About Lamination
Lamination is a term used to describe the process of fusing items together, typically using heat as a bonding agent. While lamination is a general term that can be applied to several different types of bonding, it is most commonly exemplified in the process of sealing a piece of paper between two pieces of thin plastic to prevent it from staining, ripping or blurring.
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History
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The process of lamination was discovered in 1938 by Dr. Morris M. Blum, a New York City dentist, who transferred the dental practice of fusing clear resin to teeth for enamel protection to laminating photographs. His work was expanded upon in the early 1900s by Herbert Faber and Daniel O’Conor, two industrial engineers who applied the concept as a form of electrical insulation. Their specialized laminating product, Formica, became utilized as a protective insulator for many commercial items ranging from radios to lithograph film to wood laminate. Starting in the 1950s, lamination became a popular technique for sealing and protecting chair, table, counter and floor surfaces in kitchens and bathrooms.
Effects
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The result of the process of lamination is a laminate. Many everyday items are actually laminates such as glass, credit cards and plywood. Car windshields are laminates made by fusing a piece of clear plastic between two thin layers of glass. Photograph paper is laminated on one side, the side that carries the image, to keep it from spoiling. This is what gives most photographs their glossy finish.
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Types
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There are many different types of laminating materials that are organized into four distinct categories: standard thermal laminating film, pressure-sensitive laminating film, liquid laminates and low-temperature thermal film. Standard and low-temperature thermal film use heat requiring glue to cover surfaces that are polished, painted and non-porous such as posters or high-grade photography prints. Pressure-sensitive film uses a cold adhesive that bonds with surfaces when force is applied, and can provide a specific surface effect, such as matte or satin, to papers and photographs. Liquid laminates are a fast-trying paste that is used on billboards, banners and signs to protect them from the elements.
At-Home Laminating
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Individuals may purchase at-home laminating devices capable of laminating pieces of paper, business cards, photographs or thin pieces of cardboard. They are sold with special plastic lamination sheets that are meant to encase the item and create the waterproof seal when passed through the appliance. The machine is generally about 6 inches by 12 inches and creates the laminate by slowly passing the item and plastic through the high pressure and heat of a roller press. The plastic bonds with itself and the item, creating a flexible and protected layer that cannot be broken.
Benefits
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The process of lamination is also utilized in the field of electro-engineering to decrease excessive heat in transformers that may damage the rest of the electric circuit. Sheets of ferrite are laminated onto the appliance with conductor patterns etched onto them. Heat rises out of the transformer and is absorbed by the conductor channels in the ferrite, which direct the heat to electrodes that route the heat as energy back into the circuit or out of the circuit entirely, depending on the design.
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