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 Posted: Fri Sep 19, 2008 7:32 am
thanks for the input ^^. I wasn't planning to cut out any particular shapes, but i hadn't ruled it out either so that bit was very helpful.
is there any sort of regular maintenance that need to be done with the machine to make sure it runs smoothly?
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Posted: Sat Sep 20, 2008 4:10 pm
I figured you probably were smarter than that (you come across as pretty damn intelligent, honestly), but it also never hurts to point out even the obvious things... even though it seems pretty obvious to me, I've been using the laminator at work extensively for the past year and what's obvious to me may not be obvious to you. smile
Haven't really noticed much for regular maintenance... we've really been unable to figure out the pattern of treatment that helps it survive, but my suggestion would be to turn it off when you're not using it, and run it only as long and hot as you need it (with ours, there's a temperature dial on the bottom to adjust it--too hot and the plastic scorches, too cool and it doesn't fully seal); turn it off when you're done to keep it from getting overheated. Oh, and don't send your stuff through without the paper envelope covering it. One of two things happens; either the "glue" (I don't know what it REALLY is) on the inside of the laminating pouch oozes out and progressively gums up the rollers inside, or the rollers "eat" your project (yeah, we've had that one happen a few times).
I can't think of anything else offhand to mention, but if you do think of something (even if it seems dumb ^^ ) go ahead and ask. Like I said at the start, obvious to me isn't always obvious to you.
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Posted: Sun Sep 21, 2008 11:27 am
oh yeah, perception is sooo many times the worst ting when it comes to communitcation. definitely had the oh it seemed obvious to me at the time but not to others thing happen to me. haha.
ive heard some stories about projects getting eaten, and unfortunately ive heard that when that happens the machine is pretty much dead?
I think the machine im looking at has an adjustible heat control. Do most pouch packages have the reccomended heat setting on the label or is it a more trial and error thing?
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Posted: Sun Sep 21, 2008 3:06 pm
Well, we extracted our eaten projects from the machine (with the one of mine that was eaten, it was an overly long one that got caught in the middle, but the end was out already so I just pulled very hard on it and got it out; with the other one I wasn't there so I'm not sure what happened, but it was completely trapped and they extracted it somehow)... but it's no guarantee the eaten project will come out.
As far as pouches, since all the ones we use at work are provided via corporate (because every store uses a TON of them, almost everything we do is laminated), and just come in a blank box with a small shipping label for the warehouses, I really don't know if most (or any) pouch packages have a recommended heat setting. ^^ Ours tend to work best on the "high" setting and about 400-450 degrees Farenheit.
OH! And I'm discovering as I mess around with the work one that the quality of the lamination SEEMS to be better if I allow the project to cool before pulling it out of the paper carrier envelope... it seems like it's better adhered with fewer loose spots and air pockets, though I can't say that it's 100% because of letting it cool, because there's a lot of other variables, too.
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Posted: Mon Sep 22, 2008 8:54 am
Sounds good. Many many thanks for your assistance with this btw. Its been very helpful to finally get some information on this topic particularly from someone who has actually used one. I think i might be purchasing a machine either this week or next. id like to get in some practice runs before I start making stuff to sell at the table, though I do have roughly a month and a half. Ideally I just don't wanna have to rush or at least minimize as much last minute scrambling as possible.
(plus there's that whole..... i need to finish the actual artwork too.)
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Posted: Mon Sep 22, 2008 5:03 pm
Good idea. smile I always have the best intentions of finishing in advance of a convention, myself, but I suspect that after I take a lazy day of cleaning and watching tivo today, and then my next two days of "laziness" (plans with others)... I'll probably be in crunch time for my next con. ^^
And if you think of anything else, post it here, I'm trying to check the guild daily so I should see it right away (and then it's visible for the next person who needs laminator help to see!)
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Posted: Tue Sep 23, 2008 1:39 pm
Ill try and post some reactions and maybe some images of results when i pick up the machine.
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Posted: Thu Oct 16, 2008 5:44 pm
Hmm I'm trying to start with lamination, but for keychains. I'm always too scared to ask the artists I see selling them at local cons (I don't want to seem like I'm stealing their idea..) but alas I want to know D:<
Are self lamination pouches/sets any good? I'm going to try some but just wondering if anyone else has tried and found a good brand to go with.
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Posted: Tue Oct 21, 2008 11:51 am
well for my stuff i was going to go with the heat seal pouches. I havent seen any finish products involving the self seal pouches myself, just the cold seal lamination stuff. Admittedly i haven't bought my heat laminator yet so i cant offer any personal experiences yet. (ive been bad and keep getting side tracked, but since the art isnt completed yet its a moot point until i finish anyway) You can allway buy a small pack of the self seals and make a test batch.
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Posted: Mon Oct 27, 2008 10:13 pm
well I've tested a couple (self seal ones) and so far no luck. The ones I've tested, they're either too flimsy, or they come out cloudy (not crystal clear) and have a weird glare to them. Or the part where it seals in the air looks tacky (as in it's not a clean seal, it looks powdery?) These are the ones I tried: Grafix - heavy weight laminating film ( this one) Scotch 3m Business Card Laminating ( this one) still trying to find a good self seal OR cheap thermal set for making keychains mm..
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Posted: Mon Nov 03, 2008 10:34 am
well this weekend was the great production day in prep for Nekocon. Now, heres the deal with the laminator-ing that went on.
I ended up buying a heat sealing one from staples, but in the end i endedup returning it and heres the short version why.
after looking at the lamination sheets, 3 mil is say too thin for anything and 5 mil is fairy adequate for a bookmark but is too thin for a magnet. (its worth noting that initial reaction was 5 mil was going to be too thin, until i ran one though a machine at kinkos)
so as it turns out we could laminate at our local kinkos. As luck would have it, they had 10 mil sheets there too so we made the magnets out of the ten mil. cutting it with both scissors and a cutter was easy and worked great. we got lucky though cause the guys said they usually stock 7 and they just ended up with ten that week, so, based on looking at a 5 and a 10 7 probably would work well enough for both, in a pinch. so based on this i would say work with at least 5 mil for bookmarks and anything thicker for a magnet.
we plan to buy our own machine at some point, however i wanna do a bit more research on machines first, maybe get a slighter higher grade one than what staples sells.
i do have to wonder though, would kinkos charge me to just use the machine if i brought my own plastic? if not then maybe ill just do that from now on. Kinkos charged us 2.49 a sheet of plastic which wasn't awful considering we fit a good number of magnets on a sheet as well as a decent number of bookmarks.
oh lastly i found a website that deals specifically in lamination machines and supplies so ill check them out later and post some findings or at least the link to it.
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Posted: Mon Nov 03, 2008 10:36 am
R a i r e n well I've tested a couple (self seal ones) and so far no luck. The ones I've tested, they're either too flimsy, or they come out cloudy (not crystal clear) and have a weird glare to them. Or the part where it seals in the air looks tacky (as in it's not a clean seal, it looks powdery?) These are the ones I tried: Grafix - heavy weight laminating film ( this one) Scotch 3m Business Card Laminating ( this one) still trying to find a good self seal OR cheap thermal set for making keychains mm.. if you wanna make keychains? id say 7 or 10 mil, heat seal plastic. (see my above post for details of my experience)
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Posted: Mon Feb 09, 2009 12:18 am
I usually get my bookmarks and things laminated at Officemax or an office supply store/printing store. THey're usually quite reasonable and the bookmarks always come out pretty great. The default plastic is perfect for laminating and results in some nice, sturdy bookmarks.
THe only fault I have with this method is that sometimes air bubbles get trapped in the plastic. Most of the time it isn't noticeable, but I always end up losing a few bookmarks because of them. :T
I haven't tried it, but I'm guessing the thicker plastic could possibly work for keychains. I don't know how sturdy they are, but if they're thicker than the default, I think it should be sufficient.
I think a single 11x15 sheet (biggest size) at my Officemax is about $1-$2 or something. Can't remember. All I know is that I've never gone over $10 for about 80-something bookmarks.
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Posted: Mon Feb 09, 2009 8:13 pm
There seems to always be the risk of getting air bubbles trapped in something you've laminated... I get air bubbles in my stuff at work all the time (and have devised a few tricks to try eliminating at least some of them). Of course, our laminator gets abused a bit more than Office Max's does, too.
I've heard Staples has a really thick, hard lamination... I haven't had anything done there yet (one just opened near my work, though, so I'll have an opportunity now) but if I get anything done I'll give an opinion of it here.
(It's so hard to resist just laminating things at work when I need it done... most of the time if it'll fit in our laminator, I do it there.)
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Posted: Sun Sep 20, 2009 10:04 pm
Sorry if I'm bumping the topic, but I figure I need some questions and not want to start a new topic lmao. x__x
Could anyone recommend any brand Laminators? I would like to know which ones are good and at a reasonable price if possible.
Also...could someone explain the lamination sheet thickness? And if it matters of whether any lamination sheets work with any brand laminator.
Thank you in advance!! @o@
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