Lamination is the best way to keep your documents protected and preventing them from being damaged from folds, creases, warping, tearing and spills. Occasionally, some people who use laminated documents will need to write on their document, but, the fact that most of the laminating pouches available have a glossy finish to them makes it difficult to write on your laminated documents. However, there is a great solution to this problem and that is to use laminating pouches that have a matte finish to them so you can write on them with a pen or a marker. This is an ideal solution for many situations where you have documents to present, and might need to jot down a few notes here or there.
Matte finished laminating pouches will provide sufficient protection for your documents, but they can also give you the ability to write on the surface much easier than you could on a glossy finished laminate. If you spend a lot of time in meetings or presentations, I'm sure you can see the advantage to being able to take down notes on your document that has been laminated. With a matte finished laminated document you have the ability to write on your document with a ball point pen, or even a pencil. This is not possible with glossy finished laminate, the result would look very faded and smudged.
One thing that is worth mentioning is that you don't really have to choose between matte and glossy, because there are pouches out there that have one side which is glossy and the other side which is matte. This is a great solution for someone who needs to have the flexibility to be able to write on their laminated document, but also want the slick look of the glossy finish to make their document look professional.
If you have your own laminator I would suggest that you pick up the matte/glossy combo pouches because unless you need both sides of your document to have the professional look that the glossy finish gives you, it is much more worth your while to have a document that offers the best of both worlds. Don't underestimate having the ability to mark up your documents and make notes while you are in your meetings or presentations, it could mean the difference from remembering and forgetting something that could potentially give you the upper hand in what you are trying to accomplish.
Using a pouch laminator and some laminating pouches it is incredibly simple to create high quality laminated signs, luggage tags, name tags, visual aids and identification pieces. All you need to do is insert the material that you want to laminate into the laminating pouch, insert the pouch into the carrier and then run the carrier and pouch through your laminator. All this is very simple if you have the right laminating pouches for your job. This article is designed to provide information that will help you choose the right thickness of laminating pouch for your documents.
There are five primary thicknesses of laminating pouches available on the market. However, before we discuss these different thicknesses it is important to note a few things. First, the thickness of the laminating pouch is per side. This means that a 10mil laminating pouch is actually 20mil thick (10mil on the front and 10mil on the back). It is also important to note that not all laminating pouches will accept all the different thicknesses of laminating pouches. Before you select the thickness of pouch that you want to use you will need to reference your laminator's user's manual to determine the maximum pouch thickness that it can accept.
There are five different thicknesses of pouches. Here they are?
1. 1.5mil Pouches are the thinnest laminating pouches available on the market. In fact, they are so thin that most laminators don't support them. However, these ?economy? grade pouches are ideal for high volume output where flexibility and low cost are a priority. These items offer a basic level of protection for your documents but it is still easy to crease or bend the laminated output.
2. 3mil laminating pouches are the most commonly used laminating pouches for larger sized documents. These pouches offer a basic level of protection while still allowing documents to remain flexible. These pouches are too thin for laminating smaller items such as business cards (if cut down to smaller sizes they will curl). However, they are great for use with letter size, legal size and menu sized sheets.
3. 5mil laminating pouches are the thinnest pouches available for laminating smaller documents such as credit card size, bookmark size and index cards. They offer a small amount of additional rigidity to larger documents but are not overly rigid. These pouches are a good compromise for companies who want to give their laminated materials a premium feel without paying a premium price.
4. 7mil pouches offer even more rigidity than traditional five mil pouches. These pouches do offer a slightly heavier feel than 5mil pouches. However, most users who are looking for the extra heavy duty feel will opt for a 10mil pouch. The most common application for these pouches is for users that want to laminate small items such as business cards and name badges. These pouches offer a compromise between the ultra heavy duty 10mil option and the lightweight 5mil option (remember that small pouches aren't available in smaller sizes.
5. 10mil laminating pouches are ideal for laminating documents and reference materials that are frequently handled or will be exposed to abuse. These pouches offer the most rigidity available and have a finished thickness that is slightly less than a credit card. These pouches are ideal for reference materials, flip charts and name badges.
Hopefully this should help you better understand the different sizes of laminating pouches that are available. Using this information you should be able to choose the thickness of pouches that you need based on the amount of rigidity that you want, the frequency with which the items will be handled and the capabilities of your laminator. Good luck and happy laminating.
Both Tony Beb & Jeff Mcritchie are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
Tony Beb has sinced written about articles on various topics from Personal Finance, Business and Finance and Gadgets. Tony has extensive knowledge on and also provides knowledge on. Tony Beb's top article generates over 12100 views. to your Favourites.
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