Different types of documents require lamination for various reasons. Laminating machines are designed for meeting different lamination needs. They can be used for general lamination or for additional print finishing activities such as encapsulation and mounting.

Various products printed on diverse materials with different types of inks are fed into laminators. Lamination seals these documents by binding them to sheets of clear plastic. This important post printing operation is required for enhancing durability, stiffness and appearance of catalogues, ID cards, business cards, credit cards, invitations, posters, restaurant menus, certificates, graphics, artworks and numerous other documents.

Your lamination requirements help to determine the type of laminating machine appropriate for your organization.

How to select the right laminating machine

Properties of documents to be laminated
The appropriate lamination process depends upon the type of materials that are fed into the laminator. Standard printed materials are suitable for thermal lamination. This lamination process is supported by most laminating machines. However, you will require specialized laminators that support cold lamination or low temperature lamination for laminating materials sensitive to high temperature. Some of the latest laminators come with variable temperature settings that help the operator to control the temperature of the machine during operations.

Dimensions of documents to be laminated
Documents to be laminated come in different sizes and thickness. The throat width of the laminating machine determines the minimum and the maximum thicknesses of the laminated materials. Pouch laminators are usually preferred for laminating small documents such as credit cards, ID cards and photos and other smaller documents. For laminating bigger and thicker documents such as banners and posters, roll laminators are usually preferred. Remember to take into account the throat width of the lamination machine before buying it. The throat widths of roll laminators usually start from 4-inches. The largest roll laminator models are available with 20-inch throat width. The throat widths of roll laminators are from 9 to 60 inches.

Volume of lamination
If you are expecting to laminate a small number of documents daily, select a low volume laminator. Medium volume laminators can handle moderate lamination loads. Heavy model laminators are designed for meeting high volume needs that require operating the laminating machine continuously for a number of hours each day.

Specific features of lamination
Some laminating machines can be used for multiple applications, whereas others are designed for a specific type of lamination process. While selecting a laminator take into account your different lamination needs.

GMP UK offers a wide range of encapsulating and laminating machines and films. Get more information at www.gmpuk.co.uk.

Also visit: http://ultimatearticledirectory.com/business/types-of-encapsulating-film-for-preserving-documents and http://whidbeymonks.org/story.php?title=laminating-machines#discuss.

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