Perf Cut Decals Curling

[LNorton]

3651RA with 210G. Printing on SP540i with Eco-Sol Max. Outgassed for 24 hours. Happens to some test units I have let sit for over a week before laminating as well.

I send these out as freebies with orders and give them out at events and just think they look terrible to the customer like this.

What causes this? Do I need to be running a different material?

 

[papabud]

how are you storing them. is your laminate tension to high?

 

[LNorton]

how are you storing them. is your laminate tension to high?

Storing them flat. I've run the laminate tension up and down, no difference.

 

[AKwrapguy]

3651RA with 210G. Outgassed for 24 hours. Happens to some test units I have let sit for over a week before laminating as well.

I send these out as freebies with orders and give them out at events and just think they look terrible to the customer like this.

What causes this? Do I need to be running a different material?

Could be an ink saturation issue or a humidity issue or a mixture of both.

 

[LNorton]

My question. Is there a different material I should be using for this type of work?

 

[2B]

for heavy ink saturation, we like to leave a white border on all sides.

IMO that vinyl is overkill, would use a private label BigfishDM has a range of options

we have used InstantOneMedia with good results

 

[BIG EASY DOES IT]

+1 laminating issue. I don't think it's your tension I think it's the amount of pressure when applying.

 

[LNorton]

for heavy ink saturation, we like to leave a white border on all sides.

IMO that vinyl is overkill, would use a private label BigfishDM has a range of options

we have used InstantOneMedia with good results

The problem persists on white border decals as well. Also, I will NEVER use InstantOneMedia again, ever. 3 rolls worth of jobs had to be replaced due to shrinkage issues. They hadn't even been in the sunlight for 3 months and looked like they had been cooked for years.

+1 laminating issue. I don't think it's your tension I think it's the amount of pressure when applying.

Too much or too little?

 

[BIG EASY DOES IT]

I would say too much pressure is squeezing the adhesive layer of the decal and causing curling. We have this issue with our laminator where it basically extrudes the laminate faster then it pushes the vinyl through. It all had to do with the pressure on the rollers. We use just enough pressure so the two rollers touch and that's it.

 

[tylercrum]

Maybe I misunderstood, but it sounds like you said it happened before you laminated as well. I would peel the vinyl from the backer, lay it face down (just so the adhesive doesn't stick to anything) and see if the vinyl lays flat or curls. My money is on the liner curling, from humidity or whatever.

 

[LNorton]

Maybe I misunderstood, but it sounds like you said it happened before you laminated as well. I would peel the vinyl from the backer, lay it face down (just so the adhesive doesn't stick to anything) and see if the vinyl lays flat or curls. My money is on the liner curling, from humidity or whatever.

I wouldn't know. Nothing goes out of our shop unlaminated.

I would say too much pressure is squeezing the adhesive layer of the decal and causing curling. We have this issue with our laminator where it basically extrudes the laminate faster then it pushes the vinyl through. It all had to do with the pressure on the rollers. We use just enough pressure so the two rollers touch and that's it.

I actually run the pressure pretty low. I can come up 1/8 turn and we will have bubbles galore.

 

[equippaint]

We use 3165ra / 215 lam and get the same thing. It happens running it through as a single sheet with a manual laminator too so its not a pressure or tension issue.
I think its the backing absorbing moisture. Maybe try non RA or print on 651 and see. The backing seems thinner on those.

 

[LNorton]

We use 3165ra / 215 lam and get the same thing. It happens running it through as a single sheet with a manual laminator too so its not a pressure or tension issue.
I think its the backing absorbing moisture. Maybe try non RA or print on 651 and see. The backing seems thinner on those.

Makes me wonder if the lam being reverse wound has anything to do with it. The Instant One stuff wouldn’t curl up at all. But the laminate would also come off after a week or so.

 

[equippaint]

Possible. Get a small pack of damp rid and store them in a plastic tote to see if its the same.

 

[LNorton]

Possible. Get a small pack of damp rid and store them in a plastic tote to see if its the same.

Heck, they are curled up half of that as soon as you pop them out.

 

[tylercrum]

I wouldn't know. Nothing goes out of our shop unlaminated.

Cool. If it were me, I'd run a few, laminate half, don't laminate half, peel the backer off both, lay them face down on a table so they don't stick to anything and see if either, neither or both of them curl without the backer.

 

[2B]

Heck, they are curled up half of that as soon as you pop them out.

if they are curling directly from the printer, then start looking at your printer.
IMO your heat is too high on the printer and is cooking the vinyl.

 

[equippaint]

I have some larger stuff trimmed down that sat in the shop overnight. It curled on the sides and not in the direction it was rolled. Id chalk it up to humidity getting into the heavy backing paper and not tension or anything else

 

[Pixels Are Bad Mmmkay?]

We print on 3651RA w/ 210 lams both gloss and matte and don't typically see any curling at all that I've ever noticed. The only difference here is we're laminating with a RollsRoller.

 

[player]

Decals I make curl some, more of a cupping. Not laminated, just round plot-cut weeded and then hand cut into squares.