Coating and Laminating
Art or science? How to avoid the most common mistakes in lamination
Luigi Cristicini, senior technical research and development manager at Drytac, says lamination is an incredibly useful way of making applications stand out to those passing by
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amination plays an important role in many printed applications; be it helping to protect the printed piece that is being installed or to add an extra-special fi nish, However, as those who work with lamination on a regular basis will know, it is not quite as simple as applying a laminating film and walking away. As is the case when planning the actual print project, similar care should be taken when selecting the type of products to use for lamination.
There are several mistakes that professionals will likely encounter at some point. Among the most common issues is tracking, particularly when it comes to laminating long panels or a full roll of printed graphics. This can often be caused by bad webbing practices or an out-of-square laminator, both of which can be fi xed with relative ease. Before starting work, check the roll of printed graphics is not ‘telescoped’, referring to when some of the material comes out of line at the end of the roll. Also ensure the roll is placed on the centre of the laminator, as
May 2025
well as on the correct supply or unwind shaft. It is also recommended to take care with webbing. One eff ective way of ensuring correct webbing is to use a single-tape point in the middle of the core release liner to keep the web tight throughout.
Once webbed properly, load the media and feed directly through the rollers. You have the option of taping this to the out-feed table to maintain tension, but only while keeping tensions and pressure on the entire web. After this, attach the laminated print to a take-up core, or feed the web onto an auxiliary out feed table if you do not have a take-up core.
While this will solve many tracking problems, should issues remain, check the side cabinets on your laminator that hold the rollers in case they are out of sync. They should be sat on the same plane if you are to achieve a smooth fi nish. Aside from tracking, wrinkles may also crop up from time to time. What makes this more challenging for professionals is that they come in several forms. For example, ‘lateral wrinkles’
occur when the media tries to correct itself but instead the laminate moves and folds over on itself. Telescoping is the most common culprit for these wrinkles.
You may also see ‘vertical wrinkles’ in the direction of the feed due to too much brake tension and the release liner splitting too high on the rollers. Again, this is an easy fi x and can be resolved by reducing the brake on the supply shaft and the clutch, lowering the overall speed. ‘D-wave wrinkles’, which occur due to excessive pinch point pressure, can be fi xed by backing off on roller pressure. Meanwhile, ‘left- or right-side wrinkles’ can occur when the pinch point is uneven on one side of the laminator. There is no set method to rectify this as laminators have diff erent settings, so check your manual for the optimum settings.
The last wrinkle type to look out for are ‘angled wrinkles’, also known as ‘boat waking’, which can happen when pressure on the rollers is too low. Simply fi nd the right pressure point to rectify. If this does not do the job, it may be because you are using mismatched widths of laminate and printed media; always try to match widths within a few inches.
While these issues are common and will crop up on a regular basis when laminating, they are all easy and quick to fi x, allowing you to continue working with only minimal downtime.
www.convertermag.com
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