When you’re in the sign business, the quality of your finished product matters. Customers expect their signs, graphics, decals, and vehicle graphics to look great when they leave your shop—and to continue looking great after they have been installed.
While much of the attention goes toward choosing the right vinyl and printer, one product that can have an equally important impact on the finished job is overlaminate.
What Can Overlaminate Do?
Overlaminate is a clear film applied over printed vinyl or other graphic media. Its primary purpose is to protect the underlying graphic from the conditions it will encounter after installation.
Printed graphics can be exposed to sunlight, moisture, dirt, road debris, chemicals, abrasion, and repeated handling. Without protection, these factors can gradually affect the appearance and performance of a graphic.
An appropriate overlaminate can provide protection against many of these everyday challenges. Depending on the product selected, an overlaminate can help protect graphics from UV exposure, weather, abrasion, and general wear while also providing the desired finish.
For a sign shop, that extra layer can make a significant difference in the longevity and appearance of a finished project.
Protecting Your Printed Graphics
Digital printing has become a standard part of many sign shops. Wide-format printers make it possible to produce colorful, detailed graphics for everything from banners and wall graphics to fleet graphics and promotional signage. However, printing a graphic is only part of the process.
The printed surface still needs to withstand its intended environment. A graphic installed outdoors may be exposed to months or years of sunlight and changing weather conditions. Vehicle graphics face an even more demanding environment, including road grime, car washes, rain, temperature changes, and physical abrasion.
Using an appropriate overlaminate gives sign professionals another level of protection between the graphic and the outside world.
This is particularly important when the customer expects the graphic to maintain its appearance for an extended period. A properly laminated graphic can help protect the investment the customer has made in their signage.
Choosing the Right Finish
One advantage of offering different overlaminate options is the ability to control the appearance of the finished graphic.
Depending on the application, a sign professional may want a glossy, matte, or specialty finish. A gloss laminate can enhance the appearance of colors and provide a bright, polished look. Matte finishes can reduce glare and create a more subdued appearance that may be appropriate for certain signs, displays, and interior graphics.
The finish you choose should complement the graphic and its intended environment. For example, a highly reflective surface may not be ideal for every wall graphic or display. Likewise, a customer looking for a vibrant, high-impact appearance may prefer the look of a gloss finish.
Having multiple Arlon overlaminate options available allows a sign shop to match the laminate to the project instead of treating every application the same way.
Overlaminate for Vehicle Graphics
Vehicle graphics are one area where selecting the appropriate laminate is especially important. A vehicle wrap or printed vehicle graphic is constantly exposed to the elements. Sunlight, rain, dirt, road salt, automatic car washes, and frequent washing can all contribute to wear. The graphic also has to withstand the normal movement and use associated with a vehicle.
Using a compatible overlaminate designed for the application can help protect the printed graphic and maintain its appearance. It can also provide additional protection against scratching and everyday abrasion.
For sign shops producing vehicle graphics, overlaminate should therefore be considered part of the overall system—not simply an optional add-on. When quoting a vehicle graphic project, make sure the customer understands that the laminate is contributing to the durability and finished appearance of the job.
Improving the Finished Appearance
Protection isn't the only reason to laminate a graphic. Overlaminate can also change the way the finished product looks and feels. A quality laminate can give a graphic a more finished, professional appearance while providing a consistent surface.
For sign professionals, presentation is important. A customer may not know the technical difference between a laminated and unlaminated graphic, but they will notice when a finished sign looks sharp and professionally produced.
The laminate can also help create a consistent finish across the entire graphic. This is particularly useful for printed graphics where the appearance of the media itself may not provide the desired final look.
Don't Forget Application Technique
Even the best overlaminate requires proper handling and application. Cleanliness is critical. Dust, dirt, debris, and contaminants trapped between the printed graphic and laminate can create bubbles, imperfections, or visible defects.
Allow printed graphics to dry and outgas appropriately according to the printer ink and media manufacturer's recommendations before laminating. Applying laminate too soon can potentially cause problems with adhesion, silvering, or graphic appearance.
Proper tension is also important when laminating. Too much or too little tension can contribute to wrinkles, tunneling, or other application problems.
Your laminator should be properly adjusted for the specific combination of vinyl, ink, and laminate being used. Temperature, pressure, speed, and roller settings can all affect the finished result. Taking the time to dial in your equipment can reduce waste and improve consistency.
Matching Laminate to the Application
One of the biggest mistakes a sign professional can make is treating overlaminate as a one-size-fits-all product.
The correct laminate depends on the job.
Consider questions such as: Will the graphic be installed indoors or outdoors? Will it be exposed to direct sunlight? Is it going on a personal or business vehicle? Will it experience heavy handling or abrasion? Does the customer want a gloss or matte appearance? How long does the customer expect the graphic to last? Is the laminate compatible with the selected vinyl and ink system?
Answering these questions before production can help you select an appropriate Arlon overlaminate for the project.
Don't Let Laminate Become an Afterthought
In a competitive sign industry, customers are looking for quality and value. Producing a graphic that looks great on installation day is important, but professional sign makers also need to consider how that graphic will perform after it leaves the shop. That is where overlaminate becomes an important part of the production process.
Arlon offers sign professionals overlaminate solutions that can help protect graphics while providing the appearance and finish appropriate for the application. When combined with compatible vinyl, ink, and proper application techniques, overlaminate can be an important component of a complete graphics system. For sign shops, the takeaway is simple:
Don't think of overlaminate as an extra step. Think of it as part of the finished product.
The right combination of printable vinyl, ink, and overlaminate can help you produce graphics that not only look professional when they leave your shop but are designed to stand up to the environment in which they will be used.
For your customers, that can mean better-looking graphics and greater confidence in the products they're purchasing. For your sign business, it means another opportunity to deliver the quality workmanship that keeps customers coming back.
Arlon overlaminate is an industry favorite. Arlon's line of overlaminate vinyls are designed to work with a variety of printed and unprinted graphics, providing an additional layer of protection while helping extend the life and appearance of the finished product. For sign professionals, using the appropriate overlaminate can be an important part of producing durable, professional-quality graphics.
