One problem I've had with cold lamination, is that after you USE your
deck a LOT, some of the 'top, right' corners separate. Looking at these separated corners,
it shows that the cold laminate kind of fluffs up or curls slightly up and pulls
on the card stock paper and it is, actually, the card stock paper that separates
in the center of itself...while the laminate is still stuck to the image and has
pulled it away from the card stock, while leaving most of the card stock
adhered to the back side laminate.
I use both the Xyron9 " and the Xyron5 "laminators (and I think the laminate
'rolls' are around 1.3 to 1.49 mil) and I use a card stock that's 12 mil thickness.
I also have a hot/cold combination laminator that does both cold and hot
lamination 'POUCHES.'
I found the difference between hot lamination and cold lamination is:
* Hot Lamination:
When you cut your card out (after hot lamination), you have to leave a slight
lamination edge (I hate that look!) because only the edges of the laminate are
sealed and stick together to 'seal the card INSIDE the pouch' and the pouch
does not adhere to the card stock itself very well. I found that you can easily
peel it off the card.
So, in other words, if you cut your border right up to the edge of the card image,
the hot lamination pouch will probably peel away from the card stock
eventually.
AND...even the 3 mil hot pouches leave the card really stiff. I believe the
'heat' leaves any thickness of lamination 'much' stiffer than the cold
lamination process.
* Cold Lamination:
You can cut the card all the way to the edge of the image and the lamination
adheres to the whole card stock, but as I mentioned above, 'after' using the
cards a lot (even over hand mixing...not regular shuffling) and even being careful,
the lamination tends to fluff and to pull the card stock apart in the middle.
I read about this problem in an online article, (wish I could find it again!
)
and I think I remember the writer saying that she just used some kind of
glue (wish I remembered which glue!
) and glued the separated
card stock on the corners and it was as good as new...but I worry about it
bleeding into the image 'from the inside' of the card stock...anyone know
what would be a good glue for this? I am thinking maybe 'leather' adhesive,
which is flexible... guess I need to experiment with this
Other thoughts:
By the way, A4 is: 210 mm (width) by 297 mm (height) or 8.27 in. (width) by 11.69 in. (height)
Also, what about checking into the protective pouches used by the 'baseball card' collectors?
I think they are thick too, but maybe they also have the thinner thicknesses
and hopefully for lamination machines?
...just a thought...haven't check that out yet...
tarotlyn