Laminating Photopolymer

[Alan Sailer]

I have made five holograms so far and things getting better. I expanded the beam more and have doubled the exposure time so that nearly
all the film is getting exposed. Bubbles/dust are the remaining issue.

I ordered a cheap ionizing gun to see if that helps. I'd like to find a cheap laminator and try that also. I know people are using these but I would like to find a part number to use as a starting point. My glass is small, about 12cm square and is about 3mm thick.

I did a search on laminating on the forum but found no suggested models.

Thanks for any help.

Cheers.

[Joe Farina]

https://www.ebay.com/itm/226395402029?_ ... R_z_kPzRZA

[Alan Sailer]

Thanks. I bought one. I also found an old powered laminator that I want to try (after disabling the heater).

I am worried about cranking a laminator while trying un-peel and feed in the film...only have two hands.

Cheers.

[Joe Farina]

It's not difficult. This is the laminator I use, and it works well. One thing which may be helpful is to attach it to a solid support, so you don't have to worry about it sliding around while doing the cranking. I removed the bottom piece of metal and screwed it down to a wooden board, varnished with shellac (to make dust removal easier). When the laminator is not in use (I attach film in a laminar flow area), I keep it covered with plastic wrap (a box or enclosure also works fine) to keep the dust off. Dust is always a concern. The laminating should be done in an area which has a minimal amount of dust floating around. Bubbles are usually a much more noticeable problem, and they should be mostly eliminated (or at least greatly reduced) with this laminator and a little practice.

[Alan Sailer]

Thanks much. I'm sure all this stuff will help reduce bubbles/dust. I look forward to finding how much...

Cheers.

[BobH]

I use an old pouch laminator I mentioned here a long time ago. Still works. The key to no bubbles is clean glass! Use a high intensity lamp to examine the plates and you'll see the problem. If you don't have HEPA filtered air, clean the glass well, store it in a clean box, and mount the film quickly. A good laminator does nothing for a dirty plate.

I use a motor driven one with a carrier sheet to support the glass plates I mount the film onto. A hinge is made for the film with scotch tape, polymer side down. I hold the film up with one hand, peel the cover sheet with the other hand and throw it away, then start the motor. It's nice to have the automatic feed.

[Alan Sailer]

So I finally tried several methods to get better lamination. A small homemade laminar
flow hood (using a HEPA filter). A ionizing blow gun and a hand cranked two roller laminator.

This combination made for much better results. Several of the films had no bubbles. My
garage is a dusty mess so expecting perfection is a fools goal. But great improvement.

I bought a powered laminator but I will not use it. The ability to control the speed with the hand
laminator was very useful. The one problem I found difficult to deal with was the tape
I used to peel off the film. It tried to stick to everything and it was a pain.

Cheers.

[Joe Farina]

Good, thanks for the update. What kind of ionizing blow gun did you use? Does it need a separate compressor? By the way, regarding dust detection on a glass surface, I've found that shining a UV LED flashlight at a glancing angle to the plate (in the dark) will show up dust particles very clearly.

[Alan Sailer]

This is the ionizer.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/256577533352

Is the UV light safe for photopolymer? Or do you just keep it away from the film?

Cheers.

[Joe Farina]

Thanks for the link. I didn't know UV was involved. I would keep UV light well away from any kind of unexposed film (silver, polymer, or DCG).