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Need Help I was just curious about laminating non printed white vinyl

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Tristan L

New Member
Hello,

I'm Tristan and this is my first post.

We have a client who is getting Drytac Retac Smooth Luster laminate applied to some windows inside of a Gym. A salesman recommended applying laminate for the project, is this necessary as it seems like a waste of resources to me.

Thanks in advance for all input!
 
Billct2

Billct2

Active Member
Not sure I understand, you are applying laminate to windows and the salesman says you should laminate it? Why are you applying laminate to windows?
 
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Tristan L

New Member
Billct2 said:
Not sure I understand, you are applying laminate to windows and the salesman says you should laminate it? Why are you applying laminate to windows?
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Apologies, I completely worded that improperly. We are applying the drytac retac luster, which is the plain vinyl, to the windows. They had initially been looking to laminate the blank vinyl before applying that to the windows.
 
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Tristan L

New Member
Gino said:
I'm still lost.........................
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Understandably so, I was just asking whether or no laminating a blank sheet of vinyl served any purpose, I figured it would not and was hoping to confirm that,
signheremd said:
You are very unlikely to extend longevity to vinyl using a laminate. Best reason to laminate blank white vinyl is to match the white in printed and laminated white vinyl. Second best reason is to change or match a finish - matte. luster, gloss. Other than that I would not laminate it.
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Thanks so much, there was no matching or switching finishes going on. I believe it was mostly a misunderstanding and I was just hoping to clarify.
Boudica said:
you don't need to laminate it.
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This is what I was assuming, but I had never seen a straight answer so I was hoping to confirm this. Thanks!
 
Precision

Precision

New Member
The only reason to laminate vinyl would be to change the sheen.

Being you can bye gloss and matte vinyl, the only other option would be Satin. Perhaps they want Satin.

Otherwise it is a waste of laminate. Not printed vinyl is not going to fade, or have a print rub off. So no need to laminate, other than for a Satin sheen.

My guess anyway. But the again, coming from a guy that knows next to nothing, that's not much. LOL!
 
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Stacey K

Stacey K

I like making signs
I had a sign last week in which I planned to remove some of the previous vinyl and apply cut vinyl. I'm an idiot and cut the vinyl first (why would I do that?). Once I removed some of the lettering there was way more ghosting than I expected. I only had 24" white vinyl so I used some Arlon 54" matte instead then laminated with gloss and applied my cut graphics. Guess I didn't need to laminate but I wasn't sure since it was matte. At any rate...the sign turned out beautiful. I got ahead of myself a bit with cutting the graphics first. Would have been much easier to just print and apply. On a positive note, the graphics will last much longer now since it's the West side of the building.
 
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newbie21

New Member
SignMeUpGraphics said:
Can you even laminate ReTac? It's textured, so I imagine you'd get wild silvering or even full bubbles attempting it.

As Boudica says, not needed whatsoever.
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He mentioned that it’s the Smooth version he's using. If it was one of the textured versions, you’re absolutely right and a liquid laminate would make the most sense if he needed to laminate.

If it’s the 3.2 mil version then the only reasons to add a laminate would be to change the sheen or to provide a little more rigidity for installation as mentioned previously. Drytac has a 6 mil version that would be easier to install because of the added thickness. Outside of that there’s no benefit to adding a laminate.

Lastly, the ReTac smooth only comes in matte or gloss. They don’t have a luster version.
 
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jimbug72

New Member
Not trying to play devils advocate here or anything, just curious. If you were to use a lam with UV inhibitors, would that not extent extend the life of the vinyl if it were exposed to sunlight? I'm not sure if the UV inhibitors in the laminate work quite like that, or if they are significant enough to make much of a difference on the actual vinyl itself.

I would think the salesman is either trying to drive up sales numbers, or perhaps believes it is beneficial because that's how they were taught (in order to drive up sales).

Edited for spelling
 
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signsnyc

New Member
Tristan L said:
Hello,

I'm Tristan and this is my first post.

We have a client who is getting Drytac Retac Smooth Luster laminate applied to some windows inside of a Gym. A salesman recommended applying laminate for the project, is this necessary as it seems like a waste of resources to me.

Thanks in advance for all input!
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Tristan, Don't listen to the salesman. Like everyone here, I also suggest you don't go for laminate as it is a complete waste.
 
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unmateria

New Member
I agree is stupid, specially on white vynil lol... But if you are going to laminate anyway, look the datasheets for laminate with a foil that has the same shrinkage ratio... I mean, dont laminate a monomeric or cast vynil with polymeric uv filter unless the shrinkage ratio is the same, because it will cause cracking... But well... I bet that with white vynil on a glass it would take years no matter what you do on it lol
 
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