Need Help How to build a roll holder for Diage 25'' Solo Laminator?

[josephF]

Hello, first post here. I have been running a small business print shop for about 3-4 months and its going very well. I am upgrading my processes and I am trying to move away from sheet laminating as much as possible towards roll prints with bar codes so that my time is spent working on other things while my machinery cuts.

I bought a Diage 25'' solo laminator with the intentions of eventually adding the roll holder to the front of the laminator later. When I went to do so I found out that Diage doesn't even sell a roll holder for that model, only for the bigger models. This was no where in their adverts or descriptions, I was pretty bummed out.

So in the mean time I have been trying all sorts of things, curtain holders with a dowel rod etc. Sometimes it works but other times it doesn't because it isn't secured and perfectly aligned well.

Has anyone made any type of custom roll holder that mounts to the front of a table or to the front of their laminator? I tried looking up youtube videos etc, but they are for like paper butchery type things and we need more precision than that.

I am happy to do the ground work if someone can point me in a good direction? After I solve this issue I have to figure out some type of device to take the prints from the printer and self wind them as I print orders by the roll one by one!

So much to do in order to run a really optimized shop!

 

[SignosaurusRex]

I know that Daige had or has, Brackets and a roll holder for their older and larger models, such as the 36" models. For the "Roll Holder", all one needs is a good steel tube, A couple of 3" tube cores (Like the one that come on 50 yard rolls of cutting vinyl and a couple of 1" I.D. shaft collar/clamps. You can build some "Roll Holder brackets" (1/4" thick Aluminum plates) that can be mounted to the main unit. The brackets will need to be mounted in a fashion that is "true" to the Pressure rollers. With that said. . . What you are looking to achieve, is not impossible but rather, more work and headaches than worth.

 

[josephF]

With that said. . . What you are looking to achieve, is not impossible but rather, more work and headaches than worth.

This is what I feared. I was able to successfully laminate like 15-20 ft with my current setup, but the very next time it gets off and I just waste the other roll and have to reprint it. While it isn't expensive to make those mistakes it cost a ton of time and effort so I abandoned it pretty quick.

I think I am going to just leave the daige 25'' setup for a separate material that I only sheet laminate, and buy a real laminator. I was looking at the GFP 230C and it looks amazing. It has a really nice roll holder that can be adjusted mid job if it starts getting off or something. The price isn't that bad either.

 

[dsignerchic]

Here is my homemade set up. Works WAY better than you think it would. Pole slides up and out to load prints, it hasn't failed me once since I set it up.