posted
I need to know what people use to laminate wide format prints what types of laminate and what types of lamination machines do you recommend.
Also any other information about protecting and mounting wide format inkjet prints would be helpful. Thanks in advance.
P.S. We have a HP 800ps 42" wide printer but we have no way to protect the prints we produce.
-------------------- Steve Eisenreich Dezine Signs PO BOX 6052 Stn Forces Cold Lake, Alberta T9M 2C5 Posts: 774 | From: Cold Lake | Registered: Mar 2000
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Hi Steve: I have a Artic Titan 165 cold laminator along with a CJ-500. Aside from laminating I use it to apply application tape and vinyl to substrates. Love it. If you want more info on previous posts go to the top of the page and under search enter the word lamination. I found 89 post on the subject. I'm not sure if all the posts are relevant but you may want to give it a shot.
-------------------- Mario G. Lafreniere (Fergie) J&N Signs Winter did show up! Posts: 1257 | From: Chapleau, Ontario | Registered: Jun 1999
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I can tell you what NOT to do. An ad agency ordered some large prints with adhesive on back. They recieved prints w/o adhesive. They had contacted me for an installation bid. I got some advice from another signmaker who had used spray adhesive to mount these things in the past. He said he had mounted it to cheap mahogony veneer. We bid the job together. (the one thing I did right) Well it stuck down fine & we put the (4) 6'x5'panels together on the jobsite. They looked great. A day or 2 later they were all delaminating just in time for the big grand opening. We were able to inject some more adhesive & roll down the big bubbles good enough for the event, but ended up doing the install over again for free when the Ad agency got new prints pre-installed on ridged panels. Thankfully the vendor who sent the panels w/o adhesive paid for the re-prints & the ad agency paid to have them applied to some 1/8" pvc. We didn't get paid for either installation as our contribution to the whole fiasco. At least the guy with the "idea" was sharing in the lesson. My lesson was to beware of others bright ideas.
Besides the 3M adhesive probably not being quite agressive enough there was some speculation that the mahogony was outgassing which may have also contributed to the failure.
ND GRAPHICS can help you in choosing a suitable laminator and laminates. In a nutshell, we will need to know what kinds of applications you have in mind - particularly which applications will represent the majority of your work.
Given the context of where your question was posted, I'm going to assume that you have plans for producing at least some outdoor-durable signage. If this is the case, you need to determine whether or not your 800PS (I'm sorry, I'm not familiar with this particular model) is capable of printing so-called "UV" inks (as in UV resistant). If so, choosing the right combination of ink, media and lamination will probably give your prints an outdoor life expectancy of 18-24 months. If all components used are from 3M, then your customers can probably have the benefit of 3M's Matched Components System (or MCS) warranty.
In general terms, hot-roll laminators (top and bottom) are the best investment. They may cost more, but they are far more versatile and laminates that employ heat-activated adhesive are far less expensive. Mounting on this type of laminator can be done in one step, not two, and you can always run pressure sensitives (aka "cold laminates") faster and better with a little bit of heat, as well. We represent SEAL in Canada, who are world leaders in mounting & laminating technologies.
Hope that helps. Please check out our website and/or give us a call.
-------------------- Jon Aston MARKETING PARTNERS "Strategy, Marketing and Business Development" Tel 705-719-9209 Posts: 1724 | From: Barrie, ON, CANADA | Registered: Sep 2000
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did you prime the "mahogony veneer" with anything before appying the prints with adhesive, or did you apply to raw wood? that could have been the problem.
there are stronger adhesives in a spray can out there other than commercial art grade adhesives.
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Good point Mark. No priming was done. I guess this would have allowed a lot of adhesive to be absorbed. As for the better adhesives available, I'm not planning to try mounting any more prints that way, but am always open to good material referrals for future reference.
It probably won't surprize you to know that I am a proponent of 3M laminating adhesives, industrials tapes, and so-on. If you can tell them what you plan to stick to what, they can guide you through further qualifying questions and provide you with one or more probable solutions. Always test to determine the suitability of the product for your specific application...
-------------------- Jon Aston MARKETING PARTNERS "Strategy, Marketing and Business Development" Tel 705-719-9209 Posts: 1724 | From: Barrie, ON, CANADA | Registered: Sep 2000
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Doug- I am curious if the "Mahogany veneer" was a laminated, i.e. plywood-type material...I used to sell vinyl flooring, and there is a type of mahogany plywood that off-gasses so bad that you may as well lay the vinyl on top without glue- I just can't remember the name. It also wicked the color up into the floor...nasty stuff; very cheap though, so intitially very attractive.
-------------------- Steve Burke Cascades Inc NS Canada
If at first you don't succeed, skydiving isn't for you Posts: 359 | From: NS Canada | Registered: Jan 2002
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