How to Laminate Paper for a Professional Finish

The best way to laminate paper with a high-end, durable and professional finish is by using a laminator machine. These machines make laminating quick and easy. That’s why, many businesses are choosing to have a machine on-site - increasing their efficiencies with the ability to laminate on-demand. Businesses can use a laminator machine to give a professional look to all their printed documents and protect them from the elements. By laminating paper, you turn a flimsy paper document into something durable that can be reused. Certain types of laminator machines are designed to laminate specific types of documents. The criteria for choosing a machine is based on the size of the document, film thickness, and number of sheets. Laminator machines are available in four basic styles that come in freestanding or tabletop options: Roll Laminators, Pouch Laminators, Cold Laminators, Hot Laminators.Roll Laminators versus Pouch LaminatorsRoll laminators are the most versatile laminators and can help with frequent laminating needs. Schools and businesses will find this type of laminator especially useful. Businesses may have documents like price lists, training materials, banners, business cards, ID cards etc. Schools frequently laminate documents like maps, certificates, posters, etc.Pouch laminators are the least expensive machines but have more limitations. The pouch lamination machine uses a pouch that is often sealed on one end. You must feed each document individually through the laminator and use pre-sized pouches. If your business is laminating the same size papers consistently, then this may be a good option. For example, business card size, letter size paper, and menu size. Recommended Products for Roll Laminators:ICON All in one 13" Roll laminator -DH 360RICON Foil 1 Sided 13" Roll laminator -DH 360FRecommended Products for Pouch Laminators:Akiles Pouch Laminator - ProLam-Ultra 6 roller SystemAkiles Pouch Laminator - ProLam-PLUS 330Cold Laminators versus Hot LaminatorsBoth types of machines will preserve documents, but the differences relate to available supplies and cost. Cold laminators are best for materials that are heat sensitive. They require self-adhesive laminator rolls and pouches. Cold laminators can give you a smooth finish, with no bubbles. Hot laminators meanwhile work by melting the adhesive backing, not the plastic coating. However, hot laminators can melt too-thin laminating rolls and pouches. This can cause cloudy laminations. Ensure you get the right materials, or you could ruin your machine. There are also dual hot/cold laminators that have settings that allow it to laminate in both ways depending on the needs of the business. Recommended Products for Cold laminators:SOLO 25" Cold LaminatorSOLO 65" Cold LaminatorRecommended Products for Dual Hot/Cold laminators:RSH 1151 45" Dual Hot Roll LaminatorLaminator RSH 1651 Hot/Cold Roller 65" Roll Laminator FAQs:Does laminating paper make it waterproof?This can help you protect your important business documents and have peace of mind that they won’t get damaged. Laminating paper can make it waterproof which helps to protect it from water damage.  Another benefit of laminating paper is that it can also protect the paper against mold, creasing, ageing and other contaminants. However, it’s important to know that if you cut your laminated paper, then it will no longer be waterproof. The laminated film is a sealed barrier and once you cut it, water can seep in through the edge.Can you cut laminated paper?There may be times when you need to cut laminated paper.  In order to cut laminated paper, you can use a rotary trimmer, scissors, or a craft knife. Although, the most efficient way to cut laminated paper is by using a laminating trimmer. This is especially true if you regularly laminate paper. An automatic laminator will laminate and trim in one pass, which can save you a lot of time. If you use hot lamination you will need some space around the cards for the lamination sheets to stick together. In that case you should cut then laminate. However, if you use cold lamination the laminating sheet sticks directly on the card so you can laminate and then cut with no issues. Recommended products:ALM 3222 Fully Automatic Laminator, 13"ALM 3230 Mini Fully Automatic Laminator 13"Icon 15" Automatic One Side Pneumatic LaminatorWhat to use to write on laminated paper?It’s important to understand the writing tool options that can be used to write on laminated paper. If you use the wrong writing tools on laminated paper this can result in staining, smudging and smearing. This isn’t ideal, especially if you want to reuse the laminated sheet in the future and want it to look new every time. The best way to write on laminated paper is to use dry-erase markers. In order to remove the writing, use a dry-eraser or whiteboard cleaner. If you want your writing to be more permanent, you can use a Sharpie. However, this can still be removed using non-acetone nail polish remover or rubbing alcohol.Talk to us about the ways your business uses lamination, and we’ll help you find the best-fit lamination machine and supplies for your needs.