You know you want it – to bring all your wide-format mounting, laminating and encapsulation in-house that is. In today’s competitive market, it’s a route that is likely to leave you feeling all loved-up - a glance at your post-investment profit account should do it. Kit is becoming cheaper by the day, consumables are opening new niche avenues of a regular basis, and demand for well-finished wide-format output continues to climb. So if you’re ready to take the plunge, here’s a few pointers from some of the industry’s key suppliers.

Mike Budd: Identifies main trend as “price, price, price”.

First, lets talk money. Mick Budd, key accounts manager at Seal Graphics is only too happy to oblige as he sees it the current main trends in wide-format print finishing are “price, price and price!” For which read, falling kit prices and good margins on a finished print. As he points out, “the increasing sophistication and ease-of-use of equipment has brought more players onto the field and buyers know they can shop around for their requirements.”

Interestingly, Colourgen, Seal’s UK distributor, has recently slashed 25% from the price of the ProSeal 25 desktop laminator, bringing it down to a mere £295, a cost effective option for users of wide-format desktop printers, such as the Epson Stylus Pro 4800.

Geil Klinkers: Installing laminating systems improves profit.

But it’s not all about falling kit prices. Giel Klinkers, European marketing manager for GBC believes that increasing profit margins is the key reason for buying a wide-format laminator: “More and more printers realise that the added-value is in the finishing and are taking the decision to install laminating systems to increase their profit margins and remain competitive,” he says. “Plus, customers are no longer prepared to wait for a couple of days while the finishing/laminating is out-sourced.

“For printers looking to differentiate themselves from the competition today’s systems offer creative and innovative applications. Times have changed - in the past laminating was laminating – mainly a way to protect print. Today, with the extensive range of films and systems available, the wide variety of possible applications is amazing.”

System ease of use and modularity must also be added to the ‘why should I get into wide-format finishing now?’ tick list. For example, Klinkers points to the Signmaker range, which are part of the growing number of space-saving tabletop options. “Also our systems can be bi-directional which is ideal for the high street and print-for-pay sector. With thermal lamination the rollers are heated to 120°C. If a customer requires a very small job, such as a couple of posters, there is no need to cool both rollers down. The laminating system can continue with the thermal job on one roller and the other job can be mounted from the back without cooling off the main rollers and taking off the hot films, which means you can instantly restart encapsulation after mounting. This saves time and offers on-demand lamination.”

Cassie Marvin of Vivid sums up the reasons for the growth of in-house wide-format finishing: “The continual growth we are seeing in laminating is down to the knock on effect of large format printers becoming cheaper. More and more can afford to buy printers for a growing mix of applications - from fine art through to general exhibition and signs for indoor and outdoor usage. More companies are also now recognising the profit potential of bringing print finishing in-house. Outsourcing can not only mean loosing valuable time and profit but also control over a job, key factors which are critical in being able to react to on-demand print.

Pulling power    Suppliers are beginning to realise that just selling kit/consumables is not going to net them as much business as could helping you realise your best return on investment. So shop around and see what help you can get beyond a ‘how it works’ manual. Here’s two options to get you thinking… Seal Graphics’ stated objective is to “go the extra mile” when supporting its distributors and customers. Following its ‘Seal Essentials’ toolkit launched last year, more recently, the company has put together its ‘Liquid Essentials’ programme to help you understand the benefits that can be derived from liquid lamination. Within the pack is new literature, warranty certificates, machine presentations and technical data. But what’s more there’s a CD containing an electronic ROI calculator and financial information like liquid coverage models. Plus there are samples swatches of liquid laminates which enable you to clearly see the applications that can be met and the levels of protection that can be produced. If you think it will be helpful also ask for a trip to the Seal Academy – a purpose-built training facility that houses every Seal laminator and consumable supplied by the company for hands-on testing. GBC Professional has produced what it has called the Applications Guide to help you develop new ideas using the variety of laminating films now available. It demonstrates the increasing number of applications possible. For instance, GBC has launched the Falcon 3064WF professional hot laminating system designed to laminate and mount graphics up to 1.6m wide for trade show graphics and POP displays in a production environment. The 3064WF works with GBC’s new Octiva lo-melt textured satin and Octiva lo-melt Light Barrier films designed to cut glare and reflections while adding depth to the image in brightly lit spaces.

The 2080WF is a professional cold system designed to laminate film up to 2m wide for both rigid and flexible displays. Working with GBC Arctic Pressure sensitive, Arctic Mounting and Accushield films, it can manipulating extra wide graphics for a number of applications including wall and floor graphics as well as signage and free standing displays.

With the Falcon 3064WF you get a laminating width of 64in, and it can run cold and thermal laminating jobs consecutively. The control panel swivels to either side of the unit for bidirectional operation.

New this year is Seal Graphics’ AquaSeal 72UV liquid laminator that uses a specially developed UV-curable liquid laminate for high-volume output of flatbed prints and signs.

The liquid formulation is instantly cured when it passes under the in-built ultra-violet lamp to provide immediate protection to output from inkjet, electrostatic, photographic and dye-sublimation printers, which can then be subjected to further processing as required. If a second coat is desirable, perhaps for banners or posters in a harsh environment, this can be applied immediately.

Seal claims the AS72UV requires no special training. The operator simply feeds in the image which is then coated and dried in seconds. It will be of particular benefit on inkjet-produced images because the liquid laminate will not react with the inks, so that offsetting is eliminated. And the company says signmakers printing onto foamex will find that a first coat of liquid laminate will provide a smooth surface onto which inks will adhere better than the original material.