Optically clear laminate versus regular laminate...

[Tony McD]

Have been using oracal 290 gloss laminate over digital prints and about to order another roll.
For a few more dollars, I can get the gf optically clear laminate.

Any reason not to use the gf optically clear on everything in place of the regular 290?
The specs seem to be the same except for the adhesive.

 

[Solventinkjet]

Optically clear laminate is best used for window perf and decals you want to be able to see through well. If you put regular laminate on a window you would see a slight haze due to the adhesive. With optically clear laminate you would see through it like a normal window.

 

[danno]

We used the 290GF here for years. It was great not having to worry about a colour shift after lamination.

 

[Tony McD]

Thank you..that's exactly what I needed to know.

I don't do enough perf to justify having two rolls of lam, so if the
gf can be used for both perf and regular prints that's what I'll go with.
I also like the idea of no color shift, have had the greenish tint problem before,
but thought it was mostly the uv blocker in the lam.
Just wasn't sure if there was any sort of problem using it instead, like shorter print life, etc..

 

[AF]

The GF has less silvering as it comes off the laminator but in the end the silvering is equal after about an hour.

the real practical difference for normal prints is that GF has a poly liner vs the regular paper liner. I find the poly liner takes slightly longer to web on the laminator. If using a Big Squeegee the paper liner works better.