Laminator

A pouch laminator with two laminate pouches, ready to be laminated; inset, a laminated card

A laminator is a device which laminates pieces or rolls of paper or card stock.

Types

Pouch

A pouch laminator uses a plastic pouch that is usually sealed on one edge. The inside of the lamination pouch is coated with a heat-activated film that adheres to the product being laminated as it runs through the laminator. The substrate side of the board contains a heat-activated adhesive that bonds the print to the substrate. This can be any of a number of board products or another sheet of laminate. The pouch containing the print, laminate, and substrate is passed through a set of heated rollers under pressure, ensuring that all adhesive layers bond to one another.

Pouch laminators are designed for moderate use in the office or home. For continuous, large-volume lamination projects, a roll laminator performs more efficiently.

Pouches can be bought with different thicknesses in micrometres. Standard home or office machines normally use 80–250 micrometre pouches, depending on the quality of the machine. The thicker the pouch, the higher the cost. Pouches can also measured in mil, which equals one thousandth of an inch. The most common pouch thicknesses are 3, 5, 7 and 10 mil (76, 127, 178 and 254 μm).

Certain pouches such as butterfly pouches can be used with a pouch laminator to form ID cards. Butterfly pouches are available with magnetic stripes embedded.

Many pouch laminators require the use of a carrier. A carrier holds the pouch as it is run through the laminator. This helps prevent the hot glue, some of which leaks from the sides of the pouches during the process, from gumming up the rollers. The carrier prevents the rollers from getting sticky, which helps to prevent the lamination pouch from wrapping around the rollers inside the laminator.

Many newer laminators claim that they can be used without a carrier. However the use of carriers will extend the laminator's life.^[1]

Heated roll

Woman laminating signs and small cards using heated roll lamination machine

A heated roll laminator uses heated rollers to melt glue extruded onto lamination film. This film is in turn applied to a substrate such as paper or card using pressure rollers. The primary purpose of laminating with such a machine is to embellish or protect printed documents or images. Heated roll laminators can vary in size from handheld or desktop pouch laminators to industrial sized machines. Such industrial laminators are primarily used for high quantity/quality output by printers or print finishers.

Such laminators are used to apply varying thicknesses of lamination film onto substrates such as paper or fabrics. The main advantage of the use of heated roll laminators is speed. Heated laminators use heated rollers or heated shoes to melt the glue which is applied to lamination film. The process of heating the glue prior to applying the film to a substrate allows for a faster application of the film. The laminates and adhesives used are generally cheaper to manufacture than cold roll laminates, often as much as half the cost depending on the comparison made. As the materials are non-adhesive until exposed to heat, they are much easier to handle. The glue is solid at room temperature, so lamination of this type is less likely to shift or warp after its application than pressure activated laminates, which rely on a highly viscous, adhesive fluid.

Roll laminators typically use two rolls to complete the lamination process, with one roll being on top and the other roll on the bottom. These rolls slide onto metal bars, known as mandrels, which are then placed in the machine and feed through it. In the United States, the most common core size found on lamination film is one inch (25- to 27-inch-wide film). Larger format laminators use a larger core, often 21⁄4 to 3 inches in diameter. Film is usually available in 1.5, 3, 5, 7, and 10 mil thicknesses. The higher the number, the thicker the film. A mil is one thousandth of an inch (.001").^[2]

Printers or print finishers often use industrial heated roll laminators to laminate such things as paperback book covers, magazine covers, posters, cards and postcards, in-shop displays as well as other applications.

Cold roll

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. This method, apart from having the obvious benefit of not requiring expensive equipment, is also suitable for those items which would be damaged by heat. Cold laminators range from simple two roller, hand-crank machines up to large and complex motor-driven machines with high precision rollers, adjustable roller pressure, and other advanced features.

Cold lamination increased in popularity with the rise of wide-format inkjet printers, which often used inks and papers incompatible with hot lamination. A large percentage of cold laminate for use in the print industry is PVC, although a wide range of other materials are available. Cold laminating processes are also used outside of the print industry, for example, coating sheet glass or stainless steel with protective films.

Cold roll laminators are also used for laying down adhesive films in the sign-making industry, for example mounting a large print onto a board. A practiced operator can apply a large adhesive sheet in a fraction of the time it takes to do so by hand.