If you were put on the spot and had to answer the question, “What do overlaminates do,” you'd probably answer that overlaminate films are used to protect surfaces and graphic films. And you'd be right, but the area of lamination films has evolved into much more.
大部分人都会认为冷裱膜只有保护作用，但随着技术的不断发展，如今，冷裱膜技术能做的已经越来越多。
Car wraps, floor laminates, wall wraps and specialty laminates have all come into their own in the past decade. What was once a product that many considered an afterthought has become one of the hottest trending items in the sign and digital graphics industry.
车身覆盖、地板冷裱膜、墙面包裹冷裱膜技术在过去的十年得到了显著发展，曾一度成为当时标识以及数码图像喷印工业炙手可热的产品。
“The laminates, overall, have been a really very important part of the signage process because laminates are there to protect the ink, protect the graphic from any type of scratches,” says David Timmerman, regional technical specialist for the West Coast for Avery Dennison.
David Timmerman 是西海岸一家公司的区域技术专家，他认为冷裱膜技术是标识行业中非常重要的一部分，因为它能够保护油墨、图像远离任何形式的划痕。
Most makers of overlaminates make them in matte, gloss and luster finishes. Gloss is great for outdoor uses, like cars, but it might not be as good for wall graphics where people are trying to read a menu. Matte finishes work better in that instance, he says.“That's why we have the different finishes, so for different applications the end result is what the customer wants,” Timmerman says.
大多数冷裱膜的制造商都会制造哑光、高亮、高透的类型。高亮膜更适用于户外场景，比如汽车，但在墙面图像以及人们要阅读信息菜单上就不太适用了。反而哑光冷裱膜会更加适合。Timerman还认为，“有不同类型的产品类型就是为了更好地适应不同用户的需求。”
“The day they came out with inkjet, they had to come up with a protective layer to give that durability. It's been a fun industry because it constantly changes and you have the installers out there pushing the product to the limit,” he adds.Installers constantly question why laminates aren't more durable or don't last very long. Why can't they take a beating? It is these types of questions that drive innovation in the industry.
喷印产品一旦被生产出来，就需要在其表面立即覆盖上冷裱膜，以保证其耐用性。然而对于标识的安装者来讲，这样并不是最完美的方案，一个又一个的问题总是会出现，比如冷裱膜可不可以更加耐用或持续更长的时间，为什么冷裱膜不能拥有更好地耐久性。而正是这些一个又一个出现的需求，才使得行业能够不断的创新、升级。
Overlaminates are “The unsung hero. The one who doesn't get all the parades but is doing a lot of the work,” Timmerman says.Mark Elvester, senior technologist technical service for 3M in Minneapolis, Minnesota, one of the biggest innovators in the overlaminate space, says that the adhesives used on its overlaminate materials haven't changed much in the past 10 years. It is a permanent adhesive that is mostly made with environmentally friendly raw materials.
Timmerseman认为冷裱膜算得上是这个领域中的无名英雄，尽管它发挥着巨大作用但却并不被很多人熟知。Mark Elvester是冷裱膜领域最大的创新者之一，同时还为3M公司提供相关的技术服务。他标识过去十年来，由环保原生态材质制作的冷裱膜材料所组成的粘合剂，还没有发生过什么改变。
As far as its films go, they have changed slightly over the years. The biggest change is that its overlaminate went from being a PVC material to a different formulation that is more environmentally friendly.PVC is “not as environmentally friendly. It doesn't break down as nicely,” Elvester says.
不过，冷裱膜的材质已经从PVC向一些更为环保的材料或者材质在转变，Elvester认为PVC具有难以降解的特性，所以对环境的破坏是显而易见的。
In the past, overlaminates were mostly used to protect a finished graphic from scratches and weather. Now, overlaminates do so much more and the companies that manufacture them are coming up with new uses all the time.3M makes slip resistant and durable overlaminates for floor advertisements. It also makes graffiti-resistant overlaminate.
冷裱膜通常用来保护已经制作好的图形标识远离擦痕和天气的影响。然而现在冷裱膜也可以用来保护一些地面广告标识，它的适用范围不断扩大，并能很好地避免在冷裱膜上乱写乱画造成的损失。
“Most are a little more expensive than basic films but are a pretty inexpensive part of the overall manufactured graphic,” he says. “Most of the expense is coming up with the artwork to begin with. Materials are a smaller portion of that.”UV light poses the biggest danger to all graphics. It is hard on colors, Elvester says.The large-format printer manufacturers have come up with UV durable inks to help combat the damage caused by UV rays, but “without overlaminate to protect them, they don't fare very well out in the sun or outdoor graphics of any kind,” he says.
Timmerman的观点还表明了尽管冷裱膜的价格要比一般的膜要贵，但从图形标识制造的整个过程中所花费的经费来看，这只是很小的一部分。Elvester还补充道，紫外线对于图像来说会造成损害，所以大幅打印机的制造商也开始用一些耐用的油墨以减少紫外线的伤害。尽管这样，若没有冷裱膜的保护，不论是何种图像标识都难以得到最完美的呈现。
Matching materials
将冷裱膜用在最合适的地方
3M has a match component system. It has a warranty table that informs clients which films and overlaminate to use with what printers and inks. If clients stick to the company's recommendations, the items produced with those materials will have a two to seven-year warranty on them, depending on where they are placed.
3M公司有一套成份匹配系统，它会生成一张表格来告知客户冷裱膜应该搭配怎样的喷印机和油墨来使用，如果客户听取了这个建议，他们就会提供2至7年的保修，具体使用年限要看放置地点来定。
Car wraps have a shorter warranty period for films that are placed on the hood, trunk or roof of a vehicle because they take the brunt of the UV rays. If films are on the vertical surfaces of the vehicle, they have a much longer warranty, Elvester says.Arlon Graphics has both cast and calendered overlaminates. The calendered versions are more for short-term applications and the cast laminates will last five years or more.
Elvester说，如果要在汽车上覆盖冷裱膜，则在引擎盖、车顶上的保修期会短一些，主要是因为他们会被紫外线照射从而影响使用寿命。如果冷裱膜是在车门等这些垂直表面上，保修期将会长一点。Arlon Graphis公司兼具用浇铸工艺以及压制工艺打造的冷裱膜，分别适应短期以及五年以上的应用。
Kelly Kwo, technical service manager for Arlon Graphics in Placentia, California, says that where sign shops get into trouble with overlaminates is when they have a roll of cast or calendered overlaminate in stock and they use it on everything. Calendered laminates shrink differently than cast laminates so if you put a calendered laminate on a graphic that is expected to last five years or more there will be a problem.
Kelly Kwo是加州Arlon Graphics公司的技术经理，她认为大部分标识企业使用裱膜出现的问题，都是由于分不清浇铸或者压制膜使用导致的。然而这两种材质收缩的程度却不相同。本来可以使用五年或者更久的冷裱膜，因为这种使用问题，不得不提前被更换。
“If you use the right combination you won't have a problem down the road,” Kwo says.Like 3M, Arlon has overlaminates specifically designed to go with different versions of its digital printable films.“When you install anything with a base film by itself it is very weak. You always want to have an overlaminate on top to give it body. It makes the installation better,” she says.
Kelly还表示如果使用正确的组合方法来使用的话，根本不会出现使用问题，像3M这样的公司，对于每种使用场景都会有特殊的数码打印膜，但如果不分情况地只使用基本冷裱膜的话，就会导致使用时限会极大缩短。如果都用顶级的冷裱膜的话，安装者的操作难度就会大大降低。
Specialized overlaminates
那些独特的冷裱膜产品
Like some of its competitors, 3M has developed overlaminates that can change the look of the films underneath. It has brushed metal and carbon fiber overlaminates.“With these, you can take any material and make it look like a specially made panel out of brushed aluminum or carbon fiber panel for a car. It can make it look fancy like that,” he says. “They're looking at expanding that line. They are still in the process of deciding which different textures and what different items to add to it. Hopefully there will be some new announcements in the second quarter,” says Elvester.
3M公司像它的其它竞争对手一样也研发了车身贴，包括金属拉丝以及碳纤维膜，Elvrster说，“有了这些材质，就能够使车子看起来像是用金属拉丝或是碳纤维定做的一样拉风。我们决定继续扩大这个产业，只是目前还在考虑在这种技术中可以加入什么材质是它更加优秀。但愿能够在第二季度中有一些突破。”
Specialized film laminates are constantly changing, says Timmerman.“We are trying to keep up with the needs of the customer base, the end user base, as well as coming up with the next great idea,” he says.
这种技术也将随着客户和终端用户群的需求进行不断地革新，每一个出现的新的理念都会让产业发生改变。而Timerman也表示他们会努力适应这种变化。
Avery Dennison has an anti-graffiti film that has been out for some time. It also has an optically clear laminate for window perforated graphics.“Those window graphics, if not properly covered or protected, all those holes can fill up with dirt and grime and water when it rains. It can make for an unsatisfactory advertisement,” Timmerman says.
Avery Dennsion则具有生产防刮擦的车身贴的经验，同时他们也可以生产适用于车后窗的高透膜。而这些膜是使用穿孔乙烯这种材质制造的，而这种材质上会有上千个小孔，出于这种原因，如果覆盖的位置稍有差池，就会导致当下雨时，上面布满泥点和雨水。对于后车窗上会印有广告的用户，这样会使得广告的效果大打折扣。
One of the newest products released by Avery Dennison is a gloss urethane laminate that protects prints from the harsh environment outside. This product does a great job in protecting surfaces that are in direct sunlight, particularly the roof, hood and trunk of a vehicle.
Avery Dennsion最近开发的产品是高亮聚氨酯膜，它的特性是用来保护车身上的图案免遭恶劣环境的影响。对于那些经常暴露在阳光直射下车顶、发动机罩以及后备箱来说，这种膜是非常有效的。
Another new laminate is Avery Dennison's sparkle laminate, which puts ultra-metallic flake inside the laminate.It adds sparkle to vehicle wraps or flat wall applications.
Avery Dennison还有一种新产品是高闪膜，由于在材质中加入了超金属薄片，它能够使得车身贴或者在一些墙面上的应用看起来更加闪耀。
“Anytime the light hits that sparkle, either a beam of headlight or sunlight, it really takes your eyes to it. It is not only to provide protection but adds sparkle effect to your graphic,” Timmerman says. Customers are using it on boats, wave runners, cars and motorcycles because they like the added sparkle it gives off from the reflection of the water or the sun.
Timmerman表示不管是阳光还是车头灯照射在这个膜上的时候，它闪耀的图案都会吸引你的目光。它不仅仅能够提供保护效果而且可以让车的造型更夺目。而大部分客户都会将它使用在船、汽艇、汽车以及摩托车上，这样就使得他们的装备无论在哪里都足够吸引他人的目光。
Ryan Scislowicz, manager of business development and marketing at KPMF USA Inc. in Lake Orion, Mich., says that his company was a pioneer in the overlaminate space. It launched its Starlight Overlaminates in 2012, which were metallic flake laminates in gloss or matte in three different colors.
Ryan Scislowicz是美国KPMF公司的市场发展部经理，他的公司是最早的冷裱膜领域的开拓者。2012年，他们发布了他们的星光系列冷裱膜，该系列中加入了三种颜色的金属闪光材质。
“They enhance digital print films,” he says. The launch was in Europe and that market didn't appreciate them as much as the U.S. market did when the company launched operations here in 2014.“When we launched our operation over here, we put a Starlight laminate on a color change film. It drove the wrappers absolutely crazy. They said, ‘what is this color? We've been trying to make custom colors forever,’” he says with a laugh.
然而当他们去开拓欧洲市场时，却没有获得在美国市场相同的成功。Ryan Scislowicz认为主要是认为受到了来自数码打印膜的竞争压力。他笑着说“当我们在这里推广我们的的闪亮膜之时，他们都不解这到底是一种什么颜色，我们一直在尝试让我们的客户能够接纳并且能够永久使用我们的产品。”
KPMF has numerous color options with its laminates, which give customers an opportunity to create a unique color. It recently added silver and copper laminates.
“There are a lot of unique effects we are working on. We are always trying to be an innovator and stay ahead of the game,” he says.
KPMF公司拥有大量不同颜色的膜以供客户选择，这样能够使客户创造出一种属于他们的独一无二的色彩。最近，他们也把一些银质或铜质的冷裱膜加入了自己的产品线。他们的公司也将不断创新，去创造出一些独一无二的产品，以使得在这个领域不断保持着自己的优势，
Specialty laminates are currently KPMF's most popular product.“Now that these options are out there and the norm, I imagine people would come up with more and more. I don't know what will be next,” Scislowicz says.Wrappers in particular are into mixing and matching colors with laminates. The possibilities are endless, he says.
KPMF公司的这种独具自身风格的冷裱膜是目前最受欢迎的产品。Scislowicz表示现在有越来越多的不同往常的产品出现，而客户的需求也将越来越多，对于接下来市场上会出现怎样的产品，而哪种产品将受到人们的追捧，他也模棱两可。而那些尤其喜欢使用固定颜色或是混合颜色搭配的冷裱膜的产品类型也会越来越多。
And while printable films and laminates are used in numerous industries, including retail, restaurants, billboards and point of purchase displays, KPMF likes to focus on the vehicle market. Eighty percent of the company's business comes from companies that wrap cars.
虽然可印刷薄膜和冷裱膜的使用在许多行业，包括零售、餐饮、广告、购买点陈列，KPMF公司更喜欢专注于汽车市场，因为他们百分之八十的业务都自于需要车身贴业务的公司。
“As long as we can continue to make a profit and do as well as we do, we don't need to branch out as much. We can stay focused and keep being the best at what we do,” Scislowicz adds.
Scislowicz 还补充道，“只要我们公司能够继续盈利并且在这个领域做得足够出色，那么我们也就不用去扩大我们的产品类型以适应种类繁多的市场。我们应该着眼现在，专注于车身贴领域，并使我们目前的产品变得更加优秀。”
