What is it? Laminating is the process of taking a paper document and basically encapsulating it in a special plastic sheet using heat to bind it together. Once laminated, it's difficult, if not impossible, to remove without damaging the original, but that's also the point! Pages that need protecting will be safe for many years and still instantly readable whenever you need them.
Pictures: What a small laminator looks like (left) and one of the reasons why we do it (right)
Why do it? There are lots of reasons why you'd want to do this, but here's some of the most common:
you have an important document you want to protect (but see below)
you want to make some simple posters to go on a wall
you want to 'security proof' something, such as an ID card
you have hand outs you want to re-use (laminating makes it hard to write on with normal pens, but dry wipe markers can be used and then erased afterwards)
How much does it cost? We charge £1 per A4 lamination, so, for example if you have four pages, then your total bill would be £4.00. However, for large jobs we do tend to offer discounts as long as you're prepared to give us some time, usually a few hours, to get the job done. This is at the discretion of the staff member you're dealing with, but a rule of thumb is that more than 10 laminates will attract discounts. Just ask for a price before you get started ...
What happens when my document is laminated? Very simply, your document is placed in a plastic sheath that covers the entire surface and edges. This is then placed in a special heat diffusing holder which is pushed through a heated rolling mechanism. Don't worry, we do this for you and provide the laminate pouch. The documents are unaffected by the heat, but there are some important and special exceptions to this so you must be sure about what you're asking us to laminate as we can't be held responsible for any losses. See below for known exceptions.
What CAN'T I laminate? We're talking documents here, not objects for start. They must be A4 or under size wise, but they can be quite thick. There are certain documents that use thermal paper to produce their images and that means if you push them through a laminator they will be totally destroyed. All you will be left with is a nice neat laminated black square. Thermal paper has a special feel though so it's generally easy to spot it. It's used for some till and credit card receipts, but the one that catches most people out is a scan of an unborn baby. That priceless picture of your unborn child is almost always produced on thermal paper - check before you destroy it! What size can I laminate up to? You can laminate up to an A4 size in the cafes currently. If your document is less than A4, you will need to trim it down to szie (if you wish) using scissors. We are looking at the possibility of providing A3 laminating, but this depends on customer demand. Why not let us know your view here.
