If you have a roll laminator you know just how awesome it can be for laminating signs, banners, presentation covers, visual aids and document. However, there is nothing quite as frustrating as trying to troubleshoot problems with your laminated documents. Perhaps your laminate is coming out cloudy (silvered), wavy, with air bubbles, curled or with small unlaminated spots. All of these problems have different causes. However, here are a few things that you should consider when troubleshooting your laminator.

  1. Heat: The first variable that can cause problems with your laminated output is heat. If you have too much heat you will notice that the output is wavy. If you don’t have enough heat or the heat is inconsistent, you will get silvering or cloudiness throughout your document. If this happens you will need to adjust the heat either up or down to compensate. You may also need to give your machine enough time to recover heat after a long run since the temperature of the rollers will drop as heat is transferred to your documents.
  2. Speed: Another variable that can cause problems with the output from your laminator is speed. If the speed is too fast then not enough heat will be transferred and you will get silvering in your documents. If the speed is too slow then too much heat will be transferred and you will get waviness. Ultimately, you will need to find a balance between heat and speed. If your machine does not have a heat setting you will need to adjust the speed. Likewise if there is no speed setting you will need to adjust the heat. If you have both then you can attempt to adjust both to find the right combination for the type of paper that you are using.
  3. Tension: Something that is a little bit harder to deal with on a roll laminator is the tension. The tension setting determines how tight the laminate is stretched as it comes off the laminator. Generally, you should not mess with the tension settings on your machine. However, if you notice that you are getting excessive curling, cupping or air bubbles in your output you may need to tweak the tension. Just remember that the tension on both rollers should always be set the same if you are running the same type of film on both sides.
  4. Dust: Small particles of dust on your documents and photos can cause your documents to look speckled. In order to fix this you will need to remove the dust before you run your prints. There is a special tool called a PCR roller that is designed for this purpose. A PCR roller will remove dust from your printed output without damaging the surface of the prints.
  5. Adhesive Buildup: If you have small dots or sections on your laminated output that are not laminating you will need to check your rollers. Rollers that are damaged, cracked or have adhesive buildup may not transfer heat equally. Every place where the roller touches the laminate and there is adhesive buildup or a gouge in the roller you will end up with an unlaminated spot. The only way to deal with this problem is to clean or replace the rollers.
  6. Toner Adhesion: Many types of film will not adhere well to digital output with high fuser oil content. If you are having this problem, you may notice that the laminate will easily peel off your finished documents when face trimmed. If you are using this type of digital output you may need to look into using a high tac film. Hi-tack laminating films use a more aggressive adhesive to ensure adhesion to this type of coated output.

These are five basic tips for troubleshooting the output of your roll laminator. Try adressing these issues and you will find that you can fix most problems that occur when using your machine. However, if none of these things work, you might need to consider placing a service call for your machine.

If you are interested in more information about Roll Lamination Machines, you might want to visit MyBinding.com. They offer great prices on all their laminators and they even give you Free Shipping on orders over $75. Plus, they carry a full line of Roll Laminating Film, in a variety of brands and sizes. Check it out today!

Related posts:

  1. Roll Laminator Troubleshooting: A Few Tips
  2. How to Laminate Documents Using Your School Roll Laminator
  3. Roll Laminator Maintenance For Beginners
  4. Problems Running One Sided Lamination With a Two Sided Roll Laminator
  5. What to Do If You Wrap Laminating Film Around the Rollers on Your Roll Laminator
  6. Caring For Your Roll Laminator
  7. Roll Laminator Maintenance: A Few Tips
  8. Why You Should Buy the GBC Pinnacle 27 EZ Load Roll Laminator
Tags: , , , ,