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View Full Version : Printing stickers and laminating?



Dave271069
29-11-2013, 08:36 PM
i have a possibility of a regular order for Labels for protein shakes etc, ive been told if i can compete with the same quality they are getting now the order would be mine. after inspecting the said labels it felt that they all had been laminated. so what i want to know is if i cut out hundreds of stickers using a versacamm would they then have to be laminated afterwards and cut or does the vinyl rolls that get printed on come with a laminate feel to them, im guessing this one is for socialgiraffe and rogerc etc....whats your views on this guys?
Dave
ps, if a separate laminate and cutter is required how much would this cost?

Jason
29-11-2013, 10:12 PM
Hi Dave,

If they are laminated the procedure is print with reg marks, leave to gas off for 24 hours, apply laminate and then cut using reg marks to line up. Lots of different kinds of laminator available, hot and cold laminators as well as liquid laminate which can be sprayed or rolled on.


i have a possibility of a regular order for Labels for protein shakes etc, ive been told if i can compete with the same quality they are getting now the order would be mine. after inspecting the said labels it felt that they all had been laminated. so what i want to know is if i cut out hundreds of stickers using a versacamm would they then have to be laminated afterwards and cut or does the vinyl rolls that get printed on come with a laminate feel to them, im guessing this one is for socialgiraffe and rogerc etc....whats your views on this guys?
Dave
ps, if a separate laminate and cutter is required how much would this cost?

RogerC
29-11-2013, 11:08 PM
Dave, as Jason said laminating is an after print process and is not as simple or easy as one might think. You'll need a laminator, upwards of £1000 for something half decent and then there's the cost of laminate and the time taken to laminate and reprocess for cut on the Versacamm. You'll also find that even the experts have trouble getting a decent run of laminate to go on without bubbles or creases sometimes and that means wasted vinyl, inks and laminate which easily, and relatively deeply, eats into any profits. All this adds to cost which in many cases, in these days of everybody wanting things cheap, makes laminating (IMO) not worth the bother. I have a good quality cold laminator here and it is very rarely used.........expensive and too big to use as a paperweight.

IMO liquid or spray laminate is a waste of time, takes up a lot of space as you need to leave things out flat to dry.

Dave271069
29-11-2013, 11:35 PM
Thanks Guys, its something i will look into and maybe give them some examples of printed labels without the laminate on and see if it interest them, whilst speaking to them the other day they said they spend about £1000 on labels a month (and growing), if this is the case and they are happy with laminate free labels then it would pay for a versacamm for me...

Jason
29-11-2013, 11:45 PM
Hi Dave, I would firstly look into what quantity they use and what they are paying for their labels, as there becomes a point where a versacamm or other wide format printer can't compete against a dedicated label printer.

Jason
29-11-2013, 11:50 PM
Also how do you get the logic that if they spend £1000 a month on labels and you get this business then it will pay for versacamm, there current supplier might be working on a 5% profit margin.

socialgiraffe
30-11-2013, 11:16 AM
Personally I would not laminate, there is no need with Rolands or Mimaki's (UV printer) and I suspect your client thinks they are laminated when in actual fact they are simply a gloss sticker. Its been years since I have see a laminated sticker on something for retail as it just adds an unnecessary cost.

I am sure any of us could print a few samples for you to see.