How to shop for a roller laminator/mounting machine

[sloow]

Hi there,

I'd like to know more about buying a 48" roller mounting machine to do my own mounting, but would like a little help getting started, i.e. what am I getting into?

I would like to be able to mount onto plexi, both back and face mount, as well as mount on to dibond, aluminum, and matt board, obviously with acid free materials.

Where to start looking, anyone have experience in this area?

thank you,

Paul

[petermarrek]

I have used a Sallmetal 55 in. laminator for over 20 years, great machine, no longer made, Seal bought them out to get rid of them. Try Luigi at Drytac in Toronto, they sell good cold mounting & laminating films. There were some used  machines at Mondrian Hall in TO, try Kevin Wu there. The only tricky part is face mounting to plexi, outgassing can be a proplem, also cleanlyness is very important, a good anti-static brush system can be helpfull. If you have any questions, glad to help out. Peter

[bill t.]

Before getting too far into the laminator thing, you should know that you need a very low humidity environment for proper adhesive mounting.

Moisture makes good adhesive mounting very difficult.  It's either bubbles now or bubbles later...I went through a lot of pain with the bad effects of high humidity on adhesive mounting.  It's something you should do only in a air conditioned or otherwise very low humidity environment.  Although my New Mexico house is very dry most of the year, humidity from the swamp cooler in summer lead to a lot of bad bubbling, some of which happened long after mounting.

I used the manual Drytac $250 unit a few times, but from then on borrowed a friend's motorized machine (Chinese import bought on ebay).  You really want a motorized feed, it's so much more reliable and having both hands free and being able to move around is ever so helpful.  You want tension adjustments on both left and right sides of the roller.  And nice big diameter rollers.  If you buy a used unit be sure to check if the rollers were stored with tension, they may have big flat areas that may never come out.

Although I have never used it, Bienfang has a compact, heated roller unit that can be used both for adhesive and dry mounting.  Some folks like to add a little heat even for adhesive mounting.  It's said to be rather slow for a production environment but might be just the thing for low volume work.  Big advantage is that it's very compact, you can put in on a small cart and roll it up to a table for use.  I've seen it at trade shows, it looks very well built.

[sloow]

Thanks for the responses..  Especially good to know about the humidity factor as Montreal summers can get pretty muggy.

[mrportr8]

I ran a commercial mounting operation and have worked in the field for over 25 years. I'd like to offer some points for consideration.
On the issue of humidity and acrylic I don't think you need to worry too much. Most of the problem stems from the acrylic and not the environment you describe. Acrylic contains a certain amount of moisture and as long as it has aged at least 6 months since manufacture there won't be a problem. Sorry, but most often bubbles appear due to operator error. Some are due to bad adhesive but that should be pretty rare.

The Bienfang roller mounter is not a laminator and cannot mount to acrylic effectively. It does not have a roller unwind or windup mechanism and would be very difficult to control the process.

Luigi at Drytac in Toronto is in fact a very good expert you can call on. I've met him and am very impressed with his knowledge and tact.

At minimum you need a machine capable of variable nip control, has at least one supply shaft and a wind-up assembly to easily remove the release liner from the adhesive or laminating film should you decide to laminate your prints. Both Drytac and Coda currently offer table top machines capable of meeting your needs. As mentioned earlier in this thread, go for the electric models with a foot pedal so both hands are free. I know Drytac also includes a video tutorial to help you learn the necessary technique.

Peace,
Scott W.

[marcsitkin]

I've owned 4 mounting laminating machines over the past 23 years, and would advise you to find a machine that contains domestic (North American) components. These machines have a long life span, and often outlive the companies that make the subcomponents. You can run into serious problems with parts after just a few years of ownership.

You need to decide what functionality a machine has to have, as modifications can be tough to do in the field. Heated rollers, top and bottom, take ups and feeds should be considered.

Machine construction and control placement is also important. This is not an item to be purchased online or from a catalog, but one that you should get a demo of at a trade show if possible.

We have owned three Seal machines. The first was very good, but the Italian companies that made the motor and speed control went out of business. When we had to replace these parts, it meant a machinist and electrician had to convert the machine to replacements available through a Graingers supply. The machine worked well after conversion, and is probably still in use today.

The other two machines from Seal were just awful, and I was glad to be rid of them.

We know have an AGL, and other than prematurely having to replace a roller, has been a great machine. I'd suggest you check out this brand if you are looking for a serious machine. DryTac handles this line, or you can contact AGL for another dealer in your area. If you do choose AGL, be sure to attend their 3 day school in Wisconsin. Well worth the investment. You'll make the money back in saved materials and less redos very quickly.

As far as humidity goes. you should have an air conditioned environment. Too much humidity can make mounting tough. Too little and you'll be fighting dust and static electricity.

[pixelseeker]

Hi there,

I'd like to know more about buying a 48" roller mounting machine to do my own mounting, but would like a little help getting started, i.e. what am I getting into?

I would like to be able to mount onto plexi, both back and face mount, as well as mount on to dibond, aluminum, and matt board, obviously with acid free materials.

Where to start looking, anyone have experience in this area?

thank you,

Paul

Paul

Check the Dec issue of Digital Graphics Magazine.

They have an article about selecting a laminating/mounting machine starting on page 44

http://digital.digitalgraphicsmag.com/dgm/200812/

[mrportr8]

Paul

Check the Dec issue of Digital Graphics Magazine.

They have an article about selecting a laminating/mounting machine starting on page 44

http://digital.digitalgraphicsmag.com/dgm/200812/

I read this article and can honestly say that the author does not know a hill of beans about mounting and laminating. I've met him, spoken with him and can say that at best he only has a cursory understanding of the process. His worst statement is that somehow pull rollers will magically guarantee that you will not experience boat-waking. Sheer nonsense since boat-waking is caused by improper setting of the nip pressure at the front rollers. At best it seems he wrote this on the fly and did not proof read his own article. For better information contact Luigi Cristicini, Brian Bouban, Todd Wooden or Gene Bouldin at Drytac, Mike Sneiing at Hasco, or David Goetter at AGL. They can help sort through the salient facts.
Peace,
Scott W.