NEED HELP! LAMINATING 54" PROBLEMS

[idealsigns]

We use a MasterTech cold laminator. AK-600. We primarily have laminated 30" vinyl the last 3 years now with no problems. Every time we attempt 54" it never works out and we always wreck our prints. Now we have a large sign job and need to print and laminate 54".

Problem is when laminating, the sides of the print laminate perfect but the center does not lay down at all and "silvers". WE have tried everything. High pressure, low pressure to the point of the print doesnt even feed. We have played with the tension and have burnt threw a roll of media and laminate.

are my rollers warped? Tips? Tricks? adjustments? open to any ideas

thanks in advance

 

[equippaint]

Does it silver or actually bubble? We get silvering with calandared, not a big deal. We have a crappy laminator and the material likes to walk and wrinkle. You may want to share a little more information such as the material type, if you're doing roll to roll, how long the print is, when the problems start i.e right away or 10' into it etc.
This is a weak spot for me so take it with a grain of salt. The feed tension and take up tension is where I can adjust out the wrinkles, bubbles etc. Get them set about equal and go from there but be methodical about adjustments so you can learn to read your machine. Don't put a ton of down pressure with the top roller either.

 

[brycesteiner]

We use a MasterTech cold laminator. AK-600. We primarily have laminated 30" vinyl the last 3 years now with no problems. Every time we attempt 54" it never works out and we always wreck our prints. Now we have a large sign job and need to print and laminate 54".

Problem is when laminating, the sides of the print laminate perfect but the center does not lay down at all and "silvers". WE have tried everything. High pressure, low pressure to the point of the print doesnt even feed. We have played with the tension and have burnt threw a roll of media and laminate.

are my rollers warped? Tips? Tricks? adjustments? open to any ideas

thanks in advance

Do you have any pictures? I would bet you don't have enough tension or you are not setting up right to begin with. We have a cheap Chinese laminator and we can run entire rolls all day long on it or even 4x8 boards. Too much tension causes problems but it's worse with too little.
I could explain how we setup up but there are some good youtube videos out there that really helped us and were able to nail straitness and much quicker than before we watched them.

 

[crny1]

Or has the laminator ran enough 30" material that the rollers are permanently smaller where the 30" has ran and thats the center area now with 54" and there isnt enough pressure in that area?

 

[burgmurk]

Or has the laminator ran enough 30" material that the rollers are permanently smaller where the 30" has ran and thats the center area now with 54" and there isnt enough pressure in that area?

This sounds reasonable.
I'm assuming your supplier doesn't do technical support? I'd be on the phone with mine and would have a tech out here within a few hours. (but then, we're under warranty)

 

[AKwrapguy]

We use a MasterTech cold laminator. AK-600. We primarily have laminated 30" vinyl the last 3 years now with no problems. Every time we attempt 54" it never works out and we always wreck our prints. Now we have a large sign job and need to print and laminate 54".

Problem is when laminating, the sides of the print laminate perfect but the center does not lay down at all and "silvers". WE have tried everything. High pressure, low pressure to the point of the print doesnt even feed. We have played with the tension and have burnt threw a roll of media and laminate.

are my rollers warped? Tips? Tricks? adjustments? open to any ideas

thanks in advance

If you can, post pics of the material with the silvering, the laminator set up and rollers, if possible close them and get light and shine it through the rollers see if there are any gaps or worn areas.

Often the silvering is temporary and will disappear after a few day when exposed to the sun.

If you have the ability to use heat assist that might help as well.

As far as the roller being worn down in the middle where you primarily use 30", this could be a factor depending on what condition the rollers are in.

 

[idealsigns]

One of the attempts at it. We don’t have any bubbles anymore, but still perfect on sides and center of print no enough pressure. You press down in the middle after laminating and it lays down harder.

 

[idealsigns]

One of the attempts at it. We don’t have any bubbles anymore, but still perfect on sides and center of print no enough pressure. You press down in the middle after laminating and it lays down harder.

 

[idealsigns]

Also we are only trying to laminate 3x4 signs so not going roll to roll

 

[ams]

Sounds like your rollers are messed up. Since upgrading to a better laminator probably isn't going to happen , try tightening as much pressure as possible so that the middle touches.

Also try playing with your pressure knob or tightening any loose screws.

 

[papabud]

i would agree with your rollers being messed up. i would assume you can feel a line in your roller where your 30" material edge normally is.
you could try to "fatten" up your roller by wrapping some 30" material to the center. this wont work. but you can try it.
another thing you can try.
empty your machine. tighten up the rollers and run it over night. might help smoosh the rollers back into shape

 

[equippaint]

Try running a sheet of laminate rather than having it webbed and see what happens. We get the same thing from time to time and it seems more frequent if we put too much downforce on the upper roller. Try putting just a bit more pressure than the weight of the rollers themselves.

 

[iprint]

Definitely sounds like your rollers are warped. Using a sled might get you through what you are doing. A sheet of 3/16" foamcore under your print I am betting would do the trick.

 

[AKwrapguy]

Also we are only trying to laminate 3x4 signs so not going roll to roll

So you're printing these but not not leaving them on the roll? This might be an issue. Have you tried to leave them on the roll when you laminate? Sometimes tension on the printed material can make all the difference.

 

[AKwrapguy]

One of the attempts at it. We don’t have any bubbles anymore, but still perfect on sides and center of print no enough pressure. You press down in the middle after laminating and it lays down harder.

Try taking a better image of the laminator, use landscape, and try to take it straight on. The photo you posted doesn't show much.

 

[equippaint]

I think AK is on to something. Id say go on youtube and look how to manually laminate and cut a sheet to fit rather than leave it webbed. Its quick and easy for small runs and you can ensure the lam is square with the print. I really dont think it is your rollers because we get this too.

 

[brycesteiner]

Have you checked to see if your rollers are parallel? If we move ours around or after a certain time they can get out of square and won't apply evenly. The adjustment is not that difficult and will take 10 minutes or so.

 

[Cata]

Sounds like your rollers are messed up. Since upgrading to a better laminator probably isn't going to happen , try tightening as much pressure as possible so that the middle touches.

Also try playing with your pressure knob or tightening any loose screws.

had the same problem on a 64. just a little pressure set and job done

 

[Manuel Upton]

We have a fish scale with a very thin piece of metal attached to it that you feed into the laminator on both ends and in the middle. The scale hooks on the edge of the table. That lets you know if your pressure is even across your rollers. We have a Royal Sovereign laminator and are able to adjust the pressure on each end of the roller to match the middle. I just had to do this on Friday. It's worth a shot.

 

[clarizeyale]

if it isn't your rollers, maybe you need a "lead". we put a small piece of material that's the same thickness as the boards and start the laminate there.. then push both the lead and material through and voila!