3m 8508 - Possible Shorten roll?!

[JP4]

Ok...I finally purchased me a "big boy" laminator couple weeks ago. I was set on a RS as my first machine but found a smokin deal on a Ustech MVT 500 that I couldn't pass up.
So here we go...
I bought a 150' roll of 3mij35c and a 150' of 8508 Lam. from Fellars. When I received the films I noticed that the Lam roll looked a little smaller but discounted that thought to the possibility that the backer was thinner that I was used to. First out of the gate It took a few feet to get the machine threaded up....maybe 4-5 ft. I laminated 20ft section with out any issued...which I was very surprised since I have never used auto laminator before. -Long story short.- I ran out of lam film with over 50ft of ij35 left in my printer. I know I used more lam than print vinyl but there is no possible way I used 50+ more feet of lam than I did of print vinly(ij35c) I started with both rolls fresh new ones...I figured I used 2-3 ft of lam per thread..I threaded 3 times. Something just don't add up. Any thoughts?

 

[SignMeUpGraphics]

8508 is a lot thinner than IJ35, so the difference in roll diameter was probably correct.
Not sure why you ran out so much earlier though.

 

[Christian @ 2CT Media]

Welcome to 3M products... It's almost always the case. We've had rolls that were 25+ feet short and we know simply because we printed 145' on the print roll and ran out far short.

 

[WB]

I used to constantly run out of lam no matter what the brand. I always wanted to test keeping 1 roll on the machine and testing it out but it never happened.

In my case I was constantly changing rolls for each job and each time the roll went back in it was another 3-4-5 ft of material. it's easy to be short on the lam side because you want to make sure it's perfect before you send the print through.

 

[JP4]

This is going to be a deal breaker on 3M products for me. I have been reading through the site and apparently 3M had a rep for this type of thing. I would have never thought this. I never changed rolls and printed directly to print vinyl and then to lam. Naturally I knew there would be more lam used but not 50+ft. In fact I still have 5+ feet of vinyl on the print roll.

 

[Michael-Nola]

Not to be the odd man out, but I pretty exclusively use 3M products and can't remember this ever happening to me. When laminating whole rolls, I consistently always get 5 extra feet on every roll of laminate I buy. It usually takes me 2-3 feet to get the roll started, I lam the whole roll, and am always left with about 5 feet extra, sometimes more.

I'm using 8518/19 and all the envision lams all day, never ran into this ... maybe I'm just lucky. But that can't be it, I'm in the printing business!

On the plus side, if you're a good enough buyer from fellers they may ship you some makeup material for free. They won't really be paying for it, they'll need the box serial number, lot number, etc so 3M can go look up the issue. 3M has LOTS of infrastructure issues, don't get me wrong, but they have something like those end-to-end material tracking systems which allows them to account for all kinds of material details. I've been through it with them before for other issues. Not sure if Fellers will go through this hassle, I buy direct from 3M.

I can say that when dealing with roll purchasing in mass, I have far more issues with inconsistency from Arlon, Oracal, Avery, & GF. Rolls with adhesive missing or failing spottily throughout the roll are my biggest complaints - this is a regular issue. Other problems like surface inconsistencies like lines or ghosts would be next. I won't buy another GF product again for the rest of my life, but that's another story.

 

[rjssigns]

I had short 3M rolls a couple times. That's why I rigged a counter on my laminator. No more guessing what the total length was or if there is enough remaining to finish the job.

 

[JP4]

I had short 3M rolls a couple times. That's why I rigged a counter on my laminator. No more guessing what the total length was or if there is enough remaining to finish the job.

Counter! Yes! Great Idea. Any chance you would share your design? Send to jp@opgfx.com
Thx!

 

[CSOCSO]

if it takes you 4-5 ft to setup your RS laminator then you need to learn how to do it. I use 1 ft every time i setup the laminator

 

[JP4]

if it takes you 4-5 ft to setup your RS laminator then you need to learn how to do it. I use 1 ft every time i setup the laminator

I definitely need to work on my setup skills. However I used 4-5ft my first go around. I'm down to about 18" to set up now.
~JP

 

[stew1tx]

I had short 3M rolls a couple times. That's why I rigged a counter on my laminator. No more guessing what the total length was or if there is enough remaining to finish the job.

I second wondering if you would share the design? brian@ centexwrapsnsigns.com

On another note, I have been shorted material numerous times from Fellers. They get stuff back, and then send back out. Heck, 2 instances where it was cut to length vinyl priced by the yard and been short. Pretty serious quality issue there.

 

[rjssigns]

Laminate Measuring Device. Ain't much to look at. Harbor Freight measuring wheel Item [HASHTAG]#95701[/HASHTAG] and some scrap Apex board. Laminator is an RS-1650C
I should get a patent

Really surprised manufacturers don't include one.