Using Cold Lamination Film With A Thermal Laminator

What you re going to be laminating.

Using cold lamination film with a thermal laminator.

You can seal a document with your hand a ruler or credit card. Precision top quality construction prevents wrinkles and provides a perfect edge seal resulting in a professional finish. There s a choice of cold heat assist and thermal adhesives for laminates. Low melt films have heat activated adhesives that can applied at 185 to 195 degrees.

This laminating method uses laminating rolls or pouches that are coated on one side with thermally activated glue. Thinner film needs less tension thicker film needs more. Hot laminating hot laminating often called thermal laminating is very common. Hot laminators use a heat activated adhesive that is heated as it passes through the laminator.

Also respect the laminating temperature of 40 c to avoid wrinkling due to damp materials during the laminating process. Technically when using a cold pouch you don t need a machine. Once heat is applied the glue melts much like a hot glue gun. Over laminate film is usually between about 24 and 100 microns in thickness.

At the same time a laminating machine distributes more pressure more evenly. So going with the cold machine could end up costing you a bit more in the long run. Heat along with pressure coats the laminating film to documents pictures and more. However you will find that the supplies need for cold lamination are more expensive than what you need for thermal processing.

Cold roll and tape laminating are alternatives to thermal laminating that require no heat to activate the adhesive. The downside to hot laminators is that some items for example some photographs can not handle the heat required to apply the lamination. Something you absolutely must think about before getting a laminator is what you plan on laminating. Lamination film is available to serve a variety of purposes often a mixture of protection and enhanced appearance.

Similar to using standard adhesive tape to cover your document cold lamination is ideal when the precision quality of a thermal heat laminator is not necessary or when the material you are using is not suited for the heat of thermal lamination. Every laminator needs a certain amount of resistance in the unwinding of the supply rolls so that the film lays flat as it goes into the nib of the laminating rollers. Heat assist films have pressure sensitive adhesives psas and liners and are applied with hot roll laminators at 185 to 195 degrees. Usi s opti clear premium low melt thermal roll laminating film is nationally known for its crystal clear finish and superior bonding.

Cold laminating films have a more aggressive adhesive that can be applied with pressure instead of heat. No warm up time necessary.