Film laminators today come in many sizes, types, and price ranges, so it can be difficult to know which one to purchase. I have seen and worked with a lot of laminators over the years, and, as a result, I definitely have a favorite type. But what is good for me may not be best for you. With such a daunting array of options, where do you start? The best approach, I think, is to first determine how you plan to use this laminator. Once you know what your finishing needs are, then can you make an informed decision on which laminator will be the best fit. Let’s review the basic functions of a film laminator:

* Apply laminate (hot or cold) to media (vinyl, paper, etc.)
* Mount prints to boards
* Apply pre-mask to vinyl
* Slit graphics on-the-fly from a roll
* Spin down larger rolls to smaller rolls
* Press down substrates to each other

Keep in mind that just because it is called a laminator doesn’t mean it can’t do other things as well. Additionally, you must also remember that most jobs that go through your shop will almost always fall victim to Murphy’s Law and end up being be rushed at the last step – which is, you know, laminating and mounting. Because most businesses end up dealing with Murphy, I highly recommend that you do not skimp on the laminator. Get a good one -- you’ll definitely need it!

Here is the front of a dual roller laminator. The top has feed shafts and so does the bottom. The white roller above the gray one is the release liner take up.

Here is the back of a dual roller laminator.

SURFACE TENSION

So, exactly what happens to the media as it is being run through the laminator? Basically as you bring the media and laminate together, pressure is applied which encourages a perfect bonding of the laminate’s adhesive to the media. Regardless of which laminator you purchase, the pressure that’s applied will produce something called surface tension.

Levels of pressure can be anywhere between 20 and 80 lbs per square foot.

The more pressure, the better the contact between the two surfaces, but keep in mind that anything above 60 pounds is probably overkill. When you press media and laminate together, you create a large amount of surface tension on the media. This surface tension needs to be released across the surface of the media, and in most cases the surface will start to stretch out as the two pieces are pressed together between the rollers.

Over a long piece of media, say over 10', you can get what we call in the laminating business boat waking. Simply put, this means that the media and the laminate go into the laminator straight and everything looks great for about the first 10'. But then you start to get a wave in the center of the media, and as the media keeps running through the laminator, you can see the waves gets larger and larger until the point where it folds over itself and destroys your print.

It is at this point that you use a few choice four letter words and then you go back and re-print the job. Just so you know, this is not your fault – but it can happen with a low-end laminator and certain medias.

So now you are asking, “Okay Dave, how do I fix this?” Great question, but guess what? If you already own the laminator, you are not going to like my answer. But read on anyway…

TYPES OF LAMINATORS
Film laminator can be broken down into three major groups: gravity vs. pneumatic; cold vs. heat; and single vs. double rollers. Let’s take a look at each.

Gravity vs. Pneumatic
A number of the new laminators (typically under $6,000), do not use compressed air pressure to raise and lower the rollers. Instead, they use a crank to move the rollers up and down. The weight of the roller is used to apply pressure to the laminating and mounting process and this type of unit is generally referred to as a gravity laminator. A laminator that uses a compressed air system to apply roller pressure is known as a pneumatic laminator.
Gravity-based laminators are fine for a shop that does not plan on laminating longer rolls of media (no vehicle wraps). These machines are all based on pressure, so if you crank down the handle too far when mounting, the rollers will either not grab the board, or, as it grabs the board, the rollers will either crush the board or be forced up due to the height of the board. Laminators that use compressed air typically cost more than $7,000.

Cold vs. Hot
Before the advent of pressure-sensitive vinyl, the adhesive on laminates needed to be heated to become activated, so rollers on laminators have a heat function. Today, many laminators designed specifically for PSA vinyl do not have a heat function, and they are referred to as “cold” laminators. Interestingly, the market has recently added a new “warm” category so that shops working with PSA materials could better deal with the problem of silvering.
Silvering happens when the adhesive on the laminate does not make 100 percent contact with the media (due to variations in ink thickness, media type, etc.). The areas where the adhesive does not touch the media (only very small areas the size of the head of a pin) are where you will get something that looks like small silver spots. To correct this problem, the companies that are running hot laminators would turn the heat down to about 110° in order to warm up the adhesive a little and correct this problem.
A few of the laminator manufacturers took this feedback and created a mid-range laminator with a top roller temperature of about 110°. It is recommended that only vinyl be laminated with a pressure sensitive laminate at a temperature of 110° or less.
For paper-based prints hot-melt laminates work great. Hot-melt laminates are available as a vinyl, with an adhesive that activates at 185°; or as a polyester, with adhesives that activate at about 225°. Low-temp laminates (vinyl at 185°) never create silvering.
For all vinyl prints, you must use pressure-sensitive laminates and run the laminator at room temperature, or at 110°. Never laminate vinyl prints with heat-activated laminates.

Single vs. Dual Rollers
Film laminators are available with single and dual roller sets. Single-roller laminators are what we have been talking about above. They typically cost less than $12,000 and are the most common laminators used in small shops. The dual set models are found in larger high-volume shops. They are heavy duty and offer some definite benefits, but (of course) come with a heavier price tag.
I have run double roller-based laminators for over 17 years and I will tell you right off the bat that I can print 12 prints, laminate them, mount them, and end up with 12 good prints to sell – and yes, they are perfect.
Many people will tell you the reason for double roller sets is the front set is hot and the back set is cold for mounting; but there is another advantage for the double roller set system that I like even better.
The very best reason to own a double roller laminator is that your media will stop boat waking. Yes, it’s true, with a second set of rollers pulling the graphics from behind the front rollers (which are the rollers doing the actual laminating), your boat waking problem will go away – guaranteed!
Why, you may be asking, do the second set of rollers end this problem? The reason why is that the back rollers move at a speed that is 1 percent faster than the front rollers. Additionally, the back rollers also have a clutch on them so as not to burn out the motor. This pull action stops the vinyl or paper that is being fed into the laminator from boat waking. You can actually deal with boat waking on the low-end laminators but you must keep pulling the prints as they come through the laminator.
The next reason for owning this type of laminator is that if you are running paper products through your machine and you have the front roller at 185°, you do not have to wait to cool down the laminator in order to mount the prints. Simply raise the (hot) front rollers and mount your graphics using only the rear rollers.
The painful part of these machines is their price. New dual-roller laminators cost in the neighborhood of $18,000 to $28,000. I agree this hurts you in the wallet, but you need to look forward in your business and know that a good laminator will last you 20 years or more. Not to mention the fact that if you were to add up the cost, wasted time and frustration of re-printing and re-laminating jobs, you can take solace in knowing you can do everything you would ever want to do on this laminator, and get it right the first time.

THE RIGHT LAMINATOR FOR YOU
The chart below is my list of the most popular applications run by various size digital graphics shops, and the types of machines I recommend:

The first laminator I purchased back in 1992 was a dual roller because my plan was to be the company that did any job that came along. The cost was high, my first machine was $18,000 and today I still own and run a very high-end dual roller machine. Today, the laminators that I like best are the refurbished ones from the manufacturers. You can find a good dual-roller machine that sells for around $14,000. I have helped my clients install more than five of these this year alone.

The chart above shows the different types and estimated costs of laminators. You should, in all cases, talk with your distributor to negotiate the best deal.

LAMINATOR ROI
As with any major piece of equipment, you should always consider your return on investment (ROI). Here’s how I look at it. Okay, lets say you are running with a low-end laminator and you are doing what most people do — always printing one extra print (just in case) and you are doing five jobs a week. If you are using a standard solvent printer and using a low-end vinyl, with a pressure sensitive laminate, then your cost per linear foot is about $3.50, plus labor. Let’s say your average print is 22" x 28" and you do five jobs a week (a very low-volume shop), then your cost after thee years in waste is approximately $5,460.
Add this together with your time, and with a low-end laminator you can expect about 20 percent more waste due to damaged prints, and your total cost over three years will be no less than $15,000. Now, was the low-priced laminator really worth it? You don’t really need to answer. I already know what you’re going to say.

Be smart with your money, and I’ll see you on the tradeshow floor.