Production laminating — is hot or cold press faster?
A laminator looks for time-saving pressing techniques. June 14, 2000 Q. I’ve been thinking of ways to speed up my laminating department and was wondering what other people are doing? The hot press sounds good, but only doing one sheet at a time seems like a hassle. That said, waiting for the cold press doesn’t sound so great. I had a salesman in the other day and he was telling me about a new white glue guys are using, all they are doing is applying the glue with a spreader and then pinch rolling the sheets? Sounds kind of iffy to me. It is important to know the substrate and overlay material. HPL works well in a pinch roller, veneer does not. The way I see shops work the pressing problem is like this: Hot presses work on pressure and heat. The heat makes the glue work faster, so the press time is shorter. One panel at a time, press 3 to 5 minutes, and let set for 4 to 6 hours; then it’s ready to use. Cold presses works on pressure. The cold press is meant to get maximum pressure for a
