Staples offers a laminating service for all documents, and a wide variety of sizes. But how good is their service and the final product? First, you have to understand Staples offers two main types of laminating, and they can send out documents to their Hub printer for documents too big for them to do in store.
Let’s examine their in store version first.
The two types of laminating they offer in store is both for regular sized documents (from business card sized up to 11″x17″) and then wide format laminating (anything over the 11″x17″ size, up to 24″ wide, and nearly any length).
The smaller documents are done by placing your document into a plastic pouch and running that through a small laminating machine. The lamination is applied via heat, which works for most documents. However, if you have something that can melt at 200 degrees or hotter (usually the machine is around 300) it is inadvisable you use their service.
Also, if you have anything that was printed from heat (some gun or hunting licenses for example are printed on thermographic paper) you should also not use this service. The heat will instantly turn your paper black and illegible.
And you should also know that items of identification, such as driver’s license or social security cards, cannot be laminated. That is so if someone prints out a fake social security card, it will be easier to tell it is fake from the paper used than if it was laminated.
Now that we have that out of the way, how do these pouches function? The standard lamination they offer in store is 5 mil, which is rather thick and will make a regular piece of paper about as sturdy as a credit card. There is a low chance of the lamination curling, but sometimes the machine messes up and can destroy your document. I suggest that if the document is very sentimental or one of a kind, don’t do this.
There are also certain photographic papers, like some Kodak types, that will bubble when laminated. Usually not bad, sometimes it can ruin the photo.
Also, if a document is very thick, the lamination will form a bubble around your document. So you may need an extra half inch of plastic around the document just to keep it sealed (piecing the bubble will make the lamination peel right off).
Beyond all these potential problems, if you are trying to laminate something like a business card or a flyer, it will be generally be fine and very sturdy.
Now, the wide format laminator. The lamination is 3 mil, which is on the thinner side, and can be good for posters, depending on how thick you were looking for. 3 mil can be easily rolled up, and will still protect the document, however it is not quite as sturdy as 5 mil.
The application of applying the lamination is similar in that it is by heat, but there are more adjustments that need to be made and thereby a higher margin of error in the laminating process. Always make sure the staff uses a blank piece of paper in the laminator to test the lamination. Otherwise, there is no way of knowing of the lamination is going to curl or if any changes need to be made to the machine.
If that precaution is taken, there is a lower chance of your document coming out poorly. Usually this will be fine. Also Staples offers both matte and glossy lamination for this process. They tend to have more glossy, and glossy does come out, but if you hate having any type of glare on your poster (or whatever you are laminating), use the matte.
The Hub laminating process is exactly the same as the wide format at the stores, the only difference is they can do up to 36″ instead of 24″, and that the document has to be sent out. Expect to wait about a week for your document to come back. They have about the same margin of error as the stores, so your document is generally safe.
While being cautious is always a good idea, Staples laminating tends to work out and keeps your document safe and sturdy. If you have something that can melt, the stores sell a self adhering lamination that sticks by glue instead of heat. You’re usually good here, but keep in mind all the problems that can occur, and be ready for them just in case.
