1. Bubbling issues:
Few laminator problems look worse than bubbles under the film. Bubbles are caused by a lot of problems: insufficient tension on the supply roll; feeding the leading edge of the print too quickly into the laminator; too much heat on a wet print, causing “outgassing” of the ink; the laminating adhesive not bonding properly to the media, and others. Insufficient tension causes bubbles when air get trapped between the film and image because the film wasn’t taut as it entered the nib. Feeding too quickly causes bubbles if the item is pushed into the nip faster than the speed of laminator.
The silvering is caused by the capture of tiny bubbles of air. It looks like a hazy or reflective area in the lamination. It may go unseen over light areas of an image, but will be more obvious over dark or black areas. Silvering is more often seen when a machine is not given time to warm up or if the film temperature drops too low. When a large machine is warmed up without the motor on, one side of each laminating roll remains relatively cool.
When lamination is begun, a pattern of repeated silvering can be seen each time the cool side of a roller is applied to the lamination.
2. Wrinkling issues:
The film will wrinkle if there is not enough supply roll tension. Any laminator needs a certain amount of resistance to the unwinding of the supply rolls so that the film lays flat as it goes into the nip of the laminating rollers. Thinner film laminate needs less tension, thicker film laminate needs more.
3. Orange peel issues:
Refers to the very fine wrinkles or waves in the laminate. This is a common condition of using too much heat. Simply adjust the temperature to a lower setting.
