Lamination film is a modern material that helps not only to improve the appearance of important documents, but also to keep them in their original form for many years.

How to choose a film for lamination

This material is made of puff polyester or PVC, and then on one side it is coated with a special adhesive. The material based on polypropylene is softer and more flexible, made of PVC - more dense and resistant to ultraviolet rays and other adverse external factors.

The advantages of this film are obvious:

  • high resistance to any physical effects - humidity, physical damage, ingress of grease and dirt, temperature extremes;
  • density;
  • excellent degree of adhesion with any objects;
  • lack of any smells and release of chemicals.

Types, format and film thickness

The texture is matte or glossy.

  • In the first case, the material does not give any glare at all, it slightly dims the color saturation, it does not show scratches, plus you can write on a surface with a pen or pencil, and then easily erase the eraser.
  • In the second case, the shades become more vibrant and juicy, the surface of the product glistens, which makes it even difficult to make out the text. On such a surface with careless use, scratches often appear.

Choose the appropriate option based on the requirements for the appearance of the product.

Materials that imitate the texture of fabrics, frosty patterns on windows, canvas, leather, sand, as well as with holographic effects look very attractive. But they are also used in the production of luxury printing products, since their cost is quite high. There is also a color film, used mainly for decorative purposes.

The format can be different - from A7 to A2 (including the most common and frequently used A3, A4, A5). This applies only to batch products, since the roll product simply does not have such designations.

The thickness can be different, ranging from several tens to two hundred microns. Calendars, business cards, covers, cards are covered with a thin film that simply protects the paper from dirt and water. For reliable protection of important documents or archival papers, it is better to give preference to a material with a thickness of at least one hundred microns. Coverage with a thickness exceeding 150 microns is used by default to protect badges, badges, certificates.

Also, the material can be hard and soft. This parameter is completely independent of the thickness itself. In this case, the degree of rigidity is equal to the ratio of the base and the adhesive mass. A thick layer of polyester makes the material more rigid, an impressive layer of glue - soft.

How and what can be laminated at home

You can also laminate documents at home. With the help of an iron and a special film this is done very simply. The film is a transparent pocket, inside which you need to place the document.

Instructions on how to laminate paper with an iron:

  1. Prepare materials and tools.
  2. Heat the iron to medium temperature. The main thing here is not to overdo it, since if the iron is heated very much, the film can go blisters.
  3. Put paper inside the pocket.
  4. Start smoothing the film from the joint with gentle movements to remove air. This will prevent the formation of bubbles.
  5. Repeat with the other side.

If suddenly there is an air bubble somewhere, then you can try to wipe the still hot surface with a soft cloth.

If this does not help, you need to take a needle and carefully let the air out. After this, it is necessary to iron this place again.

Hot and cold lamination

Material can be applied:

  • hot way - both the document and the film are heated to a temperature of over 70 degrees, because of which the adhesive composition melts and connects to the surface;
  • in the cold way - paper with text or an image is simply covered with a film and passed through a special press, the connection is due to pressure rather than high temperature.

The first method is considered more common. The second is mainly used in cases where the document is of very great value and can be damaged due to high temperature.

Batch and roll lamination

The coating technology is of two types:

  1. Batch. The document is placed in a bag and passed through a press. The method is very simple to implement, however, when gluing oversized products, difficulties arise due to size mismatch.
  2. Roll. The material is simply fed through the apparatus as needed, making it possible to paste over a large number of non-standard documents in a short time. The roll film for lamination can have a length of 100 to 3000 m.

In any case, a self-adhesive film for lamination is an unsurpassed material for keeping important documents and papers in a decent form.

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