Curled sheets are a common problem that every laminator operator encounters at some point. It's a frustrating waste of time and materials — something that no one wants to deal with. Fortunately, it's easily fixed. So in this video, Neil demonstrates how to adjust your laminator to prevent curled sheets, saving you time and minimizing wasted materials.
In this video, Neil uses the LAMpro Puma D28M, a double-sided laminator. But we've included a section for single-sided lamination to ensure that you're covered regardless of the laminator you're using.
In lamination, tension refers to how tightly or how loosely the film feeds off the roll into the machine.
If your supply roll tension is too loose, the film may wrinkle, or wrap around the roller, giving you a mess to clean up. If it's too tight, your sheets may curl, or the film may neck, making the sheets unusable. Necking happens when the film is stretched so tightly it pulls inwards at the edges.
So keeping consistent, even tension, as demonstrated by Neil in the video, ensures your sheets lay flat and look professional, without wasting time or materials. For single-sided lamination, a general rule of thumb is that your supply roll tension should be very minimal. In other words, just a touch tighter than freewheeling.
But that said,
- If your sheets are curling downwards, increase the settings on your decurler bar, and if needed, increase the tension on your supply roll.
- If your sheets are curling upwards, decrease the settings on your decurler bar, and if needed, decrease tension on your supply roll.
Double-sided lamination is slightly different.
- If your sheets are curling downwards, the tension on your bottom roll of laminate is too high. To fix this, loosen the bottom supply roll mandrel.
- If your sheets are curling upwards, the tension on the top roll of laminate is too high. To fix this, loosen the top supply roll mandrel.
And remember, a little bit of downward curl is better than any upward curl.
There's no magic tension setting that will work for every job. Factors like film material or thickness, job speed and paper stock all play a role in determining the right tension. Adjusting for these variables will help you get consistent, high quality results on every job.
If you're still having trouble with your sheets curling, feel free to contact our service team at [email protected] for personalized troubleshooting and advice.