Introduction to laminating

Lamination is achieved when layers of plastic are welded together with an adhesive and heat pressure. The document that needs protection rests in between so that the plastics trap the document in between so that both the front and back is coated. This makes the document waterproof and resistant to dirt and accidental wear and tear. The plastic is transparent so that the contents can still be read.

A pouch laminator is the commonly used laminator for home and small business use. They are quite compact and use lamination pouches for the process.

What are laminating pouches

Laminating pouches are pouches that are used in conjunction with the pouch laminator to seal the documents. It is usually sealed on side and is coated with a film that adheres to the paper when it is subjected to heat.

What they are used for

These laminating pouches pass through the heat rollers that are inside the pouch laminator to fully seal the document within the pouch. They can be used for laminating materials of various thicknesses ranging from standard paper to ID cards to thicker materials including credit cards and key cards.

Why they are great to use

Laminating pouches come in different sizes and can easily be bought in several office supply stores. This means that by owning just one pouch laminator, you can keep laminating different items all by yourself by obtaining additional pouches. It is easy to buy in bulk and you no longer need to go to your local lamination center to get simple lamination tasks done. Since you can select the size, you can save money by buying smaller sizes for small things to laminate as opposed to getting additional film.

Some pouches come embedded with holograms or magnetic strips to add some authenticity to the IDs that you want to laminate.

Where to buy some

You should be able to find most common sized laminator pouches in office supply stores. Basically, any store emphasized in selling paper and print materials should have laminator pouches somewhere near those sections. If there are no stores around, you can always try searching around online as they can deliver pouches by the bulk straight to your doorstep.

Conclusion

The best things about pouch laminators are that they are highly affordable and excellent for home use. While they are not suitable for repetitive operations, the different pouch sizes available can expand your lamination needs all for little cost. All it takes is just one pouch laminator, the correctly sized pouches and the documents you wish to be laminated.