MyBinding Knowledge Base
Why should I laminate my documents?
If you’ve never used a laminator before, perhaps you’re wondering what all the fuss is about. You may not understand why someone would willingly run their documents and photographs through a machine so they’ll be coated in plastic. But the truth is, there are a lot of reasons why laminating your documents is important. Here are some reasons why you should do so….
1.) To protect them from spills and rips. Let’s face it, paper isn’t exactly the sturdiest material in the world. It is prone to rips and can be damaged easily by spilled liquids and grubby hands. If you’ve ever spilled coffee all over an important document or accidentally ripped one, you know how frustrating it can be. Lamination can save you the frustration. You can’t rip a laminated document and if you spill something on it, the liquid can be easily wiped away.
2.) To preserve them. Another reason why you should laminate your documents is to preserve them. If you laminate something, it will stay in its present condition for many years and it won’t yellow or fade.
3.) To prepare them for handling. As mentioned above, paper can be a fragile material. If paper is handled too much, it’s going to be damaged or even completely ruined at some point. That’s why lamination is so important especially for items that will be handled a lot, such as menus and name badges. The plastic will prevent the paper from being ripped or ruined, allowing you to use the same item over and over again. This can help you save time and money because you won’t be constantly re-printing your item.
4.) To protect them from the elements. If you make a sign or banner that’s going to be placed outside, do you think normal paper would be able to withstand the effects of the sun, wind, and rain? (Or snow, as the case may be.) Not a chance. Lamination can help though because it will make your item much sturdier and resistant to the effects of nature. You can even use special UV pouches to protect your light-sensitive work from the sun’s harmful rays.
5.) To enhance them. One of the best reasons to laminate is that it will enhance the look of your documents. This is especially true of photograph and documents printed with colored ink. Lamination makes colors much more vivid and will really make your documents attract more attention.
6.) To prepare them for presentation. In addition to making the colors in your work pop, lamination can be used to prepare your items for presentation. For example, you can use mounting boards with some laminators, which allow you to use your machine to create sturdy, durable signs, displays, and so on. Some pouches even have sticky backs so you can adhere your item to another surface.
< 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)
