Lamination for the nation
In the music industry, there’s a saying that “nothing’s final until its on vinyl”. Nowadays, we tend to stream our music rather than listen to records, but the idea of an additional process lending permanence to a created thing is a powerful one, and especially relevant in the case of laminating.
Kemtek offers a range of manual, semi-automatic and fully automatic laminating machines that can be integrated with printing presses as part of your end-to-end print solutions offering to your clients.
Laminating offers multiple advantages, not least enhanced protection for printed documents. By enclosing and bonding printed pieces between two sheets of clear plastic, the lifespan of the paper within can be dramatically extended.
Paper is anything but permanent
Some of the properties which make paper and thin card so versatile, also make them less suited to certain applications – or rather, reduce their survivability. Paper is absorbent, and it can be easily torn, scrunched up or even burnt. Over time, continuous handling can result in print becoming illegible, while excessive water can cause paper to revert to mush.
Laminating offers a solution to all these problems. Laminated sheets are stiffer and more rigid, so they can hold their shape for longer. They won’t absorb liquids, and can be dried off – so they will be legible for much longer.
Laminated sheets are more hygienic, as they can be treated with cleaning chemicals or bactericidal agents. Documents that have been finished in this way may appear more impressive: people will assume that what’s printed on them is more important because of the care that’s been taken to preserve and present the information.
Legibility is further enhanced by the use of completely clear plastic, and this plastic also acts as a lens, meaning that printed colours appear brighter and even small text is easier to read. Reading through these advantages, you will no doubt already have thought of some of the obvious applications for laminating.
Its benefits mean that laminating is an ideal (and cost-effective) way to protect documents that are handled a great deal. The costs of the finishing can be offset to a degree by the reduced incidence of repeat printing.
Laminating machines offer distinct advantages
The lifespan extension offered by laminating lends itself to protecting printed information that needs to be legible indefinitely, and which may be difficult or inconvenient to replace. Already it’s clear that laminating offers advantages for printed materials such as restaurant menus (that also have to survive all manner of spills during their working life) and safety notices or emergency procedure instructions.
Printed materials that are likely to be used outdoors need to be weatherproof – a map that has smudged in the rain could be anything from an irritating inconvenience to a genuine hazard. Equally, external notices on machines can make the difference between life and death where high voltages or moving parts are involved.
The benefits of laminating are also apparent in security situations, where personnel require passes to access certain areas. Airports are one example of a working environment where laminating has really taken off.
Of course, this print finishing technique has aesthetic advantages as well as practical implications. Tatty marketing materials are unlikely to make any sales, while laminated collateral can be left on display in situations such as showrooms where it may be seen and handled by potential customers before a salesperson can interact with them.
A cost-effective finishing touch
There are of course cost implications to laminating, but given the considerable advantages, and the range of applications in which this method can prove beneficial, these may well be a price worth paying. Modern laminating machines are able to keep pace with associated printers, which means that both long-run economies of scale and quick, short runs are possible.
Laminating printed materials conveys a number of subtle messages about their content. People are more likely to take notice of and/or memorise laminated information, and they tend to follow laminated instructions and directions.
Given that people respond in this way to bonded documents, adding laminating capacity to your PSP offering could be an excellent way to get your customers to take notice.
