Large Laminating Services: What You Need to Know

Curious about large laminating services? Have you found that the differences between processes is a little confusing? Don’t worry—we have the information you need on the basics of laminating, as well as advice regarding which types of machines and methods will work best for your business. Take a look!

What is industrial lamination?

Think of lamination as a bonding process—because really, that’s what it is. When we laminate a product, we’re really bringing two flexible webs together with a bonding agent. You typically have an adhesive and a less absorbent substrate layer. First, you’ll apply the adhesive to that substrate web layer. Then, you’ll press a second layer to it, ultimately creating a full laminated product.

Why do we laminate products on an industrial level? For several reasons. Firstly, a laminated product tends to be more durable than a product we don’t laminate. It’s more resistant to heat, water, and general wear and tear like scratches and UV rays. It’s more heavily insulated, and we can bend it and manipulate it without tearing. Additionally, the product maintains its appearance better than a product we don’t laminate would. The general color of products made with large laminating services looks more saturated and vibrant than unlaminated products, particularly when we print the images involved.

Ultimately, laminated products simply prove to be stronger than unlaminated products. They last for the long term, and you can consider laminating them an investment. To put it simply—if you want something to stick around, laminate it!

What do we use industrial laminates for?

So, why does the manufacturing industry need large laminating services in the first place? An industrial laminator machine serves many potential purposes. Generally speaking, laminating services cover a wide range of packaging—including packaging food products. Without industrial laminating equipment, we could lose the ability to not only packaging but preserve food. It’s no wonder lamination has become a key part of finishing off so many products!

Additionally, we use large laminating services within the solar energy industry. We can’t make technical laminates for solar panels without laminators. The insulation panel sector also relies upon laminator machines.

Keep in mind that there isn’t a single type of field or industry that utilizes industrial lamination. Rather, we use industrial lamination to help businesses both large and small. Potentially, any business utilizing manufacturing may need large laminating services at some point! Other products made with lamination (particularly because they’re susceptible to high-impact) include:

• laboratory furniture
• cabinet partitions
• medical equipment (including x-ray tables)
• wall panels
• exhibition stands
• interior wall cladding

Other Forms and Types of Large Laminating Services

On a more basic level, the materials we laminate include everything from plastic film to paper, as well as metals and fabrics. The amount of products and materials we can laminate may surprise you!

What are the different types of laminate and large laminating services?

As many products as we can laminate, there are also many different types of laminate and lamination processes. Check out some of the types of laminate below!

Cold laminate

• We execute this particular type of lamination through adhesive and pressure, keeping the product between two layers of plastic.
• Cold lamination needs high pressure, and some manufacturers prefer it because they believe the results are higher quality than those delivered with hot lamination.
• Additionally, cold lamination usually requires less setup time and less maintenance. Although the machines are manual (which means they require a special technician to be properly utilized) they also tend to be less expensive and easier to use.
• Usually, the cold lamination process better preserves the colors and quality of printed documents compared to hot lamination. Furthermore, due to the high pressure we use, you won’t see as many bubbles.
• When using a cold laminator, we typically only laminate one side of the document in question. They’re therefore better for adhesive decorations and decals.

Hot laminate

• When using the hot laminate process, we rely on heat to melt or activate the adhesive materials. This fuses the plastic to the product in question.
• Typically, this process offers more applications and includes a wider variety of materials (including vinyl).
• While you’ll experience the risk of damaging inked images with the heat, if you use the right types of special plastics, you can cut the risk down significantly.
• Of course, the heat used through the hot laminate process tends to be quite high. This means you must be careful when using these machines, and only work with people specially trained for the process.

While these processes are complex and can be quite delicate, when you work with experienced manufacturers—including third party manufacturers—you can not only select the right process, but execute it correctly. With that being said, CTI is here and ready to help. Go here or give us a call at 419-924-5566. We’re happy to offer guidance and advice as you select the right large laminating services for you!