Lamination Tips

By Frank White

When laminating the ID with the matte pouches you want to be sure to put the sealed half of the pouch in the laminator first, so it wont bend in the laminator.
A lot of the times people want to use glue when using a transparency over teslin then laminating, but I suggest no glue at all. The outer section of the lamination pouch will hold everything in place once its laminated. It's also good because it helps to past the 'bend test.' The bend test is a test that many bouncers use to see if your ID is real. They simply bend the id end to end, if it tears in the middle, then your screwed.
Some people have asked me if using an iron is out of the question, and well, you must be one cheap ass. It's not worth the trouble to try to laminate an ID with an iron even though it is possible. I have heard suggestions about using some sort of thin cardboard between each side of the ID, but I have never tried that myself, good luck if you do!
Another ID is to buy the iron on badge holders. But this just simply will not work. The size needed for a typical ID is between 25-35 mils, and dimensions of 2 1/8 x 3 3/8, using one of these badge holders is not an option.
Definitely run your ID through the laminator 3 times. 1 time just doesn't do it. You need it completely sealed.
One more thing to remember is depending on what type of lamination pouch you are using and what type of material you are using to print on, you need to adjust the size of the ID accordingly. For example, if you were laminating teslin, since it has unique bonding properties that adhere to the actual pouch when laminated, the id can actually extend over the rim of the ID and trimmed later. On the other hand, if you use glossy paper (not recommended for any state), you would need to cut the ID slightly smaller so the pouch can adhere to itself. Then again, if you have a butterfly pouch, things might be different because the 'glue' on the pouch is not only on the edge, but actually covers the entire id.