MyBinding Knowledge Base
Why Should You Laminate Your Scrapbook Pages?
A laminator is a great tool to have around the house for a variety of reasons. One popular project is to laminate items for a scrapbook page. In many cases, however, you might find it better to simply laminate the entire page. Many personal size machines are wide enough to accommodate the average 12 inch scrapbook page. Here are a few reasons why you should consider laminating your pages.
- Lamination protects your pages. Scrapbooks are designed to be looked at again and again. Otherwise what would be the point of making them? Leaving the page exposed will make it prone to tearing, spills, and other accidents.
- Lamination is safe for kids. When you think of a laminator, you probably have an image in your mind of hot, dripping glue. Along with that comes a hot machine and the use of electricity or batteries. However, the opposite is often true. Cold lamination generally provides all the benefits of hot lamination without the wrinkles and curling. And as an added bonus, the machine is ready to go immediately and the outside will stay cool to the touch.
- Why laminate when you can use page protectors? Because a laminated page is fully sealed. Page protectors have an opening where the sheet slides in. A finished laminated page will be completely protected from all sides.
- Lamination is easy. Most machines simply require that you insert a page and press a button. Many cold laminators require you to turn a hand crank. Either way, we’re sure even the most inexperienced user will find laminators simple to operate.
- Laminate is safe for photos. Another reason to use cold lamination is that photos are thermally sensitive and most hot laminators will ruin them. Laminates used today are generally acid free and photo-safe; check the label to be sure. Non-toxic laminate is important to keep your items safe from yellowing with age.
- Lamination is versatile. You can laminate any flat object up to a specific width, depending on the machine. Often that cut off is half an inch thick, which means that all your ribbons, buttons, fabrics, and other embellishments will easily fit through the opening.
- There’s a laminator for everyone. Laminators come in all shapes and sizes. Hot laminators require warm up time and electricity or batteries. Cold laminators use manpower and are ready to go when you are. You can find large machines or small devices that can fit in your closet. Whatever you’re looking for, there’s one for you.
- Laminators are for more than just laminating. Depending on the machine, laminators can also apply adhesive, magnetic backing, attach items to mounting boards, and coat fabrics. You can make a huge variety of craft projects using a laminator.
As you can see, lamination is a great way to preserve your scrapbook pages. They will seal out the air in acid-free materials that will keep you pages looking fresh. And after spending so much time creating a customized page, you’ll want to keep it protected from accidental spills and tears. Now the only challenge left is to find your perfect laminator. Good luck and happy laminating!
< Over the years, a number of customers have asked me whether they can use twin loop wire with their plastic comb binding machine. These customers often don’t want to have to buy a brand new machine but like the look and feel of twin loop wire binding. However, the answer to their question isn’t as simple as it seems. You see, they actually do make twin loop wire that is designed to work with the plastic comb binding hole pattern. With that said, if you want to use these wires you are going to need a way to close the wires. What is Spiral-O Wire? Let me explain a little bit more…There is a product that we carry called Spiral-O Wire. This wire has 19 loops and is designed to work with the hole pattern from a plastic comb binding machine. Spiral-O Wire is sometimes called Wire Combs or Ibico Wire and was originally designed for use with some of the older Ibico binding machines. A number of the older Ibico plastic comb binding machines also included a twin loop wire closer on the front of them to allow users to use both plastic combs and wire. This 19 loop wire was designed for this purpose. What Equipment is Needed? As the Ibico brand has been phased out by GBC and all of the older Ibico plastic binding machines have been replaced with new models, they no longer have the twin loop wire closer on the front of them. This presents a problem in trying to use these spiral-o wires since you can’t use the wires without a way to close them. One of the only options left is to purchase a Twin Loop wire closer. However, since twin loop wire closers are not incredibly cheap this option usually only appeals to users who have larger electric plastic comb binding machines. Otherwise, it is often advisable to simply buy a low end 3:1 pitch twin loop wire binding machine (the supplies are cheaper). This being said, if you have one of the older Ibico binding machines that has a wire closer included you are in luck. The Spiral-O binding supplies that we carry will work perfectly with your machine and you will be able to use both plastic combs and wire depending on your needs. These Spiral-O binding supplies are available in Black, Silver, White, Blue and Red and in sizes up to 1″ in diameter. If you aren’t sure what type of wire binding supplies that you need to work with your machine simply give us a call. Our trained sales representatives will be glad to help you find the correct supplies for use with your machine.(Read More)
