Hot and Cold Lamination

Hot and cold lamination machines are used as per the type of lamination required. For hot lamination, the item to be laminated is subjected to heat while in cold lamination, the material is subjected to pressure. For both the lamination procedures; an adhesive or laminating film is the prime requirement. The thicker the adhesive, the firmer the lamination and its longevity will also increase.

Hot Lamination
Hot lamination is performed using a hot laminating film. There are two types of hot laminations; standard lamination and special low melt lamination. Standard lamination is used for everyday lamination purposes while special low melt laminating films are used for laminating materials which cannot be subjected to high temperature; e.g. photographs. A hot laminating film consists of two layers; the polyester layer and the adhesive resin layer; which are in a ratio of 3:2. The material to be laminated is placed between these laminating sheets and then subjected to heat rollers which melt the adhesive and spread it evenly over the target material. These rollers are operated at a temperature of 200 to 300 degree celsius. After it dries and becomes cold, the process of lamination is complete. For a stiff and strong lamination, the amount of polyester should be more than the adhesive.

Hot laminating machine is cheaper than cold laminating machine and the materials laminated using hot lamination are generally more resistant. The disadvantages of hot lamination are that, it cannot be used for the lamination of heat sensitive materials and materials that have ink, because there is a possibility that the ink may melt on heating. The process of lamination needs some time, because the machine needs to be heated up before the process is started. Because of its high temperature; great caution is required while handling a hot laminating machine. Proper training is required to handle a hot lamination machine.

Cold Lamination
The process of lamination using a cold lamination machine starts with the placing of the document to be laminated in the cold laminator machine. Then the attributes are set according to the size of the document. Within a few minutes, you will get a perfectly laminated document. Another way of laminating a document is by using a cold roll laminator. In this process, the roll is coated with a sticky adhesive which helps in laminating. The roll is shiny and lustrous which gives the laminated article a good look. The document to be laminated is subjected to pressure so that the adhesive spreads out evenly on the entire sheet.

Cold lamination does not damage even the most delicate things. Cold lamination is used for the lamination of heat sensitive materials and paper documents. Since the temperature is low, there are no chances of burn injuries. Cold lamination can be performed by an untrained person since the usage of cold laminating machine is simple. Less maintenance is required as compared to the hot lamination machine and the process of installing cold lamination machine is easy and safe. The disadvantages of these machines are that they are quite expensive as compared to the hot laminating machines. There are also chances of bubble formation during the lamination process. The unavailability of rolls in different sizes is also a problem, when using these machines.

So according to your choice and need, you can choose hot lamination or cold lamination. The choice of lamination also partly depends on the budget. Thus, with lamination you can maintain valuable and assets like documents for your lifetime.