How To Laminate Cards?

tarotlyn, I did some testing (bent a test lamination card after I laminated it) and I see what you mean about the card separating in the middle. I didn't really understand what you meant until I witnessed it. And you are right, some good glue will fix that.

And, after you laminate them, the laminate curves the card (which I expected). They will need to be stored under some heavy books after I complete the project.

What - when laminated on both sides ? My hot machine does NOT pull that one.

I am going off cold...

gregory said:

What - when laminated on both sides ? My hot machine does NOT pull that one.

I am going off cold...

Click to expand...

Yes, those are the sheets I bought and referenced earlier - much easier! Clear. They laminate just like/similar to how the Illuminated Tarot looks.

aurarcana said:

tarotlyn, I did some testing (bent a test lamination card after I laminated it) and I see what you mean about the card separating in the middle. I didn't really understand what you meant until I witnessed it. And you are right, some good glue will fix that.

Click to expand...

...yes, seeing is believing!!! BTW, aurarcana, did you see my post #53
regarding the glue dots? Probably better than glue because they won't seep
into the image like glue would, and these are supposed to be 'ultra' thin...

These dots will be shipped to me by priority mail, so I should have them in a
few days then I will post my results here for everyone that uses the xyron 900
cold lamination.

But, you did see how wonderful and flexible the cards are and how EASY
it is to use the xyron machine!!! It really is amazing, I LOVE mine!

I have been using 12 mil thickness two sided matte photo stock paper.
You can find it on ebay sometimes. I don't find the 12 mil too thick, but then
I prefer a thinner card stock as it is more flexible. My very favorite card stock
is on the Romantic Victorian deck...it is thin and very flexible. Of course,
those are not laminated with laminate film.

Wow, you really go at GREAT deal on the prices when you bought yours and
the extra roll of laminate...you're a lucky buyer!

tarotlyn

I have a question about flattening the cards once you run them through the Xyron; they are bowed in the direction that they ran through the machine. I have them under a stack of books, but it looks like it is going to take more than that. How do you weigh them down and flatten them? If I can't flatten them, this entire process will be useless. Or, it means that I will have to scan the cards and print them up myself on thin paper before running them through. Not a big deal. I now have back-ups of both decks I am using.

aurarcana said:

I have a question about flattening the cards once you run them through the Xyron; they are bowed in the direction that they ran through the machine. I have them under a stack of books, but it looks like it is going to take more than that. How do you weigh them down and flatten them? If I can't flatten them, this entire process will be useless. Or, it means that I will have to scan the cards and print them up myself on thin paper before running them through. Not a big deal. I now have back-ups of both decks I am using.

Click to expand...

aurarcana, I think that you need to 'warm' the bowed laminated cards up
(with a small hair dryer or craft heater) ...or maybe carefully with an iron...
putting a cloth between iron and card... So warm them up this way really good
but ONLY on the BOWED IN side which should stretch them slightly...and QUICKLY
put the card with the problem side face DOWN on something 'cold' to set it
and then quickly put a heavy book on top of the card and leave it over night.

Were these 'new' tarot cards you ran through the Xyron or 'used' cards?
I would suspect that if your cards had been shuffled, that these cards were
weaken somewhat, so that when you ran them through the Xyron it bowed them.

OR if they were new cards, the lamination roll might not have been lined up correctly.
If so, you probably needed to crank out a little of the laminate without a card
in it to make sure that the laminate was lining up properly......maybe just a
few inches or so, then add the card into the machine face down.

To have stopped bowing towards the front side, then you probably should
have run them through the laminator with the back side UP facing you,
instead of the image side up (which would probably have bowed them slightly to their backs).

Hope I made sense

For future info:
If the cards are new when you laminate them, I think you should run them
through the xyron face down. If you are using re-printed images on card stock
made from your scans of the cards (or digital images) then you can run the
card or sheet of cards either face up or face down when you laminate.

If it keeps happening:
The only other thing I can think of, in this case, is that your xyron machine
is faulty
I would be surprised if it is, but then again, nothing is perfect on planet earth,
so I guess it is possible to get a lemon in anything!

Hope that helps some...
tarotlyn

tarotlyn said:

aurarcana, I think that you need to 'warm' the bowed laminated cards up
(with a small hair dryer or craft heater) ...or maybe carefully with an iron...
putting a cloth between iron and card... So warm them up this way really good
but ONLY on the BOWED IN side which should stretch them slightly...and QUICKLY
put the card with the problem side face DOWN on something 'cold' to set it
and then quickly put a heavy book on top of the card and leave it over night.

Click to expand...

I'll try ironing them on a low setting, in between a towel. Great idea.

tarotlyn said:

Were these 'new' tarot cards you ran through the Xyron or 'used' cards?
I would suspect that if your cards had been shuffled, that these cards were
weaken somewhat, so that when you ran them through the Xyron it bowed them.

If so, you probably needed to crank out a little of the laminate without a card
in it to make sure that the laminate was lining up properly......maybe just a
few inches or so, then add the card into the machine face down.

Click to expand...

They were new/unused cards and the laminate is lines up correctly and perfectly...

tarotlyn said:

To have stopped bowing towards the front side, then you probably should
have run them through the laminator with the back side UP facing you,
instead of the image side up (which would probably have bowed them slightly to their backs).

Click to expand...

I ran them through with the backs facing up.

Every card I put through--even test ones--came out bowed once I laminated them. It could be due to the card stock being a bit thick (I think they are 110lb, not sure).

aurarcana said:

I'll try ironing them on a low setting, in between a towel. Great idea.

They were new/unused cards and the laminate is lines up correctly and perfectly...

I ran them through with the backs facing up.

Every card I put through--even test ones--came out bowed once I laminated them. It could be due to the card stock being a bit thick (I think they are 110lb, not sure).

Click to expand...

Oh, it was gregory, and not me, that thought of the clever ironing process idea

I am wondering, exactly which xyron machine do you have...is it the 5" or 9"
and is it blue or green, and does it let you use the 'magnet' rolls?

Another question: did you put the cards into the laminator starting with the
top or bottom of the card or did you put them in 'sideways?'

tarotlyn said:

Oh, it was gregory, and not me, that thought of the clever ironing process idea

I am wondering, exactly which xyron machine do you have...is it the 5" or 9"
and is it blue or green, and does it let you use the 'magnet' rolls?

Another question: did you put the cards into the laminator starting with the
top or bottom of the card or did you put them in 'sideways?'

Click to expand...

I have the 5" Xyron XRN510, which is this one (green and white).

I can use magnetic rolls, but since I wanted laminate on both sides, I purchased and am using the double sided adhesive here.

I put the cards in top-to-bottom since they are large cards, but I did tests on other sized cards and put them in sideways. All of the cards bowed once I laminated them regardless.

And, it makes sense that they would bow in the direction of the laminate roll; I was just wondering how others dealt with it. But, it appears none of yours have bowed.