The lamination process involves covering different kinds of papers and documents with a plastic wrapping or cover. This is typically done to protect them from harm and ensure they last as long as possible in excellent condition. The plastic covering on the documents can also help intensify colour and make them look better, offering a surface that can be cleaned easily with dry-wipe pens.
These days, laminate machines come in a variety of types. These devices vary in size from compact, low-cost desktop ones intended for home use to larger, more expensive industrial models. High-end devices usually provide a broad range of temperature settings and document sizes. If you’re wondering why your business or office needs a paper laminator, the answer is that it most likely does. Read three reasons and factors for choosing the best option for your office needs.
What Is the Purpose of a Laminator in an Office?
Most offices, schools and businesses in Australia use laminate technology to protect and embellish important documents for presentation and showcasing purposes. Laminating other types of documents, non-paper items and surfaces is also possible. Here are the top three reasons why you should choose a high-quality laminator for paper for your business.
Document Protection and Preservation
Every school or office has significant papers that should be kept safe, from certificates and old pictures to other important records, such as menus, name tags, signage, etc. Laminating work can be advantageous for businesses as well. A paper that has been laminated is more resilient than one that has not and can withstand repeated handling. Furthermore, wrinkles, grimy fingerprints, and spilt coffee won’t damage a laminated object. The next time you unintentionally spill your coffee and damage a crucial document, keep that in mind.
Laminating is Simple
The ease of starting to laminate may surprise you. Self-sealing laminating pouches, a low-tech option that lets you laminate materials quickly and affordably without a machine are suitable for home and occasional office use. However, most commercial premises would benefit from a laminator machine because in addition to being much slower than a machine, laminating papers by hand is likely to provide less-than-ideal outcomes due to air bubbles and other imperfections. A high-end laminator for paper will produce a much better-looking form, particularly when laminating corporate documents.
There are several laminator types. Whatever option you choose for your office, you should know that using it is very simple. You only need to place the paper inside a plastic laminating pouch, which you should then put into a carrier and run through the machine.
It’s Not as Costly as You May Imagine
There is no denying that the least expensive method of document protection is to use self-sealing laminate. However, you might be surprised to learn that laminators can be purchased for as little as $100 in many cases. Naturally, the price of a machine increases with its size and speed; some models can go up to $1000. However, many reasonably priced laminators are available if you only want to start laminating. Remember that laminating supplies are also reasonably priced; 100 laminating pouches in a pack will run you roughly $20. Not bad, especially considering that it will help preserve your documents in the long term.
How Do I Choose a Laminator?
There are several important factors to consider when choosing a paper laminator for your office, with paper size, number of sheets and users being most critical.
Document Size
Consider the documents that you intend to laminate. Are they going to be uniformly sized? Or you’ll need to laminate several sizes, such as banners and business cards. A4 and A3 laminators are some of the most common laminator types.
A4
The most popular format for laminators in retail, workplace, and educational settings is A4. The report covers, multiple ID or business cards, photo montages, checklists, instruction manuals, wipe-clean rotas, menus, and other reusable papers that must maintain their appearance even after repeated handling are among the many applications for which they’re especially favoured.
Most A4 desktop laminators are pouch models that use heated rollers to seal adhesive plastic wallets specifically purchased around the documents in question. While more expensive models may have numerous rollers to guarantee a neater finish with a significantly lower danger of bubbling or misalignment, most affordable models typically only have one roller pair to feed the paperwork through the laminating machine.
A3
A3 laminators are an excellent choice for exhibition purposes to preserve and improve large print materials, such as posters or signage. They typically come in single- and double-sided thermal film variants providing greater versatility in item orientation, workpiece size, and working temperature. That makes them ideal for producing sealed, secure documents for public display, like window dressings, exhibition graphics, and signs.
Number of Sheets
Consider how often you will laminate documents and how many you will run at once. A bag laminator is ideal for occasional laminating tasks. A roll laminator is your best option if you laminate more significant amounts of paper or unusually shaped documents. Automatic laminators are excellent for people who laminate multiple times a week or for large laminating operations involving standard-size documents.
Number of Users
Will you be the only user or will a big team use it? Pocket computers are ideal for personal use because they are compact and fit on your desktop. A roll laminator is a great option if you have many users. These larger machines can be arranged so everyone can access them in a shared workspace. Automatic laminators are excellent for shared or personal use because of their versatility. It is simple to move from one user to another thanks to automatic settings.