Why is lamination necessary? It is designed to protect paper from wrinkling, contamination, and physical deterioration. Helps to keep the document, an important sheet intact. Not always there is a desire and opportunity to apply for a similar service to a specialized salon. How to laminate paper at home? Some good ways we will give below.
Method number 1: iron and laminating film
First you need to purchase a suitable laminating film. I must say that there are a great many of them - both in size and in thickness. For home conditions, A4 format is more suitable. The thickness of one half can vary from 75 to 200 microns. For independent lamination, it is better to choose the thinnest.
The film itself is two plastic halves connected horizontally or vertically. On the inside, the material is covered with an adhesive mass - it is it that, when heated, glues it to the paper.
Now specifically, let's move on to how to laminate paper at home with an iron:
- Heat the device to medium temperature (usually a "deuce"). It is important not to overheat it - otherwise the film is wrinkled, covered with bubbles.
- Then place the document between the halves of the film, flatten it.
- The next step: from the junction of the halves, start ironing, expelling air bubbles.
- Note that the film is sold matte, and when heated and glued it gains transparency and rigidity forever.
- If the iron is heated to the recommended temperature, then there is no need to be afraid that the film will stick to its sole. This can happen only if you mixed up and put it with the adhesive side up. But just in case, we recommend that you put a sheet of white paper between the iron and the film.
- If suddenly an air bubble still forms during gluing, then rub the still hot surface of the film with a cloth. He must disappear.
- If the bubble does not go away, it remains only to pierce it with a pin, a needle and iron it again.
Method number 2: adhesive tape
We continue to disassemble how to laminate paper at home without a film. Now the "student" method - using tape. You will need the usual wide adhesive tape. And, of course, dexterity. You need to glue the tip of the tape to the edge of the paper, and then slowly and carefully move along its width to the other edge.
The method is fraught with the formation of bubbles, the appearance of un-glued spaces between the stripes of tape. Therefore, it is successful only for small documents.
Method number 3: hot glue film for books
The disadvantage of this method is one - a similar film is sold only in rolls. Therefore, it will be interesting only to those who will be engaged in home lamination more than once.
You can use it in the same way as with a laminating film: put it on a document, iron it from edge to edge. If you are afraid to spoil the material, place a sheet of paper under the sole of the iron.
Method number 4: file
Let's look at how to laminate paper at home from a file:
- Buy a file of suitable sizes.
- Cut it to the size of the document, it is important that there are not two free halves, but a pocket connected to one or more sides by a factory seam.
- Insert paper in this protective layer.
- Take an ordinary adhesive tape and connect them together.
- That's all, such a quick and trouble-free lamination!
Method number 5: laminator
Many are interested in how to laminate paper at home with a laminator. Here is a suitable instruction:
- Turn on the device, wait until it heats up. Some technology reports this fact with a light indicator.
- Prepare a film for lamination. Put a document between its two halves so that the adhesive layer adjoins it.
- If it is smaller than the film, then you should try to place the paper strictly in its middle, so that you later trim the edges. So far, we will laminate in this form.
- Place the document in the film in the input tray. In this case, the glued edge is adjacent to the closed side of the container, where there is a layer that prevents the collection of glue.
- Now put the tray in the machine with the open edge of the film forward. Wait until the machine hooks it. Do not press on the paper - it should slowly and freely enter the device.
- Before you remove the document, wait until it cools down.
- Now you can trim the extra edges with scissors. The minimum remaining length is 2 mm.
Other home lamination methods
How to laminate paper at home? Let's look at a few more ways:
- Book cover with sticky layer. It is very simple to use: cut a piece of material that is suitable in size, remove the paper protective layer from it, carefully glue it on the document. Do the same with the other side. The cover is in sheet and roll form.
- Oilcloth. Some craftsmen successfully laminate documents with the help of such material.
- Self-adhesive film. Quite often it can be found on store shelves. At one time, it was widely used to breathe a second life into furniture, doors. One minus - only transparent glass film is suitable for lamination, which is not so easy to find.
- Film for the printer. There is no need to perform any additional actions - you can already print a document on the material.
- Sheets from photo albums. You can purchase a cheap photo album to later parse it into sheets. Inside each, place a document, cut the envelope along the edge of the paper, seal it with tape.
So we have figured out how to laminate paper at home. Choose any convenient and suitable method for you: self-adhesive film, file, laminator, adhesive tape, oilcloth and so on.