Home > Lamination > Hot Melt Lamination Film: How Can It Work For Me?

Lamination ServicesHow does the hot melt lamination process work? What is hot melt lamination film? These are a couple of the questions you may ask yourself as you explore your manufacturing options. When you’re building or scaling a small business, you need flexibility—and a process that strengthens your final product. Hot melt lamination is a great tool, and one Conversion Technologies International recommends to many of our clients in the right conditions.

But is it what you’re looking for? And if so, how can you ensure you’re taking full advantage of it, and getting the best possible results? Below, we’ll look into how hot melt lamination works—and how you can make it work its very best for you.

What is the hot melt lamination process?

When working with hot melt lamination, you don’t have to rely on the material you’re working with for adhesion. Instead, you’ll heat up a separate adhesive material. Once it’s pliable, you’ll spread the material over the substrate with rollers. The rollers ensure an even distribution, which further ensures adhesion. After the initial distribution, we feed the material through a compression roller. The compression solidifies the final bonding. This is the real “lamination” part of the process when you work with an HMT laminator machine.

Once you’ve laminated the product, you’ll remove the material from the compression roller. As it sits, it cools and solidifies. This bonds the material further, and you can accelerate it with cooling rollers or a cooling tunnel.

Of course, the material itself isn’t the only thing that matters. The shape of the material is also important. We achieve the required shape with methods like trimming, slitting, and cutting. Keep in mind that a laminated product still maintains its flexibility to an extent. Although you’re strengthening the material through lamination, you can still make changes as needed.

What is hot melt lamination film?

When you work with hot melt lamination, you’ll inevitably hear about holt melt lamination film. The film itself is essential as it’s the product that binds the materials. It’s what you’re heating in order to laminate the substrate in the first place. Keep in mind, however, that there isn’t just one type of hot melt adhesive film.

Some of the most common types of hot melt lamination film include:

  • Metallocene film
  • Amorphous Poly Alpha Olefin film
  • Polyethylene film
  • Ethylene vinyl actetate film
  • Polyamide film

What types of products can we laminate?

One of the great things about hot melt lamination is that we can apply the product to a number of different surfaces. For example, you can use hot melt film for fabrics. Thanks to the flexibility and mouldability of the product, we can laminate surface products like:

  • Thermoplastic
  • Polypropylene
  • Polyethylene
  • Polyurethane
  • PVC
  • Silicone
  • VHB
  • Paper
  • Foil
  • Cellular Sponge
  • Cork
  • Delrin
  • EPDM
  • Fabric
  • Foam
  • Latex
  • Natural Rubber
  • Neoprene g
  • Nylon
  • Polyester

The thing is that you don’t have to make tough decisions when working with thermoplastic adhesive film. You can laminate what you need, with the variations you need. That’s just one of the reasons why so many business owners turn to hot melt lamination when it comes to their production needs.

What’s the difference between cold melt and hot melt lamination film?

We’ve already broken down the basic process of hot melt lamination. Cold melt lamination immediately differs in that it does not require heating. It uses a pressure-sensitive adhesive, and rollers. The rollers crush the adhesive to the chosen surface, binding them together. Cold melt lamination works primarily with flat surfaces, whereas hot melt adhesive allows you a bit more flexibility with more dynamic products.

However, the advantage of cold melt lamination is that it doesn’t require as much time. The heating process takes time, and therefore the hot melt lamination process inevitably takes longer than its cold counterpart.

Ultimately, however, determining the right process depends on the specifics of your business. In some cases, small business owners choose to work with third parties. Rather than handling the hot melt lamination process yourself, you can essentially outsource. This empowers you to get what you need, while at the same time working with the experts.

We know—choosing a third party can be intimidating at first. But once you consider the benefits, you might find that this is exactly what you’re looking for.

Frequently Asked Questions

Still have some questions about the lamination process and contract manufacturing? Below, we’ve listed a few our customers frequently ask.

How does third party manufacturing work?

When you work with a third party manufacturer, you’re essentially outsourcing production. However, that doesn’t mean you aren’t involved in the process. If you select the right company, you can offer input, while also getting an insider’s look at how each procedure breaks down. Outsourcing doesn’t mean hands-off—it simply means taking advantage of key benefits.

What are the benefits of outsourcing?

The benefits of outsourcing production is that you don’t have to buy the materials outright. Nor do you have to hire employees or secure facilities. This means you’ll save not only money, but time—and a lot of inconvenience, too.

What are the main types of third party manufacturing?

There are two main types of third party manufacturing, including:

  • Contract manufacturing. During this process, the third party handles production from beginning to end. They provide not only the production itself, but the raw materials.
  • Tolling. Here, the third party provides the final product. However, you provide the raw materials.

Curious about how hot melt lamination specifically works when you outsource production? Call CTI at 419-924-5566 or contact us here to get answers. We’re happy to help!