How To Choose The Right Laminating Film and Supplies

This information is designed to help you choose the best laminating pouches and laminating film for your specific needs. Review this information - then when you are ready to purchase, visit our laminating supplies to make your selection.

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Laminating pouches come pre-cut and are available in many sizes allowing you to easily laminate popular items such as photos, luggage tags, letters, menus and signs. Pouch laminators are sized based on their maximum laminating width, also known as the throat size of the laminator. Therefore, the shortest side of the laminating pouch should not exceed the throat size of your laminator. See pouch selection.

As their name implies, roll laminators use rolls of laminating film instead of pre-cut sheets. The rolls come in fixed widths and the width of the roll of film cannot exceed the width of the rollers on your laminator. Choosing the right size laminating film roll is a little trickier than just knowing the maximum laminating width of your laminator, you also need to know the diameter of the rollers on your laminator; this diameter corresponds to the "core size" of the laminating film roll. Most personal and school-use laminators use laminating film with a 1" core size; while larger production laminators often use film with a 2.25" or 3" core size (please refer to your owner's manual for laminator specifications). See Laminating Film Selection.

The question to ask is "How much exposure and/or handling will the laminated material receive?" The thickness of the film has a direct relationship to the rigidity of the finished product and to the degree of protection that the lamination process provides:

1.5 mil to 3 mil film
Preserves and protects important documents from spills, wear and tear and makes clean up of smears and smudges a breeze. Provides a light covering that allows for a lot of flexibility in the finished product; minimal rigidity. Used extensively by schools.

5 mil film
Provides long-term protection from water, wind, or sun; prevents papers from creasing and tearing. Medium weight coverage has a good degree of rigidity but still has some flexibility. This mil is ideal for photos and business cards.

7 mil to 10 mil film
Heavy weight coverage that provides maximum rigidity and maximum protection. Great for menus, luggage tags, ID cards and items that are handled on a regular basis. Standard thickness for laminating pouches are 3 mil*, 5 mil, 7 mil and 10mil. Roll film can normally be found in 1.5 mil, 3 mil, 5 mil and 10 mil. Other mil sizes may be available by special request.

Want more information on Cold Laminating Film Manufacturer? Feel free to contact us.

*A mil is a unit of measurement that is equal to 1/1000 of an inch (0.0254 mm)

Laminating Machines are a standard need in all print houses and a popular office machine and they offer many added benefits to printed material as well as protecting important documents. The world of lamination can be a bit confusing with all the different types of laminators available. However, this FAQ will help you understand lamination, and the different types of laminating machines and hopefully ease the stress when it comes to purchasing laminating machines and laminating film.

1. What’s the difference between hot and cold lamination?
   
   When you think of lamination, perhaps the first thing you think of is Thermal lamination. Hot lamination occurs when a document is encased with laminate (often in the form of a laminating pouch) and is then fed through a machine that melts the adhesive on the film, thus bonding the laminate to the printed material. On the other hand, cold lamination is lamination that occurs without heat.Cold roll laminators use a plastic film which is coated with an adhesive and glossy backing which does not adhere to the glue. When the glossy backing is removed, the adhesive is exposed, which then sticks directly onto the item which needs to be laminated.
2. What is Thermal Lamination? 

   Thermal lamination films bond two sides or more with heat-sensitive film, using heat and pressure alongside the adhesive film will combine the layers. This is a versatile process that can be used on a combination of materials, subsequently leaving a product with a high-quality finish. Additionally, thermal laminate films come at a much lower cost than cold lamination.Thermal films include:
   -BOPP / OPP thermal laminating films
   -PET (Polyester) thermal laminating films

   OPP thermal laminating films has had high growth in recent years, with many benefits of excellent transparency, good resistance to water, chemicals and crack resistance.

3. What’s a pouch laminator?A pouch laminator is a very popular kind of laminator and one of the easiest kinds of laminators to use in offices or copy shops. A pouch laminator can laminate all sizes of documents, including tiny ones (such as business cards) and large, poster-sized items. A laminating pouch is simply a piece of laminate folded in half. You slide your document in, put it through your laminator, and you’re done.
4. What’s a roll laminator?Roll laminators are often found in high-volume printing operations and places that laminate high quantities of printed material. This type of laminator uses two rolls to quickly laminate large items such as posters, book covers, and brochures.
5. What kind of printed material can I laminate? 

   The main purpose of lamination is to protect your documents and make them sturdier. That said, almost any item can be laminated. Some obvious choices would be important personal documents, brochures, annual reports, business cards and menus.

6. I keep seeing the term “mic” What’s that?When buying laminating pouches, you’ll need to think about how rigid you want your items to be once they’re laminated. This is where the term “mic” comes in. “Mic” refers to the thickness of a pouch or laminating film (1 Micron = 1000th of a millimeter). Pouches and laminating film are available in a variety of micron thicknesses. Essentially, the higher the number, the thicker the pouch or laminating film.

Press Products has been in operation since 1957, priding ourselves on drawing on years of industry experience from our employees in order to better assess and meet our customer’s needs. Press Product’s philosophy is to provide customers with up-to-date, state-of-the-art technology and high quality, cost effective products. Our well-trained team focuses on providing customers with solutions, supported by quality product and service excellence.

If you have any other questions regarding Laminating Film, Laminating Pouches and Laminating Machinery contact our highly experienced sales team and technicians and we will guide you in making the best decision for your printing solutions.

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