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Author Topic: Cold lamination heat assist with infrared lamp  (Read 1026 times)

henrikolsen

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Cold lamination heat assist with infrared lamp
« on: April 20, 2017, 03:50:03 am »

I have a DryTac JM26 cold laminator, and experience a slight silvering at room temperature when laminating (overlaminating or face mounting).

I've been advised previously to try a slight heat assist. I've seen 42 degrees celsius mentioned before for face mount films, if laminator supports heat assist, but my smaller JM26 doesn't.  I have seen a positive effect on small tests I've heated with a hair dryer :). So I thought one might apply some heat manually and externally, although I reckon not nearly as practical as internal roller heating in the bigger models.

So next step I thought could be mounting an infrared heating lamp or two above the laminator. I could then have the rollers run for some time under the lamps before use (and during if not in the way). Any experience to share on this? Thanks.
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Wayne Fox

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Re: Cold lamination heat assist with infrared lamp
« Reply #1 on: April 20, 2017, 03:11:54 pm »

i would be concerned about the inconsistency of the temperature, if it gets too warm you might make things worse.

Make sure you don’t burn your house down ...
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Garnick

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Re: Cold lamination heat assist with infrared lamp
« Reply #2 on: April 20, 2017, 04:45:01 pm »

i would be concerned about the inconsistency of the temperature, if it gets too warm you might make things worse.

Make sure you don’t burn your house down ...

Hi Henrik,

I am quite familiar with the silvering effects of cold laminates.  I stopped using the matte/semi-matte lams because of that.  I use a 25" cold mount(pressure sensitive) machine from Neschen, a German company I believe.  A very well built machine with non-sticking silicone rollers.  At one time I also had a very heavy Drytac 20x24" heat press that I used at a low temperature to "fix" the silvering.  It did work, but eventually I sold the Drytac, so no more matte/gloss over-lams.  It's quite different with textured lams as you know.  Still a slight bit of silvering if you look carefully, but I found that if I let the laminated print sit for at least 24 hours that almost disappears completely.  I do agree that the infrared lamps might do the job, but I wouldn't use them to warm the rollers, since it could possibly warp them I believe, or effect the silicone in some way.  Perhaps if you simply set up a warming area with a couple of lamps and let the laminated print sit under them for a specified period of time, that might work quite well.  Not sure of this would work with infrared lamps, but you could also try them on a dimmer switch to control the heat output somewhat.

Gary   


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Gary N.
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henrikolsen

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Re: Cold lamination heat assist with infrared lamp
« Reply #3 on: April 21, 2017, 02:56:51 am »

I do agree that the infrared lamps might do the job, but I wouldn't use them to warm the rollers, since it could possibly warp them I believe, or effect the silicone in some way.  Perhaps if you simply set up a warming area with a couple of lamps and let the laminated print sit under them for a specified period of time, that might work quite well.  Not sure of this would work with infrared lamps, but you could also try them on a dimmer switch to control the heat output somewhat.

My thought was to regulate the heat primarily through the distance from lamp to rollers, and use an infrared thermometer gun to monitor the temperature of the rollers, which I would try to check for consistency over both time and side-to-side across the rollers. The basic E27 lamp(s) are round in the dish, so won't spread heat equally, but we'll see how it goes. I think it's worth a try. The lamp(s) would be hanging securely in a wire above the laminator, so safety should be fine (they are used to hang over chickens in a barn, so one would hope it hangs pretty safely, and I would be there all the time). Not more unsafe than many studio lamps.
I wouldn't apply any aggressive heat to the silicone at all. Just gently warm the area above the machine. I would think it would require a significant temperature to affect the rollers negatively. More than the chicken lamp will do.

Thanks for the idea of post-warming the laminated prints. That I'll try as well - perhaps giving them another roll once heated a little.

The roller pressure I will also experiment more with.

Here's what I had in mind:



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disneytoy

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Re: Cold lamination heat assist with infrared lamp
« Reply #4 on: April 24, 2017, 05:14:11 pm »

I have the same issue with Drytac Interlam Pro Matte on a 39" cold laminator. Haven't found a solution.
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