Lamination of cardboard packaging
Packaging is required for most products. It not only protects it from damage during transportation, but also serves as a kind of advertising medium. Additional cardboard lamination allows you to create an attractive box. It will serve not only for advertising purposes, but also act as a gift wrapping.
Variety of lamination types
The whole difficulty lies in the fact that the additional layers applied to the cardboard base ideally coincide with each other. Only in this case you can get a particularly high-quality result. Lamination can be either one-sided or two-sided. For especially durable packaging, the slim-lamination technology is used. On a regular cardboard base, another layer is applied, of thick coated white paper. The application technology consists of the following sequential stages:
- Preparation of materials, applying a layer of varnish or lamination, to protect the cardboard from moisture.
- Combining a rigid base and a liner, a decorative layer.
- A thin layer of adhesive is applied to the front side of the cardboard base.
- Subsequent pressing, short in time, but strong enough.
Important: the whole process is controlled not only by the automatics of the machine, but also by the visual perception of the operator. His experience will prompt you in time what adjustments need to be made to the settings in order to achieve a high-quality result of a batch of packaging.
Applicable materials
Most often, printers choose thick cardboard up to 3 mm thick as a basis. But, thick coated paper can also be used. There is equipment that can handle expensive grades of heavyweight, designer paper and magnetic backing. Foil or colored polymer material is chosen as a liner. But consumers prefer to choose one of the types of cardboard products:
- corrugated board, the basis for most cardboard boxes for household appliances;
- micro-corrugated board with a wall thickness of up to 2 mm, for small electronics;
- hardcover used for books, albums.
Finished products with color or monochrome images can be used for almost any product. Lamination in no way worsens the properties of the base, on the contrary, in many cases the box acquires additional protective properties from high humidity or mechanical damage. But, the main idea is to make cardboard packaging more attractive to the end consumer.