Lamination

[Harry Carpenter]

Has anyone had experience of using a cold roller lamination system for sealing inkjet prints?
As the Z3100 prints are so prone to scratches and marking I want to protect them in some way.
I have seen a few cold lamination systems for sale but would like to know if anyone uses them succesfully before I jump in.

[Malcolm Payne]

I do this professionally, along with hot encapsulation, and it works well. It can be a bit fiddly unless the print media is slightly wider than the laminating film, as otherwise you need to run an equivalent width of release paper or other film (e.g. mounting film) underneath the print simultaneously to avoid the laminating film sticking to the bottom roller.

And, at least with the supposedly 'cold' pressure sensitive films that I've used, a small amount of heat (max 45-50 deg. C) on the top roller is beneficial in avoiding residual silvering of the laminate. Inevitably this means a more expensive laminator is required, although these are available with heated top and cold bottom rollers at a lower price than a fully heated laminator.

Note that I'm talking about relatively expensive professional machines, and I don't know how the cheaper systems compare in terms of usability and results. Unless you're intending to do a lot of these for resale, it might well be cheaper and a lot less hassle overall to find a local laminating shop that will do them for you.

[EvoM]

Harry, I have bought a cold lamination, hand roller set up but haven't used it much (1000mm). However, the silicon rollers are supposed to resist sticking and I plan to use ovesized laminate and trim it back to the print edges.

When I bought it, we tried a few small prints which worked well but with a large, long print I think it would be very hard to line up the start exactly square and therefore towards the end of a long print you might find it running off the print edge!

I do plan on doing some display type prints soon to test this out. I personally don't like laminating but it's a must to protect the Z3100's prints on posters etc I would think.

Evo

[Craig Murphy]

Anyone have luck laminating with a hot vacu-press?  I have one but my experience is that its very risky to do this way.   Dust under the laminate can be a major issue as well as uneven results.  With a roller system how many print are trashed do to dust?

[Malcolm Payne]

With a roller system how many print are trashed do to dust?
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Surprisingly few, fortunately, though it's impossible to guarantee a 100% dust-free result in anything other than a clean-room environment. As the laminate unrolls, and particularly where a release liner is being peeled off at the same time, it tends to generate a static charge which attracts any dust or hairs in the vicinity. I've known people in desperation to rig anti-static bars with ionising elements across the film, and even that hasn't completely eliminated the problem; all you can do is minimise the risk by adopting best practice in keeping the room and materials clean, wearing clean, non-shedding clothing, etc.

Evo: Pressure-sensitive laminate will still adhere even to silicone-coated rollers; it doesn't stick strongly to the rollers and is easily peeled off afterwards but can still 'grab' sufficiently to cause problems with the lamination or to wind the print around the rollers if there is any significant overlap. Also, any exposed film that contacts parts of the machine other than the rollers will stick rather more strongly to these, which will almost guarantee creasing or other damage if the film hangs up while the print is being fed. If you're using a hand roller system things might be less critical, but you don't usually get a second chance with a motorised laminator.

[framah]

The main worry about any heat press is making sure the inks are heat resistant. There are some inks out there that seriously do not like heat!

Epsons inks do fine under heat. The temp for laminating in a heat press is around 180-190 degrees. I have laminated many prints on paper as well as canvas with no problems.

As they said... dust is a worry but once you get used to doing them, you will become more vigilant about keeping the work area as clean as possible. I will blow off the work areas and turn the air filtration system for a while to collect as much out of the air as possible.
We are talking about a serious investment in money with a  heated vacumount press.  The 40x60 size is around 5 to 6 thousand last time I looked but used ones are available.
United manufactures is a good place to buy this stuff.

 Even tho it isn't the archival way to mount, I dry mount my photos down as I like them to lay flat in the frame. I find it is about 50/50 with the photographers who come in to get their work done.
 
Most of the better frame shops can mount and laminate easily.
Of course, I'd much rather you just bring it all into my shop for me to do it for you!!

[Gary Damaskos]

Has anyone had experience of using a cold roller lamination system for sealing inkjet prints?
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I have been using a used CODA cold laminate unit and so far the Coda laminate. I have a manuel system. Maximum I do is 16x24. There was a learning curve, and for the cold lam one pretty much better use a smooth gloss surface print for best results and keeping dmax. I am near 95-100% success. It certainly does a good job protecting, maintains the dmax (I mean it keeps a richness, saturated look, it does not take away - as is possible with some lam materials). All the lam material is cut to oversize compared to print. Trimming is part of my process, and I think it has to be (with my system, and Coda recommends that too). There are variations on everything available, including way less expensive units to apply the lam material, and lots of sources for laminate.
Good luck

[Chris_Brown]

I've used LexJet ArmorGuard Thermal Hardcoat UV laminate for both inkjet and wet process prints. I mount my prints onto CODA Mural Mounts and ArmorGuard gives the print ideal protection. It is a heat-activated laminate, but doesn't affect or harm the print in any way.

The vendor and I tested several different laminates on several papers. I've printed with an Epson 9600 and now a Canon iPF8000. The best papers for lamination have little or no surface texture. In our last test (about a year ago) we tried using Lexjet ExhibitGuard on their Sunset Fiber Gloss and the paper's texture was too much for the laminate. The result was thousands of miniscule air pockets all over the print. ArmorGuard has no problem conforming to the texture of that paper, though.

[Gary Damaskos]

I've used LexJet ArmorGuard Thermal Hardcoat UV laminate for both inkjet and wet process prints. I mount my prints onto CODA Mural Mounts and ArmorGuard gives the print ideal protection. It is a heat-activated laminate, but doesn't affect or harm the print in any way.
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Hello Chris -

I have been using the Standouts, have not tried the Mural mounts. Can you share a bit about 1)do the deeper MMs come across as more impressive (better someway)?, 2) What paper are you using?,. 3) I use a 180g paper, and am wondering how a thicker 250-350 gsm paper would both look and work? If you have any information anyway or experience. 4) Any thing you are ok sharing about the kind of pricing (retail) a MM print is fetching?
TiA, Gary

[Chris_Brown]

1)do the deeper MMs come across as more impressive (better someway)?

I've only used them at 24"x26 up to 40"x50" and 40"x60" sizes, not anything smaller. At that size, the thickness looks much more in proportion to the size of the print. I think at the smaller sizes, the thickness of the mural mounts look too thick and out of proportion.

2) What paper are you using?

I've used Epson Professional Semi-Matte Photo paper, Canon Pro semi-gloss, Lexjet Sunset Fiber Gloss, and Lexjet Sunset Photo eSatin. I prefer any very smooth paper with a wide gamut that accepts a laminate without problems.

3) I use a 180g paper, and am wondering how a thicker 250-350 gsm paper would both look and work? If you have any information anyway or experience.

I laminate all prints that are mounted onto CODA mural mounts, so the thickness and surface of the paper becomes irrelevant once the print has been finished. The print/laminate simply becomes part of the surface of the mount. I do this because there is no other protection for the print and most of these large prints reside in hallways and offices and conference rooms where anyone can touch them.

Where a heavier paper looks excellent is when it's "float mounted". That is, the matte opening is larger than the print, and the matte does not cover or touch the edges of the print. A nice, thick paper looks great in this presentation.

4) Any thing you are ok sharing about the kind of pricing (retail) a MM print is fetching?

I buy mural mounts in batches of 20 and they cost $100 each at 40"x60". They are boxed in sets of 4 per box and are shipped on a pallet via truck. Shipping varies due to fuel costs, but generally runs about $100 per shipment. CODA does not manufacture the stand-outs or mural mounts, so the time to deliver can be months when their supplier is busy. The upside is you can order any size you want. For example, all their stock sizes are smaller to allow for trim. Their 24"x36" is actually 23.5"x35.5" (this comes from back in the day of photographic wet prints having fixed sizes). This standard undersizing isn't necessary for inkjet prints (where we have near total freedom of print size) so it's a great feature to have the perfect sizes for the image content.

[nickdavis]

Evo: Pressure-sensitive laminate will still adhere even to silicone-coated rollers; it doesn't stick strongly to the rollers and is easily peeled off afterwards but can still 'grab' sufficiently to cause problems with the lamination or to wind the print around the rollers if there is any significant overlap. Also, any exposed film that contacts parts of the machine other than the rollers will stick rather more strongly to these, which will almost guarantee creasing or other damage if the film hangs up while the print is being fed. If you're using a hand roller system things might be less critical, but you don't usually get a second chance with a motorised laminator.
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I fully agree with this statement. You should always use a "sled", made of either chipboard or polystyrene, and laminate the print on that.