A laminator or laminating machine can help keep those documents or photos safe and protected for years of use. The best-known uses for lamination are ID cards and restaurant menus. However, whenever you have flat materials you need to protect, enhance or reuse, then lamination can be the way to go.
A laminator is a good investment if you have many important documents that must be protected from dust, damp and damage, but also need to be handled frequently. Lamination also stiffens the material, making it excellent for creating table top displays and hanging posters/signs.
A laminator can help you keep important paper cards from ripping or getting wet. Some like to keep old newspaper clips and school draws or cards from the kids. Keep things from aging and be able to pull them out anytime you want to go down memory lane. Laminate those photos and such then make a scrapbook out of them later. You can do some many things with a laminator. Storing them is easy and you don't have to worry about the papers or photos turning yellow after they have been in boxes.
Laminators have been used to seal historical documents in plastic to protect them from ageing. Such lamination is more common with documents from 150 to 250 years ago, as older documents are too fragile for lamination, and younger documents are usually already effectively filed safely
There are two types of laminator. Pouch laminators and roll laminators (which uses sheets or rolls of plastic to laminate large documents). Lamination pouches can be supplied in a range of sizes. Rolls of plastic sheeting are also available for roll laminators
Pouch laminators are commonly seen in schools, homes, churches, restaurants and other businesses for laminating photographs, business cards, photo IDs, menus and more.
You can use pouch laminators for your cards or photos. These fit in your purse or wallet with ease or store them. If you have bigger jobs then you will need a machine to do the job. They are easy and fast to use. Whether you need it for school work, office work, or just those things at home. You can benefit from having one should you need it.
Laminating is a low cost way to protect and preserve everything from ID cards to restaurant menus. Any flat material, documents, photographs, parking passes, etc. that you need to protect from abrasion, moisture, fingerprints and wear and tear from handling can be protected by laminating it.
It doesn't take long to laminate those photos or papers of your kids. Just a few moments that can last you a lifetime and let you use them over and over again. Schools love having thing laminated for they are easy to wipe off and the kids can use them again and again.
Lamination also improves the appearance of your materials in a variety of ways. For example, laminating a brochure deepers and brightens colors. It enhances contrast. Lamination gives your materials a finished, professional look of quality. Materials that are laminated just look better
Wide format Laminating: Lamination is an important component of big colour because of the cost factors associated with wide format printing. Wide format printing is a substantial investment. These prints are not expendable and need to have an extended lifetime to justify the costs. Lamination protects, enhances and extends the life of the print.
What is Roll Laminating Film?
When you’re on a roll, you don’t want to stop or slow down! Laminating film lets you run several documents through your laminator without needing to stop the machine. But what exactly is the film made out of?
Let’s get technical. Laminating film is made of a base film, such as polyester or PVC, and is then coated with an adhesive. Adhesives can be activated either by thermal heat or by high-pressure. This coated film is wound around a cardboard core, which is loaded into your roll laminator.
Generally, roll laminators use sets of two rolls – one on top and one on bottom. Your documents are fed in between these two rolls and the laminator uses heat and/or pressure to activate the adhesive, creating your laminated document.
Choosing the Right Laminating Film
Roll films can cover a wide variety of projects. Whether you’re laminating odd sized documents, like alphabet letters, or wide graphics, such as a window sign, there's the right film for you.
When selecting roll film, first think about the size of your laminator. Roll widths can vary between 12 inches and 64 inches. Make sure the size will fit in your machine.
Next, consider how flexible you want your laminated items to be. Mil thickness can range from 1.5 mil up to 10 mil. The higher the mil number, the more rigid your final document will become.
Finally, think about the finish on your laminated documents. Do you want glossy or matte items? Should they have a luster or textured quality? These decisions will help guide you through selecting the best film for your project.
Standard vs Low Temp Film
NAP I is standard type laminating film that is activated at 290F, while NAP II is a low temp film that activates at 230F. Learn more about the differences and the uses for each film type on our laminating film comparison page.
Thermal vs Pressure-Sensitive Film
Create quality results with either thermal or pressure-sensitive film. Both can form lasting protective bonds around your documents. The main differences depend on the document you want to laminate and the type of roll laminator you are using. Some documents may be sensitive to heat, which would make pressure-sensitive lamination your best choice, while some laminators may only support one type of film.
