rollers and create a world-class wraparound. This type of wraparound is difficult to clear because the film adheres to the roller and to itself for the entire length of the accumulated film on the roller. It’s best to clear this right away, before the adhesive hardens. Follow the steps above to clear.

Solution: To avoid this problem, stop the laminator before either roll runs out, cut the webs of film, and remove the two near-empty rolls of film and then rethread new rolls. When putting film on a laminator, always use two rolls of matched length and width.

Experienced users may leave the pieces of film remaining over the shoes and in the rollers to help thread the new film. When the machine is warm, the ends of the new rolls can be easily tacked to the already threaded pieces because the adhesive layer facing outwards will be sticky. Be careful not to burn yourself on the heat shoes.

Problem: Film is not properly adhered or starts to come off sometime after lamination.

Solution: Unless there is something wrong with the film, this problem comes from film being run at too low a temperature. Check the heat setting on the laminator. If the film is not sticking to the item, it is likely that more heat is required.

If you are using 1.5mil film, this problem can occur if you are running the machine too slowly. Because 1.5 mil film is thin and therefore loses heat easily, it can cool off too much between the heat shoes and the roller nip if it is run too slowly.

If you are running thicker films, you may have the problem if you are going to fast. In this case, the thicker film may not have enough time on the heat shoes to reach its adhesive melt temperature. Thicker films may be run at lower speeds with no problem.

When laminating posters or other thicker material with 1.5 mil film, the paper itself can absorb enough of the heat from the film to drop the adhesive below its melt temperature. The film may start to come off immediately or it may start to fall off after a few days.

The solution here is to run the work at a higher temperature. About 320°F to 240°F will usually do the job.

Sometimes you may see film detach from an item along one edge (the edge that was put in first). This happens when the material is put all the way into the nip before the machine is started. The area of film between the shoes and the nip can cool off too much while the machine is idle. The adhesive may not be hot enough to stick.

The way to prevent this is to let a few inches of film go through before putting in sheets to be laminated. This serves other purposes, besides ensuring the front edge of the piece will be properly sealed. It gives the machine a chance to take up the slack that develops in the film whenever the machine is stopped, and it prevents the following problem as well.