{"id":4302,"date":"2021-09-03T11:58:53","date_gmt":"2021-09-03T16:58:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.far-from-normal.com\/?p=4302"},"modified":"2021-09-03T13:11:45","modified_gmt":"2021-09-03T18:11:45","slug":"laminating-tips-silvering","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.far-from-normal.com\/?p=4302","title":{"rendered":"LAMINATING TIPS – SILVERING"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Written by Jim Hingst, Former Nekoosa Team Member<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Have you ever seen silvery specs in a laminated print? This defect is called silvering. It\u2019s caused when tiny air bubbles are captured between the adhesive on an overlaminating film and the surface of a print.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Silvering is generally most noticeable in the dark shadow areas of a print and frequently occurs when laminating UV-curable inkjet prints. There is good reason for this, too. UV inks cure immediately, so there is no time for the ink to level out. Instead of a smooth finish on the print, UV inkjet prints have a rough, velvety texture.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Ideally, the adhesives on overlaminates should be formulated to flow into that textured surface of the print. If the adhesive flows out properly, you should not have silvering problems. One way to achieve good adhesive flow out is coating the overlaminating film with a heavier coat weight. With more mass, the adhesive will more readily flow into the recesses of the textured surface of the print.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Silvering is more prevalent with polycarbonate overlaminates used on UV printed graphics. Although the adhesive on these films is thicker, it is also harder. These harder adhesives will build to higher ultimate adhesion values, but they will not wet out the way a softer adhesive will.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How to Minimize Silvering<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pressure sensitive overlaminates need pressure so the adhesive on the film properly flows out and makes complete contact with the surface of the print. Inadequate adhesive wetting can result those troublesome silvery bubbles. The amount of pressure needed in applying a laminating film can vary from film to film. Nekoosa\u2019s polycarbonate overlaminates<\/a> generally require between 40 and 100psi of pressure. If air bubbles appear, possible solutions include:<\/p>\n\n\n\n