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MOUNTING
Mounting"One Step"
It is recommended that you make initial tests and adjustments with scrap pieces of the substrate that you wish to
mount to. Mounting materials greater than 1/8" thick will require an adjustment of the roller lifts. This adjustment must
be made to both the laminating and pull rollers. See " Roller Lifts" on page 13. The mounting process can be achieved
a number of ways: Self-Adhesive mounting boards, spray adhesives, or special purpose mounting films. Dry mount tis-
sue and other heat activated types of foam boards cannot be used with this type of mounting process, as the expo-
sure time to heat is insufficient to activate the adhesive.
To mount/laminate materials greater than 1/8" thick:
1. Open the gap between the rollers to the approximate thickness of the substrate to be used. Turn the roller lift knobs
counterclockwise to open the rollers.
2. Utilizing a 12" x 25" scrap piece of substrate, set drive to a slow speed setting and push the substrate into the
rollers. Stop when approximately 1" of the substrate is protruding from the rear of the rollers.
3. Readjust roller pressure by gradually rotating each roller lift knob clockwise until the rollers are exerting a slight
downward pressure on the substrate.
4. Prepare your image for mounting. If using a Self-Adhesive mounting board, pull back the release liner
approximately four inches. If using a standard type of mounting board, prepare it using the appropriate adhesive.
Place your graphic on the mounting substrate. At this point only adhere the leading edge of the graphic to the
substrate. Do not attempt to adhere the entire image by hand, doing so may result in bubbles or creases.
Hold the remaining material up, off the substrate so the graphic does not prematurely adhere to it.
Leave a few inches of space between the leading edge of the graphic and the substrate.
5. Butt the desired substrate up against the scrap piecealready placed in the laminator in step 2. Turn the drive on to
a slow speed, and gently push the substrate into the laminator until the rollers grab and it feeds itself. If using a
Self-Adhesive mounting board, grasp the release liner and pull back about 12" to 18". Allow the graphic to slowly
contact the mounting board just before entering the laminating rollers.
The machine will apply the mounting pressure as the substrate is run through.
Mounting "Two Step"
An alternate mounting method can be accomplished by sandwiching an image between a thermal top overlaminate
and a pressure sensitive type backing film. This laminated image is then mounted. This method is known as
"decaling".
Laminating:
1. Load a roll of Pressure Sensitive Backing film on the bottom mandrel and a roll of laminate on the top mandrel.
Set the roller lifts to full pressure. Thread and adjust the tension on both rolls as in "Loading Film" and "Tension".
2. Laminate the image face up as normal. The image is now ready for mounting.
Mounting:
1. Remove lamination film from top and bottom mandrels. Turn off the heat and allow the machine to cool.
2. Adjust roller lifts as described in step 3 in "one step" mounting section.
3. Place the image face down and peel back about 1" of the release liner along the leading edge. Adhere this edge
firmly to the leading edge of the mounting board.
4. Set the speed control to slow setting.Push the leading edge into the laminator. Momentarily turn the drive on until
the board is just caught by the rollers. Stop the rollers.
5. Flip the image up onto the top mandrel. Grasp the release liner and pull back several inches. Turn the drive
back on while grasping the release liner. The mounting board and the graphic will be pulled into the machine.
Gradually pull away the release liner. Do not allow the release liner to enter the rollers. If it does, reverse drive and
back out the mounting board far enough to release the liner. Continue until all of the release liner is removed and
the mounting board exits the machine.
Helpful Hints:
•
Once the final pressure has been set, it does not need to be reset until the thickness of the substrate is changed.
•
Roller pressure set too high may result in the substrate not feeding through the laminator.
Pressure set too low may result in bubbles, wrinkles or crescent shaped marks on the lamination.
•
Your mounting substrate should be several inches wider and longer than your image. This makes alignment less
critical when the mounting process begins. Final trimming can be easily accomplished.
•
When mounting/laminating thin foam boards, it is recommended to laminate the backside of the board as well as
the front. This will counter act the tendency of the foam board to bow.
16
USI • YOUR SOURCE FOR LAMINATION
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