Problems with single sided laminating: what am I missing?

[Lindquist]

Is there a trick to single sided lamination? I have major problems making it work properly; my predecessors did as well. These problems have gone on for over 10 years.

When I laminate paper and add double stick, there's no problem. It all just works (using a Seal laminator). When I try to laminate vinyl, it's a disaster. I almost always have to reprint something.

I've watched videos of how to set up the machine, and the techs make it look easy. I try to do the same thing, and I have creases in the laminate, or the laminate gets stuck in the roller.

I ultimately always make it work. I just feel like the set up for this takes much longer than it ought to, and there's basically a 50/50 chance of me losing a print.

Any advice?

 

[PrintItBig]

How are you setting it up?

 

[jfiscus]

Training, patience, and OTJ experience is all that will help you be a better laminator. You might also want to look into purchasing a simpler/easier laminator if the current one is too complicated for everyday use. We had a Seal here and only one guy could run it well. We purchased a GFP and almost everyone at the shop can run it well after a couple hours training.

 

[MikePro]

loaded question, can't tell you what you're missing without knowing what your current process is

still, lamination is not rocket science.
1) setup your web, with proper tension
2) load printed material square & center
3) set roller pressure, I prefer on the lighter-side.
4) rock&roll

 

[fresh]

Maybe its your laminator? We have a very budget friendly US Tech, and I don't think we've ever ruined a print, not even when we didn't know exactly what we were doing. it just works.

 

[oksigns]

Is there a trick to single sided lamination? I have major problems making it work properly; my predecessors did as well. These problems have gone on for over 10 years.

When I laminate paper and add double stick, there's no problem. It all just works (using a Seal laminator). When I try to laminate vinyl, it's a disaster. I almost always have to reprint something.

I've watched videos of how to set up the machine, and the techs make it look easy. I try to do the same thing, and I have creases in the laminate, or the laminate gets stuck in the roller.

I ultimately always make it work. I just feel like the set up for this takes much longer than it ought to, and there's basically a 50/50 chance of me losing a print.

Any advice?

Is it a Seal cold laminator like the 65 EL? If so, I could possibly shoot some video for you.

The trick with them is the final webbing on the take up roll; the take-up reel has to pull the backing evenly, and then films with thinner backer can make things even trickier. If this is a 65EL or similar cold laminator, you can PM and we can try to arrange something.

 

[Lindquist]

We have attempted to set up the laminate as shown in this video from Seal: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CtoBUN3KrVI

Generally that doesn't work out very well for me. Instead, we have a slightly different method that has worked better, but still isn't perfect.

I peel the backing off the laminate and pull it around on to the roll, tight. Then I stick 1-2 inches of laminate to itself on the end, to have a small area where I can hold the laminate. Then I place the laminate through the rollers, lower the rollers, tape the backing to the take-up, and start trying to laminate (while a second person pulls the laminate until the exposed adhesive can be cut off).

We've had two different Seal laminators in the last 10 years. The new one is basically just an updated model. We never got the take-up working on the first one, and just had to manually pull the backing.

I'm not sure how the machine could be simpler. We use all of the features it has. This could all just be human error as we've never had any formal training. I was trained by my predecessor, who was just kind of winging it, and I trained the other employees in the department.

 

[Andy D]

Is there a trick to single sided lamination? I have major problems making it work properly; my predecessors did as well. These problems have gone on for over 10 years.

When I laminate paper and add double stick, there's no problem. It all just works (using a Seal laminator). When I try to laminate vinyl, it's a disaster. I almost always have to reprint something.

I've watched videos of how to set up the machine, and the techs make it look easy. I try to do the same thing, and I have creases in the laminate, or the laminate gets stuck in the roller.

I ultimately always make it work. I just feel like the set up for this takes much longer than it ought to, and there's basically a 50/50 chance of me losing a print.

Any advice?

I'm right there with you, I suck at laminating. I finally gave up and assigned all the laminating
to one guy, who runs it flawlessly.. I really do think that there is an aptitude to it, and some people don't have it.. kind
of like running a sewing machine.

 

[oksigns]

We have attempted to set up the laminate as shown in this video from Seal: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CtoBUN3KrVI

Generally that doesn't work out very well for me. Instead, we have a slightly different method that has worked better, but still isn't perfect.

I peel the backing off the laminate and pull it around on to the roll, tight. Then I stick 1-2 inches of laminate to itself on the end, to have a small area where I can hold the laminate. Then I place the laminate through the rollers, lower the rollers, tape the backing to the take-up, and start trying to laminate (while a second person pulls the laminate until the exposed adhesive can be cut off).

We've had two different Seal laminators in the last 10 years. The new one is basically just an updated model. We never got the take-up working on the first one, and just had to manually pull the backing.

I'm not sure how the machine could be simpler. We use all of the features it has. This could all just be human error as we've never had any formal training. I was trained by my predecessor, who was just kind of winging it, and I trained the other employees in the department.

nah, I remember trying that video and it just complicates a simple process. If I've got time, I may throw a quick video for here that is good for thick to thin films.

 

[player]

I would not do it like that video. I always use scrap material to get it started, then carefully run the print.

 

[papabud]

watched that video, its very odd.
i have the seal 54 with heat assist and it runs flawlessly
i always leave it "loaded" with scrap so i am always ready to run.
important key is to always start your web straight when setting up the machine. or it will run like crap
i never affix the backer to the takeup roll. i always let the tension hold it in place.

 

[DirtyD]

I have always hated laminating - I can get the tension setup good but I would always "F"UP when actually laminating.. Then I got a trick that works for me

1.) Put laminate on roll holder
2.) Put empty core on takeup holder
3.) load laminate how your machine should be and tape laminate to empty core on takeup with backing paper still on
4.) cut laminate but not through backing paper on the takeup roll
5. feed laminate under rollers and stick to tension bar - yours might be different
6.) slide old backing paper or kraft paper under the rollers and laminate then lower the rollers
7.) take your printed media with a straight cut on the end and line upto the edge of the feed table
8.) my feed table is magnetic so i hold print with magnet then tape to the backing/kraftpaper
9.) Laminate

It always runs perfectly straight your laminator is not the same as mine so somethings might be different. I have noticed that if I have a print taped onto a core (like I printed 30' and rolled it from the printer) if it is not rolled perfect on that core it can mess up so I always hand roll my print and on my laminator hang the print. This method works perfect for me everytime..

Now that I say that when I goto laminate here soon I will pry "F"UP..lol

 

[player]

I have always hated laminating - I can get the tension setup good but I would always "F"UP when actually laminating.. Then I got a trick that works for me

1.) Put laminate on roll holder
2.) Put empty core on takeup holder
3.) load laminate how your machine should be and tape laminate to empty core on takeup with backing paper still on
4.) cut laminate but not through backing paper on the takeup roll
5. feed laminate under rollers and stick to tension bar - yours might be different
6.) slide old backing paper or kraft paper under the rollers and laminate then lower the rollers
7.) take your printed media with a straight cut on the end and line upto the edge of the feed table
8.) my feed table is magnetic so i hold print with magnet then tape to the backing/kraftpaper
9.) Laminate

It always runs perfectly straight your laminator is not the same as mine so somethings might be different. I have noticed that if I have a print taped onto a core (like I printed 30' and rolled it from the printer) if it is not rolled perfect on that core it can mess up so I always hand roll my print and on my laminator hang the print. This method works perfect for me everytime..

Now that I say that when I goto laminate here soon I will pry "F"UP..lol

Wow thanks for the magnet trick. I have been laminating for many many years and never thought of using magnets.

An open question... Does the lamination process run straighter if you have tension on the print in the front if it is long?

 

[DirtyD]

Wow thanks for the magnet trick. I have been laminating for many many years and never thought of using magnets.

An open question... Does the lamination process run straighter if you have tension on the print in the front if it is long?

No matter how long the print is - I hand roll it and put it on my hangar bar - I tap the end of the roll so it is all straight first.. Just in my experiecne when I have it tensioned and taped to a roll holder it moves or its not completely rolled straight it will pull sideways and get creases when laminated.. So I always do what I said before..

 

[ams]

I was exactly the same as you starting out. The trick is the tension. Make sure it's tight and the rollers are hard to turn by hand. There are many tricks to laminating. We screw up about 1 in 25 - 35 pieces. Some screw ups can be fixed.

Does your SEAL have a guard? If so, use it. It's needed.

If you really need the help, I have a SEAL and could make a short video for you that will show you the setup, laminating and break down.

 

[Andy D]

I have always hated laminating - I can get the tension setup good but I would always "F"UP when actually laminating.. Then I got a trick that works for me

1.) Put laminate on roll holder
2.) Put empty core on takeup holder
3.) load laminate how your machine should be and tape laminate to empty core on takeup with backing paper still on
4.) cut laminate but not through backing paper on the takeup roll
5. feed laminate under rollers and stick to tension bar - yours might be different
6.) slide old backing paper or kraft paper under the rollers and laminate then lower the rollers
7.) take your printed media with a straight cut on the end and line upto the edge of the feed table
8.) my feed table is magnetic so i hold print with magnet then tape to the backing/kraftpaper
9.) Laminate

It always runs perfectly straight your laminator is not the same as mine so somethings might be different. I have noticed that if I have a print taped onto a core (like I printed 30' and rolled it from the printer) if it is not rolled perfect on that core it can mess up so I always hand roll my print and on my laminator hang the print. This method works perfect for me everytime..

Now that I say that when I goto laminate here soon I will pry "F"UP..lol

I'm having a hard time visualizing your process, is there a video of this technique?

 

[ams]

I have always hated laminating - I can get the tension setup good but I would always "F"UP when actually laminating.. Then I got a trick that works for me

1.) Put laminate on roll holder
2.) Put empty core on takeup holder
3.) load laminate how your machine should be and tape laminate to empty core on takeup with backing paper still on
4.) cut laminate but not through backing paper on the takeup roll
5. feed laminate under rollers and stick to tension bar - yours might be different
6.) slide old backing paper or kraft paper under the rollers and laminate then lower the rollers
7.) take your printed media with a straight cut on the end and line upto the edge of the feed table
8.) my feed table is magnetic so i hold print with magnet then tape to the backing/kraftpaper
9.) Laminate

It always runs perfectly straight your laminator is not the same as mine so somethings might be different. I have noticed that if I have a print taped onto a core (like I printed 30' and rolled it from the printer) if it is not rolled perfect on that core it can mess up so I always hand roll my print and on my laminator hang the print. This method works perfect for me everytime..

Now that I say that when I goto laminate here soon I will pry "F"UP..lol

Never do it this way, using a secondary paper is a horrible idea.

 

[AF]

I find that laminating roll to roll eliminates nearly every problem. If the print is too short to wrap around a core, stick it to a sled. No need to lament laminating.

 

[DirtyD]

Never do it this way, using a secondary paper is a horrible idea.

i only use about 4 inches of secondary paper -

 

[DirtyD]

I'm having a hard time visualizing your process, is there a video of this technique?

Next time I Lam I will shoot a video