Any advice from a laminating guru?

[r2prints]

Hi all,

I am having trouble with sections of tiny bubbles under my laminate. This problem just started about a week ago. Here are the specs-

Hp Latex 310
Printing on Substance X1 6mil gloss vinyl 30"
Laminate is Substance 15mil gloss 30"
USTech AK 600 Laminator

The sections of bubbles appear to be uniform, almost as if the roll of laminate is "skipping" appearing every 1.5" from each other across the whole width of vinyl.

These are fresh materials, and it has happened the past 2 rolls of laminate I have had. I have tried different pressures, roll tensions, etc.

I only run this 30" material through the laminator so I'm not suspecting uneven roller wear but who knows!

Any help would be greatly appreciate. Thank you!

 

[gabagoo]

I wonder if it may be in the laminate before you run it through...sort of like a mini tunnel effect.

 

[papabud]

i would look for knife cuts in your rolls. also if your starting and stopping. sometimes the laminate adhesive will make a line where it pauses. those are just 2 possible areas to check

 

[r2prints]

I wonder if it may be in the laminate before you run it through...sort of like a mini tunnel effect.

I was suspecting it could be the material but this is a fresh roll and it started happening towards the end of my last one. I was also suspecting improper ink curing due to my switching to a 120% ink density profile. But the lines are so uniform across the media that it leads me to believe it is operator error (very likely).

I seemed to have remedy it a little bit by bumping up the tension knob for the media roller and prefeeding some laminate so it is loose and there is no tension against the roll.

I do remember reading some posts on here about this particular laminator having a drivetrain issue on the inside which would cause skipping. I'm just running out of ideas!

 

[r2prints]

i would look for knife cuts in your rolls. also if your starting and stopping. sometimes the laminate adhesive will make a line where it pauses. those are just 2 possible areas to check

I do see some very fine knife marks in my bottom roller and only in one section of the roller.... I think you may be onto something.

 

[Devon19515]

knife cuts on your rubber rollers, starting\stopping mid run, flat spots on roller
Just a few things I would check for.

 

[r2prints]

knife cuts on your rubber rollers, starting\stopping mid run, flat spots on roller
Just a few things I would check for.

No starting and stopping. Is it likely to have a flat spot if I only run this material through the machine in the same spot every time I web it up? I was thinking about warming up the rollers a little bit and running them together for a few hours, just not sure how effective it would be!

 

[Dennis422]

Had the same issue with the same set-up few months ago.
HP L25500, same Substance items (I think vinyl might have been diff, but deff 15 mil laminate) on USTech MVT500.

All bubbles were gone after 2-3 days . Not a single bubble was seen after a few days
Do not know why, but they looked fine later

 

[r2prints]

Had the same issue with the same set-up few months ago.
HP L25500, same Substance items (I think vinyl might have been diff, but deff 15 mil laminate) on USTech MVT500.

All bubbles were gone after 2-3 days . Not a single bubble was seen after a few days
Do not know why, but they looked fine later

Oh wow that gives me some peace of mind! I am making motcross graphics and of course when I did sets for my local buddies, they came out flawless. Now when I'm doing sets that are being shipped, the bubbles start to happen! I haven't had any complaints but it bothers me a lot seeing as I have done countless sets over the winter with no issue, and haven't changed any variables.

The picture I took is actually a set for a friend of mine, we will see Sunday if they disappeared. Thank you!

 

[Devon19515]

You can get flat spots on the rollers if you leave them setting with pressure down for extended time.
We always release the pressure when we are done laminating.

 

[TimToad]

Those two components are so thick with so little lateral give in them that even the slightest flat spot in a roller, cut, etc. could cause that. The fact that is occurring in such an even pattern makes me think a flat spot on a roller. When it wasn't happening, was it any warmer in the shop than when it is happening? We notice when we start climbing up into the 80's and 90's here, we get less slivering in our standard lams.

I don't know, just fishing for something that could have caused it.

 

[r2prints]

I think the most logical step would be to run the rollers against each other for a few hours. I will admit, I do not lift the rollers after I am done laminating as it seems cumbersome to align the laminate again but maybe I'm just lazy! I do run the machine everyday though. May be a smart practice to adopt. As has been said, since the bubbles are showing up in sequence, it would make sense unfortunately.

I appreciate everyone's help. Have a great weekend!

 

[r2prints]

You can get flat spots on the rollers if you leave them setting with pressure down for extended time.
We always release the pressure when we are done laminating.

Do you laminate from a roll or do you cut pieces to size? I wish I could perfect cutting them to size as my print sheets are only 4 feet long, but each time I have tried has resulted in failure.