businessinfomag.uk
Easy does it
Lamination is a cost-effective method
of protecting printed material
from moisture, stains and wear and
tear; it improves the appearance of
presentation documents, providing
a higher quality finish with deeper
colours and improved contrast; and
the rigidity and stiffness it brings
make paper easier to hold and display.
Advances in office printing, from
improved print quality, colour fastness
and fade resistance to a broader range
of substrates and finishes, combined
with the availability of low-cost reusable
frames, have arguably reduced the
aesthetic value of lamination. However,
its value for document preservation is as
strong as ever, says Gregory Schembri,
trade marketing manager at Leitz.
“Lamination provides much needed
protection for documents that are
regularly handled, and this is something
the printer market is yet to offer
as a solution. Although printing has
become quicker and more accurate,
the environmental pressures and cost
reductions mean anything that needs to
be protected or handled regularly must
be laminated,” he said.
For this reason alone, a laminator
remains an essential item of business
equipment, suitable for protecting a wide
range of everyday printed items, such as
business cards, photos, badges, important
Laminators
documents, leaflets, signs and posters.
Tim Machin, senior product
marketing manager at Acco Brands
Europe, says that this flexibility makes
laminators useful not just for key
verticals like education, healthcare, retail,
manufacturing & distribution, but for
“everyone, everywhere”.
Choosing a laminator
There is a wide choice of laminators on
the market and it is important to pick
the right model for your needs. Key
considerations include:
n
Document size.
Machines typically
come in A4 and A3 options. The
wider the entry of the laminator, the
more flexibility you have to laminate
documents of a variety of sizes.
n
The level of protection.
Laminating
pouches are measured in microns and
the higher the micron, the thicker and
stronger the pouch. Choosing a machine
which accepts thicker pouches, again,
offers more versatility.
n
Frequency of use.
If the laminator is
likely to be used regularly, ease of use
and speed will be essential.
New generation laminators offer quick and easy protection of
important documents
Lamination
provides
much needed
protection for
documents
that are
handled
regularly.
magazine
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Ease of use
One of the major advancements in
lamination in recent years is simpler,
faster operation. Schembri points out
that the days of complicated operation
and waiting for a laminator to heat up
are long gone.
“At Leitz, we’ve overcome these
challenges with a one-touch button
system where our laminators heat up
within a minute.We’ve also developed
special lamination pouches with
directional arrows, allowing for accurate
lamination and outstanding quality,” he
said.
He attributes growing demand for the
Leitz iLam range – up 10% this year – to
its ease of use.
“For years we’ve seen complicated
models in the market with various
settings and warm up times. Our iLam
range addresses this with an ‘All you
need to know is on and off’ ethos.”
A faster finish
Acco has made similar advances with
its Fusion range, featuring the tag line
‘Simply faster to the finish’.
It offers models to suit any workplace,
including the top of the range Fusion
5000L and 5100L for fast and frequent
use (10 documents in four minutes or
less); the Fusion 3000L and 3100L for
mid-sized offices with daily lamination
needs (90 second or less warm-up and
Intelligent Jam Alert); and the Fusion
1000L and 1100L for home or small
office use (easy, one-step lamination).
“The Fusion range was developed
based on consumer insight and feedback
from the market,” explained Machin.
“The key consumer pain points of
warm-up speed, throughput speed and
complex or confusing operation have
all been addressed, offering the benefits
of a simplified lamination process and
increased productivity.”
In addition to improved speed and
ease of use, modern laminators offer
superior results. For example, both the
Leitz iLam range and the Acco Fusion
5000L and 5100L laminators have
sensors that detect the thickness of a
filled pouch and automatically set the
correct speed at which to laminate, for
high quality results with no bubbles.
