6 Tutorial Steps on How to Laminate Paper
There are plenty of reasons to laminate paper. Whether you simply want to make sure that an important document is not damaged, to safeguard meaningful notes or artwork, or to create a game that your children can play with again and again, laminating has never been easier. Once you’ve got the hang of it, you can also use your laminating skills to make tags and labels for your home and office.
You can create tags for everything from recipes and garbage bins to backpacks and laundry baskets. It’s a habit that can work wonder in terms of helping you get more organized at home and at work. Sound like a good thing? There are ways to laminate paper with or without a laminating machine.
Below is a simple tutorial on how to laminate paper for your office.
1. What do I need to start laminating paper?
You might not realize that you already have items around your home and workplace that can be used for laminating. Various kinds of plastic wrap, clear packing tape, and carton sealing tape can all easily be used for laminating purposes. Once you have all the supplies ready, you’ll be ready to start learning how to laminate paper.
2. Laminating using carton sealing tape
Easy to find at your local grocery, hardware, or dollar store, carton sealing tape is high grade and exceptionally handy for making small labels at home. Basically, all you need to do is pull the tape out and stick labels on as you go. Once the labels are firmly stuck onto the tape, simply cut the other end and fold the tape over itself.
The folding is the tricky part though, and it is important to carefully move your fingers down the tape so you can get a tight seal. Finally, run a credit card over the sealed label to get rid of any air bubbles that might have been left behind. Cheap and easy, this is a great way to make labels for just about anything in your home or workplace.
3. Laminating using the layering method
The second method of simple laminating also uses carton tape and is very similar with the exception of a small variation that makes it more suitable for larger items. In the event that the thing you’d like laminated is too big to run on one line of tape, you can use layers instead.
Just take the tape and line it up on one edge and wherever it ends, place another layer that slightly overlaps the first layer. Continue the process until the entire width of the project is covered with tape. Although this is method is also an easy and affordable way to laminate, it is worth noting that you’re going to be able to see the lines where the layers intersect, and it will be more difficult to avoid air bubbles.
4. Laminating using self-adhesive sheets
If you don’t want unsightly lines or air bubble on your larger laminating projects, self-adhesive sheets are a great alternative. You can find different variations of the print finishing, but you’ll be best served by choosing an option with a grid on the backing. This will assist you in positioning our paper properly every time.
Once you have the sheets, all you have to do is peel down a small section of the backing and attach the paper you want to laminate, ensuring it is well lined up. Same as with the carton tape method, use a ruler or a credit card to go over the part of the adhesive sheet in contact with the paper you’re laminating, while pulling back the backing and replacing its space with your paper. Then just flip your project over and complete the same process on the other side.
5. Laminating using thermal laminating pouches
Although these pouches are often used with a special laminating machine, you can actually use them with a standard iron instead. They typically come as two sheets that are attached on one side. All you need to do is put whatever you want laminated in-between the two sheets, line it up carefully, and close the pouch. Then you can just put a thin towel over top of the pouch and carefully run an iron heated to medium heat over top.
6. Laminating using a home laminator
If you’re looking for truly professional result, your best bet is to go with a home laminator. Although not the cheapest option, home laminators are definitely a lot more affordable than they used to be and will produce great looking projects every time you use them.
Most laminators you’ll find will come with their own instructions for use, but the fundamental concept is to put the document into a laminating pouch before putting it into the machine. Then all you need to do is a push a few buttons, sit back and wait. The project will emerge from the other side of the machine laminated and ready to go.
