When you ve begun searching for a laminating system for your home, school, or office, there are literally hundreds of brands, models, and types to consider. One of the most basic choices you will have to make when choosing your laminating machine, however, also happens to be one of the most important: will you be using hot or cold lamination? Each has its own advantages and disadvantages, and in this article we will begin to discuss the differences between the two systems, and hopefully help you choose which of the two laminating systems is right for you and the needs of your office. Here are a few things you will need to consider when making your choice.
1. Cost. In general, it seems that there is not a huge difference between the cost of hot and cold laminating machines. Where you will likely see the biggest difference in cost is in the supplies that you will need to have on hand for each system. Cold laminating supplies, as it turns out, are often a bit more expensive than those used for hot lamination. Depending on how you intend to use your laminating machine, however, the benefits of cold lamination might well outweigh the added cost of the supplies.
2. Supplies. There is a vast difference in the sizes and types of supplies available for hot and cold laminating. At this time, hot laminating pouches and supplies come in a much greater variety of sizes, making it the choice if you are going to be needing to laminate different sized documents on a regular basis. That being said, the methods of adhesion are more varied when you use cold lamination, which includes giving you the ability to laminate and apply the adhesive, just apply adhesive, or to laminate using a matte adhesive. Supplies for those options are difficult to find for hot lamination, and this is especially true for smaller sizes.
3. Speed. Because with cold lamination there is no need to wait for the machine to heat up, it is the clear choice of laminating machine when it comes to speed. Quite a few models of the smaller cold laminators will not even need to be plugged in. This gives these particular cold laminators the advantage of being able to be used just about anywhere you may need to transport them. Hot laminators, on the other hand, will generally need anywhere from two to fifteen minutes in order to properly heat up, and will, of course, always require power in order to function.
4. Heat. Although most of the better hot laminating machines come with safety functions that prevent users from getting burned, there is always that danger when dealing with heat. Also, there are several types of documents you might want to laminate that are heat sensitive such as photos, vinyl or thermally sensitive materials such as ultrasound images. These items can be damaged by head and are not be a good choice for hot lamination.
These are just a few of the things to consider when weighing the choices between hot and cold laminating systems. As always, do plenty of research before you decide to invest in a machine for your needs.
Author Resource:
Jeff McRitchie is the designer and Director of Marketing for http://www.mybinding.com .He has written over 500 articles on binding machines,binding covers,binders,laminators,binding supplies,laminating supplies,paper handling equipments,index tabs, and shredders.
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