Dry mount laminators apply a substrate, such as wood or foam, to documents using heat, pressure and tissue adhesive. The tissue adhesive is placed between the substrate and the document, and then heat and pressure are applied until the document is fully sealed. This type of laminator costs between $1,500 and $6,000, as of October 2010.
Tape lamination seals a document between two layers of plastic. The tape is inserted in roll form into the laminator, and then the plastic and document are rolled through the machine. This type of laminator, which requires no electricity, is commonly used in sign shops. Tape laminators may cost as little as $150, as of October 2010.
Roll laminators, designed primarily for use with large documents, use a combination of heat, pressure and cooling to seal documents. The document is inserted into the machine, which passes it through two sets of rollers that press the laminate into the document. These laminators range from $1,000 to $5,000, or $10,000 for industrial models, as of October 2010.
Pouch laminators are meant for sealing small documents such as identification cards. The document is slid into a pouch that is sealed on all sides but one and then fed through rollers to seal it. Pouches come in a variety of thicknesses; the thicker the laminate, the more durable the laminated document will be. Prices for these laminators, which come small enough to fit on a desk top, range from $80 to $600, as of October 2010.
Pouch laminators that do not require electricity seal documents without using heat, which saves on energy usage. But cold-seal pouches are expensive and sometimes hard to find, and documents sealed this way are not as durable as those sealed using heat. Cold laminators are a good option, though, when sealing documents that are sensitive to heat. For more resistance to wear and tear, laminators using heat are the better option.
Laminate is a polyester-based film that is bonded to a layer of adhesive resin. When pressure or heat are applied to this film, the adhesive liquefies or softens and then is spread over the document, usually with rollers, to bind the film to the document. As it cools, the adhesive hardens, creating a permanently sealed document.