The only regular maintenance that is usually
required for school laminators is periodic cleanings of the heat
rollers.However, there are a few things to
keep in mind before you start cleaning.
The only regular maintenance that is usually
required for school laminators is periodic cleanings of the heat
rollers. Even if you are very careful to not allow the adhesive side of
the laminating film to come in contact with your rollers, there will
still be some adhesive deposited onto the rollers along the edge of the
film. Properly aligning your film on the laminator will help to reduce
these deposits but will not completely eliminate them. Cleaning these
deposits off is not that difficult. However, there are a few things to
keep in mind before you start cleaning.
You should
NEVER use a sharp or pointed object to clean your machine. In fact it
is unwise to use any type of sharp objects around your rollers. These
rollers cost hundreds of dollars each to replace and can be easily
ruined if they are cut or gouged with a sharp object
Hardened
adhesive deposits can cause damage to the rollers. While cleaning it is
best to slowly rotate the shaft at the slowest speed possible. It is
also best not to allow adhesive build up to go too long without
cleaning. Fresh layers will be much easier to remove than older ones.
Do
NOT laminate glitter or metallic items. Glitter can get imbedded into
the roller making it ineffective and unable to transfer heat. Also, do
not attempt to run items with a great deal of texture or 3d objects
through your machine such as leaves, sticks, branches, plastic,
mosaics, wood, or other craft projects. That is an excellent way to
ruin the machine.
If you have some buildup on your laminator rolls, here is how to get it off...
Remove the film completely from the laminator like you
were preparing to load new film. In fact since the film has to be off
for cleaning you may want to consider cleaning the rollers when you go
to change the film. Perhaps every two or three sets or rolls depending
on your usage.
Preheat the laminator until the ready light
comes on signaling that the laminator is hot. Remember that since you
are cleaning the machine while it is hot you will need to be extremely
careful not to burn your hands.
Rub the top and bottom rollers
with a 3M Scotch-Brite green scrubbing pad (Never use metal scrubbing
pads). Keep the rollers moving on the slowest possible speed and
thoroughly scrub both rollers until all the adhesive residue is removed
(this can take a little bit of patience and elbow grease). If your
laminator does not allow you to move the shafts while the heat shield
is up you may need to clean one area and then put the heat shield down
before forwarding the machine to another unclean portion.
After
the rollers are completely cleaned you can install a new set of
laminating rolls onto the machine, replace the feed table and you will
be ready to laminate your next set of documents.
Depending on how much you use your machine and how much adhesive is
being deposited onto your rollers you should probably clean your
laminator once every three to six months. If by chance you accidently
wrap film around the rollers or load a set of film backwards, you will
need to follow these cleaning procedures before you are able laminate
any other documents
Jeff McRitchie is the designer and
Director of Marketing for MyBinding.com.
He has written over 100 articles on laminators,
binding machines, laminating
supplies,binding supplies,binding covers,paper handling
equipments,binders,index tabs, and shredders.
