Paper mask

[Chip Peterson]

Would someone please tell me how agressive is the "tack" of a medium tack laser masking paper? Is it strong enough to remove or damage a well bonded paper label? Is there a source for "low tack?

Thanks!

[Joe Pelonio]

Since I use it for vinyl lettering I always use transfer tape. That comes in high tack, which I use for many laser jobs, or medium which is actually pretty low and can go on paper without pulling it off. You can get it in various sizes at any sign supply, or talk to a local sign shop about buying a roll end. It comes in 100 yard rolls. I pay about $25 for 12" which works great for my laser work, though I normally use more of the 24" for vinyl.

[Scott Shepherd]

I have some low tack and it's low, low tack. Medium tack, as Joe mentioned, should work fine.

www.fellers.com (http://www.fellers.com) is a good catalog to have for vinyl supplies. You can get it from a local sign supply place if there is one in your town.

I've stuck it to a lot of things and I've never seen it peel anything off. I suspect the high tack might stand a small chance, but the medium or low tack shouldn't pull any paper off. I'll give it a try next time I'm in the office.

[Mark Winlund]

The usual problem with low tack is that youcant get it to stick properly to transfer vinyl. I doubt it would ever affect a paper label. It might pull off a post-it sticker! I have used it when applying vinyl to automotive glass.

Mark

[Kelly Bingham]

For a label I dont want destroyed, I will take a piece of white paper, cut it a bit bigger than your label - and then tape that to the item.

Good luck!

[Scott Shepherd]

I tried a piece of medium tack (TransferRite brand) on a packing slip that came with some material. You know, the very thin multi-page packing slips. I put it over the edge and then peeled it from the side, hoping it would tear the edge easily if it was stuck.

Nothing happened. Just came right off. No tears on the edge, no nothing.

[Darren Null]

There's some stuff that 3M make for cartographers who need to stick and peel off large sheets of overlay. In a spray can. People also used to use it for ACTUAL cutting 'n' pasting, in the days before computers, for knocking up photocopy magazines. It's sticky enough to hold down all the corners, but should leave paper labels standing. Can't remember the name of the stuff, except it's by 3M and they sold it in blue cans in the 80s and 90s.

[Dee Gallo]

Darren-

The stuff you are talking about is adhesive wax. I used to do a lot of pasteup, even after the advent of computers. You could use a wax machine, handheld waxer or spray and it comes in little tubes too, like kiddie gluesticks. It is repositionable forever and it does leave your original untouched. But it sounds like this problem is easily tackled by transfer tape (my fave) or even a bit of post-it if it's just a small thing. I like Kelly's low-tech answer too, very safe! Chip never mentioned whether he needs this for one little label or a bunch of them.

cheers, dee

[Mark Winlund]

Ah.. that brings back memories! I have a waxer,and about 25 lbs of wax. Haven't touched it in years.

Mark

[Darren Null]

The stuff you are talking about is adhesive wax.
Was it wax based? Do you know, I used gallons of the stuff, but never thought about how it worked. Ah, the callowness of youth. I do know that it stayed sticky for ages and you could peel and reposition for several days.

[Dee Gallo]

Yes, it is actually wax, only sticky. If you had a wax machine like Mark's, you would put a chunk of solid wax into a reservoir, wait for it to heat up and melt, then run your copy through where it would be coated with a thin layer of wax lines. Most people left them on all the time, since it takes a good half hour for the wax to melt and then you'd have to clean the fins and rollers before you could use it if it cooled off. Very old technology, by today's standards, but very functional!

[Darren Null]

I don't believe that the 3M stuff I was talking about was the same stuff.