In essence, laminating enhances, protects and preserves print. This can be anything from a certificate, or business card through to a vehicle wrap. Lamination improves the appearance of print, with deeper and brighter colours and improved contrast.
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Laminated materials provide a high-quality finish, and so lamination is an essential part of the professional print process for creating great-looking brochures, leaflets, business cards and so on. Enhanced prints attract and retain the attention of the viewer more than plain print.
There are a number of different laminator film finishes and lamination pouch types available. Matt and gloss are the most commonly used but finishes such as soft touch, sandtex, anti-graffiti for outdoor use and eco-friendly biodegradable are also popular.
Depending on the model, office laminators can handle A4 print or larger formats such as A3 or A2. When choosing a laminator, it is crucial to determine the maximum size of documents you want to secure. With a laminator for A4 material, we can easily secure content on A5 paper or smaller.
Laminators for A3 and A2 documents will find use among others in advertising agencies and in building and architectural offices, where project documentation is prepared on larger sheets of paper. However, in most office applications laminators for A4 prints are perfectly adequate.
Office laminators can laminate documents either cold or hot. You can find devices that allow the use of only one of these methods or universal models, with the option of choosing either method.
Cold lamination involves the use of adhesive-coated film, which adheres to the document due to the pressure of the laminator rollers. The big advantages of this technique are the short laminating time and the possibility of protecting prints covered with ink that is not resistant to high temperatures. The disadvantage is the reduced adhesive strength.
Hot lamination, on the other hand, involves using heated laminator rollers to dissolve the adhesive with which the film is coated. It is pressed against the document and additionally sealed at the edges, as the films are up to 6 mm larger than standard formats. A document laminated in this way is embedded in the film and is characterised by greater strength, which is why this method is definitely more popular.
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Depending on the manufacturer and the specific model, office laminators may have additional features and functions that make work easier. These include:
Office laminators differ in a number of technical parameters that determine their nature of work and suitability for specific applications. The first of these is the maximum thickness of the laminating film expressed in microns (µm), which is usually specified in the product data sheets for a particular machine. Manufacturers of reputable equipment also include information on the maximum thickness of the document with the film in millimetres. As a rule, the thicker the film, the better the protection of the laminated document. However, we must remember that this is associated with greater rigidity, which will be an advantage or disadvantage depending on the intended use of the specific document.
Another important factor is the type of film allowed. Office laminators can work with glossy, matt, self-adhesive and adhesive films, as well as glossy papers. It is important to use only solutions approved by the machine manufacturer. In the case of hot lamination, we should also be interested in the temperature range of lamination - the use of a temperature unsuitable for the requirements results in ineffective and unsightly gluing.
In terms of productivity, the most important factor is the laminating speed expressed in millimetres per minute. It is mainly dependent on the heating time of the laminator and the number of heating rollers. A higher number of rollers results in a more even finish. Remember, however, that not all rollers are heated. Individual manufacturers may indicate the number of so-called hot and auxiliary rollers. Laminating speed should be taken into account especially for offices that produce large quantities of documents, such as advertising agencies. The heating time of the laminator is also an important parameter.
At the stage of choosing a laminator, it is worth considering where it will ultimately be located and taking into account its size and weight. We can choose from compact models with a low weight of 3-5 kg or more powerful and larger laminators designed to secure larger amounts of documentation.
For those considering choosing a laminator, we have prepared a list of four models that we can confidently recommend for office use. Among the suggestions we have included both smaller models and fully professional devices for the most demanding.
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