Laminator leaving Zig-Zag pattern

[jpsamuel06]

I'm somewhat new to the sign industry. I've been working at my current job for a little over a year and boy have I learned a lot!

Our laminator is a 54" cold. The last roll we sent through had these zig-zag lines, about 1/4" thick. Those spots were also a little more faded then the rest that laid down great. Is this possibly a bad roll of laminate, or maybe a pressure issue?

About 6 months ago we upgraded all our equipment and went from 30" to 54", and it took a good couple of weeks before we got used to the larger vinyl and got the pressure tuned in. Now, we don't touch the pressure knobs when changing rolls.

I don't know the lam. brand atm, so if that info is needed, I can get it. I thought maybe someone had this issue in the past...

Thanks Signs101

 

[SlightlyChilled]

what brand is the laminator?

 

[petesign]

Bet it's a daige since they've talked about pressure being tuned in....


congratulations, if you have left those rollers sitting pressed on each other, you've got flat spots now. Always release pressure on laminate rollers after using the machine.

 

[MikePro]

pics or it didn't happen
most likely flat spot on your rollers, however.

 

[jpsamuel06]

Please bare with me, I'm still a "newbie"

Yes, it is a Daige. When we set the pressure, we brought the rollers down to where their just barely touching, then turned them a quarter turn tighter. I wasn't asked to find a solution, I just did it since I'm not happy with how things have been turning out lately.

So your saying that everytime your done laminating, you have to loosen the rollers so there isn't pressure on them 24/7? That seems very likely, but the 30" we used before never had this issue, and we ran it the same way, always leaving the rollers tight.

Here's some pictures as requested.

 

[Kentucky Wraps]

A few years ago when I used A Daige to laminate...that happened. Here's what I found out it was...and the fix.
The pressure on the sides twist the soft grey foam roller on the bottom a little while leaving the middle of it the same.
A) you can buy a new bottom roller & replace.
B) you can take it off and try and untwist it...takes forever...and will happen again.
C) you can buy a quality laminator and never have that kind of worry every again.
You can still use the Daige...for mounting vinyl to substrate...mine works great for that.

 

[SlightlyChilled]

Bet it's a daige since they've talked about pressure being tuned in....


congratulations, if you have left those rollers sitting pressed on each other, you've got flat spots now. Always release pressure on laminate rollers after using the machine.

HAAHAH you win thats FUNNY

 

[jmcnicoll]

I bought a daige years ago while on my own and it went back the same day, never even ran a job on it. Would never by a daige again!

 

[jpsamuel06]

The pressure on the sides twist the soft grey foam roller on the bottom a little while leaving the middle of it the same.

Where is the grey foam roller? Or is it just the bottom roller? (our top and bottom rollers are both red).

Is this something you'd be able to see just by looking at it, and if it is, would it be easier to take a look while changing laminate?

 

[jpsamuel06]

I bought a daige years ago while on my own and it went back the same day, never even ran a job on it. Would never by a daige again!

Our old machine was also a daige, which is why the boss decided on it. It was def. one of the cheapest (price wise) and I have learned why. If it was my choice, I would look into a different one but, I'm just an installer so I can't make that call.

 

[SlightlyChilled]

I bet he will spend more on the mess ups then a new/used would be

 

[jpsamuel06]

I bet he will spend more on the mess ups then a new/used would be

Yuup.

 

[petesign]

set that laminator on fire and roll it down a hill. Buy a seal 54el, a RS 1401c, or any of the others in the 5-6K range and forget you ever saw that thing. By the time you get it figured out you have wasted that much in materials, have almost missed deadlines and stayed all night to reprint etc... trust me, when you have to pray and get an involuntary sphincter clinching every time you have to laminate a vehicle wrap or long run of vinyl, it isnt worth the headache. Getting our RS cold laminator is the best thing we ever did.

1. when you have to "turn each knob until they are almost touching, then turn an additional 1/4 turn to set your pressure - thats not very precise.
2. when you have to swap out a rubber band to take up the backing paper - that screams quality
3. yes you have to release the pressure every time you use the machine, or your rollers get flat spots
4. you spent 15k for your printer, pay your employees to design, print, laminate and mount, yet use the cheapest piece of garbage you can find to finish your jobs (which is the last step to the whole process) just so you can pay to print it again, pay for the materials again, and pay your employees to do it all over again, just to save on the lamination machine. (been there done that, and it makes no sense at all)

We can laminate 150' at a time, mount to any substrate, and i never worry if the laminator is going to ruin an expensive print. honestly getting rid of the daige was the best thing I ever did in here, and wish i would never have bought that steaming pile of dog manure. anyone want it? it sits in the corner mocking me every day. (needs new rubber band for take up, needs a new bottom roller, and someone willing to waste $2000 in materials to learn to use it properly.)

 

[Kentucky Wraps]

Where is the grey foam roller? Or is it just the bottom roller? (our top and bottom rollers are both red).

Is this something you'd be able to see just by looking at it, and if it is, would it be easier to take a look while changing laminate?

I think for the new "Solo" they stopped using the softer grey bottom roller...but it may still be the rubber roller twisting on each end around the metal core more than the middle of the rubber roller...my guess.
Do what the rest of these guys say...and get a $5K laminator. TRUST ME.
Ask yourself this...
How many folks in here are saying.."well we've had our daige for years now and it works like a charm on all our stuff." ?
I do use mine a lot and it's more than paid for itself....in mounting big sheets to substrates. Maybe they should re-market it as a mounting machine. I'd back them on that. Makes it an easy 1 man operation mounting a 4x8 with little effort.

 

[petesign]

The newer solo does have the two red rollers. I still contend that having two screws to turn to set pressure has got to be the worst design possible, wouldn't have been too hard to figure out how to make a solid bar with one pressure knob... I guess at least the rollers are round.