Looking for info on a clear gloss roll laminate product for my metallic prints.

[dgberg]

James,
Thanks for your efforts. How much contamination is on the print. In other words how smooth to the touch after it has dried.
My spray booth is pretty sterile and I stll get some contamination when spraying Clearstar FA.
Pretty much the reason I went the roll laminator route. Laminated several more prints today with the polyester laminate. I am getting better results . It only takes a tiny speck of dust to ruin the whole shootin match.
So far I have laminated about 14 prints and only 2 or 3 are perfect. Not a very good ratio.

[fetish]

Hi Dan, it's glossy smooth without much dust contamination. I used the pouring method instead of spraying as spraying tends to capture more airborne particles and is often not thick enough to create the glossy effect.
Bubbles in the liquid are the biggest issue so I try to avoid creating them as much as possible by letting the liquid sit in the bottle for a while.

On hindsight I guess the best method will be to pour a thick puddle on one end of the print, and using a coating rod with some tape on both ends (to ensure some clearance between rod and paper), push and spread the liquid across the print with as few passes as possible. Every pass it makes increases chances of scratch and contamination.

[ghaynes754]

Dan

Doing the lamination from the roll.  I use Sintra 3 and 6mm for backboards.   I lay down the Drytac PSA and don't remove the liner for being able to release the after laminating.  Start the feed, lay on the print, use a tack cloth (Drytac) to remove any dust and laminate.  Just replied to your dust removal machine post and so far with the Jet 1000 haven't had a dust problem.  Usually run it for about an hour or so before I start and then shut it down.  Been very happy with the results.

Gary

[dgberg]

Thanks Gary,
I just have a light film of dust almost everywhere I wipe my hand. Just a really big building and dust is a part of it. Since I started laminating any dust at all seems attracted to the adhesive. Randy Carone suggested using something to cut down the static especially when using the polyester laminates as it really attracts dust.

[Gemmtech]

Why not just partition a small area for the lamination?  The room air cleaners / filters don't work well in a large area, dust is always going to be inside a room unless you make it a "clean room", and this takes more than just a unit sitting in a room or attached to a furnace.

[a.lorge]

I think I've hyped this product before on this forum, but I'll do it again.  http://www.drytac.com/drs-roller.html  This roller is really amazing for removing dust from prints and laminates.  It's the most indispensable tool I use when laminating (well besides the laminator i guess  .  When I was getting heavily into lenticular printing a few years ago, I spent a lot of time and money trying to remove dust and static from the environment.  At one point I even bought an anti static air gun that blew compressed air over radioactive isotopes to neutralize static (which I promptly returned when the state of Massachusetts sent me a $200 radioactive device tax bill).  I really don't bother with that stuff anymore, My procedure is to clean the surface of the print with the roller, clean the surface of the laminate with the roller and then quickly place the two clean surfaces face to face before any dust can get in.  I realize the roller is a relatively expensive item, but I would highly recommend giving it a shot before buying an air purifacation unit.

[ghaynes754]

Dan

Might be more of a static issue.  You can use an anti-static cloth on the the print (Drytac or one from a photo vendor), a large static brush or as suggested the DRS roller.  One thing that might help in the winter when the static is more of an issue to to increase the humidity.  A little wet dust won't float around as much (at least my non technical mind says so) .  Couple of folks make the rollers, SDI is the one that makes the unit from Drytac.

[stretchdcanvas]

Hi Dan and everyone else,
This discussion would probably be more effective if we left out sellers brand names. 
Like printing papers (there are  probably a hundred names for the same paper rebranded from a few mills)  you will very rapidly find yourself chasing your tail if you think seal is better than gbc is better than...etc. 
You will find that looking at hard vs soft, hot vs cold, expensive vs cheap will yield a faster result to many issues. 
Then you have to find the best combination of temperature, pressure and speed for the best result with each of your materials)
10 mill vinyl sounds awfully thick, like something used for a floor graphic.  What's the ratio of substrate to adhesive on that vinyl? 
I've never seen a gloss vinyl as shiny as polycarb or polyester but I haven't been doing this all that long so ymmv.
I'm curious as to the level of training your dealer provided when they installed the machine?  Did they even show you a DRS roller?

[dgberg]

Some times more then often the brand name is extremely important when testing products.
 This was an eBay purchase so the only instruction I had was from my seal distributor who drove over from Nj. If you read the post about the 10 mil laminate those boxes came with the eBay purchase and are here to use if I can find something to apply them to. Now it's down to spending $190.00 for a $50.00 roller. Guess I'll just have to bite the bullet.

[stretchdcanvas]

The DRS roller will be the best money you spend even at twice the cost. 
What is the value of what you have lost so far in time and materials? 
Like you I contend with a wood shop.
What I do is use my roller to clean the table (after wiping it down with a rag) and then clean both sides of my print.
Then I clean the infeed of the laminator.
I almost always make stickers (adhesive on bottom roller and lamination on top roller)
Before I send in the print... I clean it again and watch it carefully as it goes in.
Nothing irks me more than having to do a job twice and get paid once.
Doing it right the first time is also very green.