Almost anything that is flat can be laminated. The best-known uses for lamination are ID cards and restaurant menus. However, whenever you have material you need to protect or reuse, then lamination can be the way to go. Lamination also stiffens the material, making it excellent for creating tabletop displays and hanging and protecting posters/signs.

Encapsulating is the process of placing or sticking a layer of film (gloss or matt) to both sides of a document and leaving a sealed film edge around the document, thus encapsulating the document between two layers of laminating film or plastic. Encapsulating provide a better quality lamination that is more resistant to wear and tear, like menu’s.

Laminating is a process where by pressure sensitive adhesives are used to stick a layer of lamin-ating film (gloss or matt) to only the front or one side (both sides can be laminated) of a document. The process is used when the material being lamin-ated is sensitive to heat; for example, some ink jet printers use inks that can melt when heated, also to laminate over a poster that is to be mounted on a backing board.

Thermal laminating is the process of sticking a very thin layer of film (gloss or matt) to only one side (both sides can be laminated) of a document. The process is inexpensive because such thin film is used and can be used for high volumes of documents; for example, corporate folders, business cards, magazines, etc.