wrinkles, tunneling when applying transfer tape

[craigwojo]

Hi everyone,

I'm having an issue with my Rollover Flexi table and pneumatic roller. When applying transfer tape to larger plotted vinyl jobs (36" wide and up), the vinyl starts tunneling and wrinkling in front of the roller after about 3 feet. If I continue, it will crease.

I've also tested the roller without applying transfer tape, and the vinyl still tunnels after about 36 inches.

Setup details:

• Roller pressure appears even across the table
• The table is flat
• Roller lowers evenly on both sides
• Using Oracal 640 or similar calendared vinyl
• Room humidity is maintained at 40–45%
• Vinyl is lying flat on the table and is mostly stored horizontally while on the roll

Has anyone experienced this or knows what might be causing it?

Thank you so much,
Craig

 

[Stacey K]

You have the rollers too tight, is my guess. Same thing happens to me when my laminator rollers are too tight.

 

[DChorbowski]

My 1st thought is paper backing and humidity but your humidity seems okay. We have two large rolls rollers and have issues with paper backed vinyls from time to time due to humidity which is hard to control in S. FL.

Are you dropping your tape onto the table 1st and then rolling or are you dropping your tape onto the first couple inches of the vinyl and backing? We have better luck dropping the transfer tape onto the first couple of inches of thevinyl and backing and starting our rolling from there rather than on the table and then onto the vinyl & backing.

Also, If your applicator has an option to lower the pressure, try to lower it and see if that helps.

 

[signheremd]

Other good suggestions already. I will add that if your transfer tape is wider than the piece you are applying it to, then the tape sticks to the table and prevents movement on that side which causes tunnels. If your vinyl has been rolled up for a few days, then it likely has waves which can turn into tunneling as you mask it. In our shop, 40% humidity is too high and causes potential tunneling, but then there are five AC vents surrounding our table...

 

[craigwojo]

Thank you everyone that has posted so far.
it's not laminating, it's applying transfer paper to vinyl. here is a picture of what i use to apply me transfer paper.

 

[victor bogdanov]

lift the roller up, back up a few inches, lower the roller and keep going, repeating as needed. Humidity related

 

[DrunknMonk]

We had loads of this when we first got one, was told humidity/ damp, cheap vinyl, we use 1.5/2 bar, we moved over to Oracal MT72 app tape this helped, on large cadcam vinyl jobs we cut relief cuts if we start to see crinkling up, but it’s mostly about lift, move back a few inches drop back down move forward, I think I did a video for some one you want me to post it

 

[Daniel OTW]

We just got this machine last year, I struggled with that, there are two factors:

1. had the roller pressure up to max (per the setup instructions) I lowered it to 30 and it worked better
2. the BEST tip was from a YouTube tutorial, bring your masking cut edge fully around the roll and make certain the end corners are perfectly squared up with the sitting roll, simple as it sounds THIS made a world of difference

 

[MarkSnelling]

Try reducing the pressure. It could be that you are applying too much and the roller is deflecting/bowing which results in less pressure in the middle and more pressure on the outsides. If your problems are usually in the middle (then spread out) then this is likely the culprit.

If you are seeing big creases on a diagonal right out of the gates, then try standing at the base of the table when you start your process. I've seen it where people are operating from the side of the machine and they just develop a habit of getting started on a diagonal by accident. Being square with the machine is the key.

I'm in Detroit in two weeks and if you haven't figured it out by then, I'd be happy to swing by and see if we can figure it out.