure is in thousandths
of and inch (mils) or microns.
Film Ratio
Or Film-To-Adhesive Ratio or Thickness Ratio. Ratio of the thickness of the base film to
the thickness of the adhesive layer in a laminating film.
Flush Cut
The trimming of the excess lamination film from the edges of the laminated image.
Gap
The amount of distance between the top and bottom feed rollers of a lamination machine.
Glossy
The surface of the lamination film having a shinny or glass like appearance.
Lamination
A product made by bonding together two or more layers of material and the process of
bonding them.
Leader Board
A narrow piece of rigid material used in webbing the laminator.
Matte
A type of lamination film having a dull or none reflective surface. Used when the low
reflectivity from lighting is required of the image.
Micron
A measurement of thickness of material. 25 micron is equal to 1 Mil.
Mil
The term used for the thickness of lamination film. In measurement, 1 thousandth of an
inch.
Examples: 1 Mil = .001”, 3 Mil = .003”, 10 Mil = .010”
Nip
On a lamination machine, the contact point of the top and bottom lamination rollers.
Polyester
Thermoplastic Polymer used as the base film of many laminates.
Also known as
Polyethylene Terephthalate. It is produced from chemical substances found mainly in
petroleum. Often referred to as PET.
Pressure Sensitive
Lamination film or adhesive that is applied to the image by the use of pressure and not
heat.
PVC
Short for Polyvinyl Chloride. One of several films used as the base of laminates or
adhesives. Commonly referred to as “vinyl”.
Ratio
A number that corresponds to the thickness of the film base vs. the adhesive.
Example: 5 mil laminate with a ratio of 3/2 would be 3 mil base film thickness and 2 mil
adhesive thickness.
Release Liner
A paper stock coated on the inside with a silicone layer used with pressure sensitive
laminates and adhesives.
Satin
A middle reflectance laminate surface between glossy and matte.
Sometimes also
referred to Pearl of Luster.
Silvering
A term used when air is trapped between the laminate and the image during finishing,
giving it a metallic or silver look.
Caused by insignificant pressure or tack of the
adhesive when using pressure sensitive films.
Sled
A board used to start the laminate through the lamination machine. Also used as a
carrier board when only face laminating an image.
Splice
How film ends are jointed together to make a straight continuous web.
Textured
A type of lamination film having embossed surface pattern. Examples would be the look
of canvas, leather, artists brush strokes, or weave.
Web
The term used when routing the lamination film through the machine.
Tips__________________________________________________
A laminator can be used to apply Application Tape. The Application Tape would be
webbed almost identically in the same fashion as you would with lamination films. The
laminator will apply the tape evenly and with consistent pressure.
Silvering in laminate can be reduced on the initial run through the laminator by adding
additional pressure, slowing down the laminator and or adding heat (only with thermal or
heat assist laminators).
The longer you let a solvent print out-gas prior to the
lamination process the amount of silvering may be reduced. After lamination only time
will remove silvering from your image.
The release liner left over from your lamination film can be used to wrap mounted prints,
drop cloths for painting, slip sheets in-between metal signs or a substitute for Kraft paper
if used in the lamination process.
