You can use cold or hot lamination depending on your need and your budget. In hot lamination, the item you want to laminate is subject to heat. However, if you use cold lamination the item is subjected to pressure. For both techniques, you require a film to laminate the material. The thicker the film, the firmer will be the lamination and its durability will increase.
Hot lamination
To laminate a material using hot lamination you need hot laminating film. This technique can be divided into standard and special low melt hot lamination. Standard lamination is used for everyday purposes while special low melt technique is used on items that cannot be subjected to heat. For instance, it is best that you avoid using standard hot lamination on photographs.
The film that is used in this process has two layers – the adhesive resin layer and the polyester layer. The material is placed between the layers which are then placed in the machine that melts adhesive in the sheet. The machine also spreads the adhesive evenly over the item. Since the machine can generate a temperature of up to 300 degree Celsius, it is important that trained personal handle the machine. The process is complete when the aggressive dries up and becomes cold.
This technique is usually cheaper than cold lamination and the items laminated using this technique is more durable. The biggest disadvantage of using this technique is that it cannot be used for material that is sensitive to heat or have inkjet ink. If you use this technique on inkjet ink paper, the ink in the paper may melt. This technique is more time-consuming than cold lamination because you must heat the machine before you start the process.
Cold Lamination
Cold lamination is a simple procedure that helps you get laminated documents in a few minutes. To laminate a document using this technique, you must place the document in the cold lamination machine. After the document is placed in the machine, you have to set the attributes depending upon the shape and the size of the document. If you have a limited budget, you can also use cold roll laminator to laminate the document.
The best part about using this technique is that it can be used for all documents. Paper that have inkjet ink and heat sensitive material can be easily laminated using this technique. It is a simple procedure and can be easily performed by people who have no formal training. Other advantages of using cold lamination machine are that they require little maintenance and are safe. The biggest disadvantage of using this technique is that it is expensive when compared to hot lamination. Also, the chances of bubble formation are high during this technique.
The hot and cold lamination machines have their own advantages and disadvantages. Your choice of machine will depend on your budget and your requirements.