Using roll laminating film is one of the most cost-effective ways of laminating your printed products, such as menus, posters, book covers, charts, calendars and catalogues. Laminating your printed material enhances the visual appeal of the product as well as offers protection and durability.
Although the price of a roll laminator will likely be more expensive than a regular pouch laminating machine, depending on the volumes being laminating, the savings you will make as a result of faster production output and lower laminating material costs of laminating film rolls vs pouches, will justify the investment in a roll laminating machine in the medium to long term.
What is roll laminating film?
Let’s start with the basics, what roll laminating film actually is, and the easiest way to explain is – laminating film supplied in roll form rather than in pouch form.
It’s fed through roll laminating machines and requires one or two rolls of film – one for the top side of the print and one for the bottom side, or only one roll if you have chosen to laminate one side of the print only. The lamination process requires heat and pressure to bond the thermal plastic lamination film to the print and form a seal.
Key features of laminating rolls
There are a few key features of laminating film that you need to know about before you purchase. Using the appropriate laminating film for the intended application will ensure that the desired end result is achieved.
These key features would be: film grade; core size; roll width; and film thickness (micron).
Film grade
Film grade refers to the composition of the film. Standard matte or gloss laminating film will suffice for your run-of-the-mill laminating job. Always make sure the lamination film you use is compatible with your machine and your end product. For example, when laminating a digital print, a standard lamination film will not bond sufficiently with the substrate and therefore a digital laminating film will be required to ensure proper adhesion. In this instance, we would advise that you make use of our premium digital laminating film, Ultrabond, or our standard digital film, Superstick. Refer to our product swatch book or product catalogue for a detailed specification on our full range of OPP thermal laminating films and PET thermal Laminating films.
Core size
The core size refers to the diameter of the core on which the film roll is wound. There are three standard core sizes: 25mm, 57mm and 75mm. The core size will often be in relation to the laminating machine being used, the length of the film roll and film grade.
Roll width
The roll width is quite literally how wide the roll of film is, which is ordered in relation to the size of sheet you are laminating and within the parameters of the width that your laminating machine can accommodate. There are a range of standard roll widths available, and custom size rolls can be ordered on request.
Film thickness
Lamination film comes in a range of thicknesses and is measured in microns. The more rigid and sturdy you need your laminated print the thicker your lamination film will need to be. Products such as menus would be more suited to doubled sided lamination with a thicker micron, while book covers you could laminate one side and opt for a more luxurious texture and a slightly thinner micron. This is all dependent on your clients needs for the end products, the uses, and aesthetic requirements. The thickness of the film can also influence the bonding strength as a thicker film could in some cases have a higher ratio of adhesive to plastic and thereby facilitate a stronger bond to the printed material.
Which laminating film roll should I buy?
It is vital that you choose the right laminating film or you could end up damaging your machine or risk poor quality laminated prints. So the first thing you need to do is check the specifications of your machine and the nature of the substrate which you intend to laminate and the choose a laminating film accordingly.
As leading Thermal laminating film suppliers, here at Press Products, we have an extensive range of laminating films available for you to choose from and we are here to advise you on the most appropriate film for your laminating job specific requirements.
Take a look at our full range of roll laminating film or get in touch if you have any questions or queries.
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