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Seal Graphics AquaSeal 1600 liquid lamination for signage that uses IR infrared drying

You can do flood coating with liquid laminators from Seal and many other companies. Most of these are for solvent-based inks and use IR (infrared) heating to dry the liquid laminate. But increasingly the trend is to use UV-curing to dry the laminate.

With all the new models available at ISA and FESPA 2010, FLAAR is offering personalized consulting at each trade show. You can walk-the-floor with the Senior Editor of FLAAR and get his comments on any and all printers, inks, RIP software, color management, substrates, applications, etc. So if you wish to learn about the difference between combo, hybrid, and dedicated UV printers, how latex ink compares, about textile printers, etc. contact FLAAR to obtain consulting. You can also get consulting before ISA or FESPA anywhere in the world: Dr Hellmuth was in Dubai and India last week as consultant, and will be in Saudi Arabia, Singapore, and China as consultant in the next two months. He was consulting in Korea and London in late 2009.

AquaSeal 60UV and 80UV Pro Liquid laminators that use UV-curing

PAT Technology Systems of Quebec had a UV-cured liquid laminator about three years ago, the Varstar sheet-fed UC coater, but PAT went out of business. The PAT system used Xaar 1001 printheads. Purex took over some aspects of PAT such as their air cleaning units.

The Gandinnovations Jeti Cyclone liquid laminator UV 60 or UV 80 sold by Gandinnovations is a bit iffy since Gandinnovations declared bankruptcy on May 21, 2009. Besides, the identical laminator, only in a different color, is the AquaSeal 60UV or 80UV Pro Liquid laminators from Seal Graphics. The H & H Cyclone UV liquid laminator is the same under another OEM brand. Alliance Technology is often listed as the origin of the Cyclone UV liquid laminator. Drytac bought Alliance Technology in 2008.

PR releases tout a GBC 8500HS Cyclone, but this machine is conspicuously absent from the GBC corporate web site.

I would recommend you go directly to the source, namely the Drytac VersaCoater XL UV, since this is where Jim Tatum works, the engineer and lamination specialist who is well versed in UV-curing of liquid laminates.

Liquid lamination for photographs and fine art giclee

If you wish to learn about liquid lamination for giclee, fine art photography, and décor prints, please check out our forthcoming pages on

• Lumina liquid lamination (upcoming on our fine art giclee photo site)
• Neschen liquid lamination (upcoming on our digital photo site)

Liquid lamination for photographic labs and fine art giclee ateliers tends to be desktop systems, spray-on top coating, dipping, paint-on liquid lamination or other methods that are for occasional medium-sized prints. Liquid lamination for signage are the larger Drytac, Seal, GBC, and other systems.

Finishing (cutting, trimming, and laminating) are all still part of the workflow

Every new ink works hard to say that it does not need lamination. But floor graphics, vehicle graphics and many materials simply do better with lamination. For UV printers, lamination may get rid of bi-directional (lawnmower) curing banding. For UV prints lamination can add gloss (since some brands of UV inks produce primarily a matte surface appearance).

Be wary of lamination companies that make unrealistic claims of longevity

Remember to be dubious of potentially misleading claims of durability of decades or longer. Such ridiculous claims are usually in desperation.

I sometimes wonder why such companies never show up in public at a major trade show. It is always best to stay with companies that exhibit at major trade shows in Europe and the US. If a company is not big enough to exhibit then I would question other aspects of their products.

Drytac, Seal, GBC, Daige, LEDCO, CODA, Royal Sovereign and the lamination companies that I know from SGIA, ISA, FESPA Digital, and DRUPA are the companies that I trust.

 

 

First posted May 25, 2009.