5-8 COLD APPLICATIONS
Cold Mounting
The Heavy Duty 25 is designed to be a cold laminator and mounting device
as well as a hot laminator/mounter.
There are many different methods and sequences for laminating and
mounting but the most common procedure used with digital images is to first
hot laminate and then cold mount. Cold adhesives adhere better and are
more reliable than dry mount (hot) adhesives when it comes to the various
plastics, coated papers, and coated mounting boards often used in digital
imaging.
The Heavy Duty 25 can be used to apply adhesive film to mounting boards.
Boards can also be purchased pre-coated with pressure-sensitive adhesive
and a release liner.
Most rolls of adhesive have a single release liner. The Heavy Duty 25 can be
fitted with a release liner take-up at the time it is ordered from the factory.
If this work is run after a hot laminating job the heat left in the shoes helps
the adhesive to flow. It is not necessary to allow the machine to cool.
Cold laminators are one-sided laminators with very few exceptions. Most hot
laminators encapsulate or coat both sides. When laminating only one side,
you must not allow exposed adhesive to go into the machine. Make sure the
material being coated is at least as wide as the roll of film. Overlap pieces or
use scrap paper between pieces to keep adhesive off the rollers.
Thread the machine by putting a large piece of scrap paper or cardboard
through the open rollers. Stick the adhesive to this threading card, close the
rollers, and begin to laminate. Keep feeding scrap paper so that the
adhesive does not start a wraparound on the rollers.
Adjust the unwind tension to remove any wrinkles from the material. Do not
use any more tension than needed or you may stretch the material. Begin to
feed the mounting boards, butting each up against the one ahead. Cut the
boards apart with a utility knife on the back end
Once your boards are coated, or if you buy them pre-coated, you are ready
to mount any graphic. There are many methods for sizing and trimming, but
most operators pick a board slightly bigger than the graphic and trim board
and graphic together after mounting.
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