Anyone use a laminator to protect inkjet photos?

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banjo

Does anyone here use a laminator to protect glossy photos that have
been printed on an inkjet?

Is it OK to use a 'hot' laminator or does it have to be 'cold'

A UK chainstore is advertising a laminator for £14.99. As long as it
won't damage my glossy prints I might give it a go.

thanks
banjo
 
<< Is it OK to use a 'hot' laminator or does it have to be 'cold' >>

Banjo-

A hot lamination that extends beyond the edge of a photo, can seal out
moisture. This will definitely prevent water damage. Cold lamination that
uses an adhesive may not seal as well, so there could eventually be water
damage.

The more serious problem with inkjet prints, is fading due to exposure to
ultraviolet light. Either hot or cold lamination will probably filter out some
UV, but not enough to prevent fading. Don't depend on lamination to extend
print life more than a few percent.

A good use for hot lamination, is for an outdoor sign such as one directing
people to your garage sale. It will hold up quite well in the rain, and can
probably be used several times before it fades. Just be sure to drive nails or
screws through the plastic along the border, not through the print paper.

Fred
 
Actually,gases cause more damage then UV with some of the newer inks! The
lamination can add many years to such a print!In such a case,it would be a
whole lot more than a few percent!
 
Something you might try that could extend the life and give a
laminated like finish and water protection is to print on the inside
of a transparency then spray paint the applied image with a good
neutral white spray paint. If the white paint is gloss (or matte for
that matter since the tramsparency gives the gloss) enamel, you will
also seal the inkjet ink from oxygen and the transparency will filter
out some UV too. Often lamination can leave place where the photo
separates from the plastic and then gives a smudged air bubble like
appearance. This method I suggest is time consuming but good for some
archival needs. Outdoor mounted photos rock with this method. Have
fun. I use Krylon.

Marty
 
FartyMarty said:
Something you might try that could extend the life and give a
laminated like finish and water protection is to print on the inside
of a transparency then spray paint the applied image with a good
neutral white spray paint. If the white paint is gloss (or matte for
that matter since the tramsparency gives the gloss) enamel, you will
also seal the inkjet ink from oxygen and the transparency will filter
out some UV too. Often lamination can leave place where the photo
separates from the plastic and then gives a smudged air bubble like
appearance. This method I suggest is time consuming but good for some
archival needs. Outdoor mounted photos rock with this method. Have
fun. I use Krylon.
Click to expand...

And when there is an issue with this image (longevity), do you blame the
printer manufacture for crappy inks, or due you consider the interaction of
the chemicals in the Krylon with the chemicals in the paper emulsion and
inks?
 
" Often lamination can leave place where the photo
separates from the plastic and then gives a smudged air bubble like
appearance."

That sounds like "cold lamination"! Unless you bend the laminated print,have
bad lam material or do not leave a laminated border around the print,hot
laminates will not seperate or have bubbles! Of course you als have to use
the proper mil size and laminator settings!I have laminated way over 2000
prints,the only ones that seperated were greeting cards that I folded!
 
Douglas <?.?@?.?> said:
" Often lamination can leave place where the photo
separates from the plastic and then gives a smudged air bubble like
appearance."

That sounds like "cold lamination"! Unless you bend the laminated print,have
bad lam material or do not leave a laminated border around the print,hot
laminates will not seperate or have bubbles! Of course you als have to use
the proper mil size and laminator settings
Click to expand...

How? All that I've seen have no settings to adjust.
 
The ones you have seen are probably "home" laminators! My pro laminators
have speed control and digital heat settings.They also have guides for
proper settings with each mil laminate as well as paper weight/type!I can
also use mine for mounting prints!Home laminators are ok,but not as
versitile.
 
Does the heat from the laminator not damage the print? The laminating
service at my local print shop wont' accept photos for that reason.

J
 
Does anyone here use a laminator to protect glossy photos that have
been printed on an inkjet?

Is it OK to use a 'hot' laminator or does it have to be 'cold'
Click to expand...

If your printer uses heat to liquify the ink, watch out.

Bottom line: you'll have to experiment to test for short term
effects. - RM
 
Actually,gases cause more damage then UV with some of the newer inks

A fun thing to do is to print out a really colorful/saturated photo with the
photo cartridge on one's inkjet printer onto the talc-ish inkjet matte photo
paper and stick a piece of Scotch tape across a dark part of the photo. Then
hang it in a well lit area and watch as the part that was taped stay dark and
the rest fades over the course of 720 hours.

It is probably possible to print out a completely black square and tape a
photographic film negative to it and make a contact print, though I never tried
this.
 
I have had about 30+ practice laminations when I made picture phonograph
records with my soundscriber and the best thing to do is to run the inkjet
printout bare through the laminator without the plastic or the carrier, then
put the printout into the laminating plastic and put it into a carrier and feed
it into the laminator. This prevents ink from boiling while being inside the
plastic.
 
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