1.5 Mil (Per Flap) Laminating Pouches?

[CliffSpielman]

Hi. Thanks in advance for your input. I'm developing a new coffee table book product which is small enough where I can - in theory - use my pouch laminators to laminate the cover vs my roll laminator. I'm sure it's me but I truly dislike using the roll laminator. I guess more accurately it's the setup I don't enjoy. My pouch laminators are best of breed and obviously easy to use. I'm not worried about efficiency at this point, only being able to properly laminate the covers and see how this product does on the market. Then down the road, perhaps I will investigate a more official solution.

What I need - as I see it - are 19 inch long pouches with no more than 1.5 mil per flap. So let's say 13x19 since that's a standard paper size, though may not be so in the world of laminating pouches. Ideally, there would be a soft touch matte pouch, but even a standard matte could be fine. Preferably no gloss.

I did find a 12x18 pouch on Binding101 that meets these specs but the 18 inch length is just a hair short. I do have an inquiry with them to see if they either have a longer pouch or can do custom.

I do understand that this is not the most efficient long-term solution in terms of both cost, speed and productivity. I'm very interested in UV coating or perhaps a better roll laminator than I currently have, or even potentially having someone else doing the laminating. But the ease that using the pouch laminators would give me in the short-term as I launch a new product is worth it to me.

 

[Ynot_UK]

Even the thinner 150 (2x75) micron encapsulation pouches are three times thicker than typical roll lamination film at 24/27 micron thickness.

For the product you've described, I would be concerned about the risk of the covers de-laminating at the exposed edges over a period of time. This is a real issue and it is pretty much guaranteed to happen.

The combination of a thinner laminating film, applied with pneumatic pressure on a professional roll laminator, is designed to be trimmed and remain intact.

The purpose of encapsulation is to protect as opposed to enhance, and is usually applied with much less pressure than a laminator and the thicker film tends not to de-laminate at the edges only because it is polypropylene on polypropylene. These pouches are absolutely not designed to be trimmed or stressed and particularly where toner coverage is heavy or full bleed, you will run into problems. The nasty part about this is, the problems won't manifest immediately.

 

[CliffSpielman]

Even the thinner 150 (2x75) micron encapsulation pouches are three times thicker than typical roll lamination film at 24/27 micron thickness.

For the product you've described, I would be concerned about the risk of the covers de-laminating at the exposed edges over a period of time. This is a real issue and it is pretty much guaranteed to happen.

The combination of a thinner laminating film, applied with pneumatic pressure on a professional roll laminator, is designed to be trimmed and remain intact.

The purpose of encapsulation is to protect as opposed to enhance, and is usually applied with much less pressure than a laminator and the thicker film tends not to de-laminate at the edges only because it is polypropylene on polypropylene. These pouches are absolutely not designed to be trimmed or stressed and particularly where toner coverage is heavy or full bleed, you will run into problems. The nasty part about this is, the problems won't manifest immediately.

That's very helpful info, thank you. The quality of my work is important, so it's a good reminder that problems won't be immediately noticeable. Perhaps it's time to find a good (and easy to use) 14" roll laminator.

 

[tngcas]

The purpose of encapsulation is to protect as opposed to enhance, and is usually applied with much less pressure than a laminator and the thicker film tends not to de-laminate at the edges only because it is polypropylene on polypropylene. These pouches are absolutely not designed to be trimmed or stressed and particularly where toner coverage is heavy or full bleed, you will run into problems. The nasty part about this is, the problems won't manifest immediately.

We ran into this exact problem trying to use a pouch laminator. The problem doesn't manifest immediately and then the end user calls/complains weeks or months later because they're using their book in a different environment/humidity etc. and they delaminated. I also HATE our roll laminator because the setup/trimming time is simply to impractical for short runs.

UV Coating would be the idea long-term solution here - I'd find a shop willing to uv coat your sheets and then invest in the equipment when the volume gets there that way your initial product offering matches your ending product offering.

 

[PricelineNegotiator]

UV Coating would be the idea long-term solution here - I'd find a shop willing to uv coat your sheets and then invest in the equipment when the volume gets there that way your initial product offering matches your ending product offering.

This. You can get a UV Coater from TEC Lighting for under $15,000. 13 x 19" sheet is like $.01 per side for the coating. You can hand feed them. Very much recommend you outsource it or buy your own.