Getting a soda bubble effect when laminating, not sure why

[VicoDrive]

This pops up now and then but never been able to pin point the reason. Sometimes when I laminate, there will be areas on the sheet that have a lot of tiny spots that makes me think of soda bubbles but its not really bubbles, not sure of a better way to describe it. Ive never been able to figure if its a bad roll of lamination, or dirty rollers, or what. Anyone ever seen this?

 

[player]

Looks like not enough pressure.

 

[VicoDrive]

What kind of media/laminate/ink/laminator are you using?

ScotchCal vinyl
Avery 1360 UV laminate
EcoSolvent ink
Arctic Titan laminator

 

[Gino]

A Form of silvering..... backing up the other poster.

 

[VicoDrive]

A Form of silvering..... backing up the other poster.

Ah, so not enough pressure causes silvering?

 

[VicoDrive]

Can you increase the pressure or is that all the way?

Cleaning all the rollers (I use premask) and slowing it down might help too.

Ive looked all over it and dont see a way to adjust the pressure. I can control the tension of the laminate, backing, and the craft paper though. I do have a speed control, will try going slower next time. Looking online (now that I know its called silvering), its also suggested to let prints sit for a while to fully dry before going through the laminator. Not really sure if I noticed these with prints Ive run directly out of the printer or if they were already sitting. Will take notice of that next time also. Thanks!

 

[niksagkram]

I have had the similar issue with the Avery 1360, especially on longer runs. I mostly use Arlon 3220, and NEVER have an issue, so we use the 1360 very infrequently, and never if the print is more than 6 feet. We print on Avery 1005 and lam with the Arlon 3220, no issues. Seal 54 Base laminator.

Mark

 

[brycesteiner]

This pops up now and then but never been able to pin point the reason. Sometimes when I laminate, there will be areas on the sheet that have a lot of tiny spots that makes me think of soda bubbles but its not really bubbles, not sure of a better way to describe it. Ive never been able to figure if its a bad roll of lamination, or dirty rollers, or what. Anyone ever seen this?

Out of curiosity how clean is your area? When looking at the bubbles it looks like there are specks of dust that caused it. Is it over the entire piece or relegated to this area?

 

[VicoDrive]

The pressure is controlled by the handle/lever on the right of the unit. Also know as the "nip" adjustment...basically lowers and raises the rollers.

Ah that, yeah but its on the closest setting.

 

[truckgraphics]

Same Problem with 54"

Might as well chime it. I stared a post a couple weeks ago when I found our laminator was generating silvering and sometimes bubbling with 54" wide materials only. 30" and 36" worked fine. My guess is that we re-shaped the rollers for the narrower materials as we had been using narrower media mostly for a couple of months.

We've tried using a sled (works ok, not perfect) with 2 mm pvc. Also the manufacturer (USTech) suggested running the machine with a bit of pressure between the rollers for a couple of hours. We did this once to no effect, but haven't had time recently to do it again. But we are going to try it again as it seems reasonable to expect (hope) this might re-set the rollers.

Another thought is that summer heat and humidity might have an effect (grasping at straws).

Looking forward to other comments / ideas to resolve this (possibly common ??) problem.

 

[VicoDrive]

Out of curiosity how clean is your area? When looking at the bubbles it looks like there are specks of dust that caused it. Is it over the entire piece or relegated to this area?

We are a large warehouse and is a bit dusty but Im always keeping clean. As its pulling the prints through the laminator, Im usually on the back dusting away as it goes to make extra sure its dust free. Ive also noticed that those spots seem to show on the laminate before its even applied. I can see it once its separated from the backing and on the roller before it goes down. I feel like it could be a bad roll? Just seems to happen a lot though and cant believe its always a bad roll issue

 

[VicoDrive]

Might as well chime it. I stared a post a couple weeks ago when I found our laminator was generating silvering and sometimes bubbling with 54" wide materials only. 30" and 36" worked fine. My guess is that we re-shaped the rollers for the narrower materials as we had been using narrower media mostly for a couple of months.

We've tried using a sled (works ok, not perfect) with 2 mm pvc. Also the manufacturer (USTech) suggested running the machine with a bit of pressure between the rollers for a couple of hours. We did this once to no effect, but haven't had time recently to do it again. But we are going to try it again as it seems reasonable to expect (hope) this might re-set the rollers.

Another thought is that summer heat and humidity might have an effect (grasping at straws).

Looking forward to other comments / ideas to resolve this (possibly common ??) problem.

I think I understand about the rollers but I dont think thats it. Pretty much Im always using 54" inch. It sounds like a problem we get with the digital printers though. We run a lot of 11x17 but when we go bigger to 12x18 or 13x19, there will be marks down the sides that measure 11" wide. Xerox and Konica say its because 11x17 is worn into the rollers because that size is used so much so when you run bigger, it shows. I dont think thats the problem with the laminator though.

Ive never tried a sled but may look into that. Always looking to try new things!

Dont think humidity would be an issue either. For a warehouse, we stay pretty comfortable in here! Sometimes its too cold even though its summer outside!

 

[ActionGraphics]

Back tension on the media helps to prevent it.

 

[brycesteiner]

This would make me think it's a material issue then. How are the rolls stored?

Could be. If he's seeing on the roller after the backing is removed it could also be a bad roller.

Does the laminator have heat? you might want to see if that helps. Also, like another said, your tension may not be tight enough.

Since you did mention dust can be an issue, I would see if you can move this to another room. I'm sure dust is blowing around if you have to constantly wipe it down. Dust is landing on the machine it's also landing on the adhesive when the backing comes off before it's rolled on.

 

[Gator Signs NH]

I've noticed some of these same issues....I think I have corrected them. BUT can you re-send the prints back through the laminator to get them smoother and less noticeable so you don't have to re-print? THAT is the the question!