Lamination

[RustManFan]

I am thinking of making some square or rectangular images in various smaller sizes that will require lamination. Please indicate if you have experience with this process.

Specific brand names of self-laminating sheets you may have used, how they held up, ease of application, etc.

Thanks!

 

[jtanddolly]

Bump...I'm interested in laminating as well but need more information.

Rustmanfan...someone on the board also mentioned trying clear contact paper (shelf paper) to save money. I'm going to try that first but still would like to know more about laminating. Wal-mart sells a laminating machine and the paper to go with it, but I haven't personally tried it.

 

[singnring]

Not sure if I am being dense and misunderstanding what you're wanting to do, but when I worked @ church we always used self-sticking laminating paper to do our projects.

The sheets are the size of a piece of printer paper.
It is available by the box at most office supply stores.
I have also purchased it by the sheet @ our local printing shop.

Very easy to use and holds up well.

We used it for a "job fair" @ church and laminated all of our display and decorating items. Made the projects look very professional and durable.

 

[RustManFan]

singnring - Sounds like what I want to use but now I hope to find specific recommended name brands!

 

[singnring]

singnring - Sounds like what I want to use but now I hope to find specific recommended name brands!

Can't say 100% for certain, but Avery is what comes to mind when I think about it.
I know 90% of the church's supplies were Avery, so it's a good bet that was what we used.

 

[muffinator]

If you aren't familiar with cold laminating, I personally wouldn't recommend the rolls. They are notoriously hard to peel off the backing, and have a tendancy to curl back on themselves. They also collect fingerprints, smudges, and hair. We use rolled laminate at my work, and granted it is a more intense version than sold at Wal-Mart but the contact rolls are just as difficult. Avery does make the peel and stick sheets, and I would try those first. Get confidant with the sheets before moving onto the rolls. Once you place a sheet down on the laminate it's there and moving around doesn't usally work (sometimes you can, but it often lifts colors or leaves a foggy smudge behind).
I also use the single avery sheets in crafting with kids and they are pretty durable. They don't usually stand up to a trip through the washing machine, but if you leave a teeny border around your image, will survive getting wet.

Hope that helped a bit!

 

[PaDisney02]

Hi, a few years ago I bought a laminating machine at Walmart and I love it!!! It is a small laminator. It laminates up to an 8x10 sheet of paper. I paid $30 for it, my machine is the duck brand (thats probably not the official name but it has a duck on it as the company logo), but they r all pretty much the same (at least they were when I bought mine). I have to buy the laminating pouches seperatly. I buy them at walmart as well. I used to buy the duck brand but they stopped selling those so I have been using the scotch brand pouches. The process of laminating is really easy, I have never ruined anything. Although it only laminates one sheet of paper at a time it is way less expensive then going to stapels. Good Luck

 

[PaDisney02]

BTW...I highly recommend the small laminating machine over self laminating paper. With the machine your product comes out stiff with no air bubbles in it. Good Luck!

 

[dizneechic]

Here's an inexpensive thermal one on Amazon with free shipping. A handful of great reviews as well.
http://www.amazon.com/Scotch-TL901-Thermal-Laminator-2-Roller/dp/B0010JEJPC/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top

 

[PrincessAli]

Hi, As I mentioned on the 46th Anniversary thread--this machine from Walmart is the one I have too. Works great for the pins I make.