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Printing Types vs. Protective Mediums
There are as many ways to print your photos as there are photos themselves, and likewise, nearly as many ways to preserve them. Ink jet and dye sublimation, as well as traditional methods of printing photos will each benefit from some form of protection from the elements. Sunlight, chemicals like the acid residue found on most papers and temperature extremes can cause pictures to fade, discolor.
Coatings can be applied to the finished photo, which will put a well distributed coating of a chemical base on the surface of your photograph , which dries to a thin film to protect your photograph. The protective film is not thick enough to protect the photo against water damage or acid residue, but provides a degree of protection against fingerprints and ultraviolet damage.
Albums also provide reasonable protection for photos – so long as they are stored in a temperature controlled, dry place.. Albums provide great protection with acid free paper and thin film pages, but do not protect against humidity or water damage.
For the ultimate in protection, consider laminating your photographs. Lamination protects against high light, humidity, chemicals, fingerprints (you can actually wash a laminated picture with soap and water) and nearly any other environmental factor. Laminating works by encasing the photo in a transparent plastic shell. The degree of protection provided by photo laminating can be adjusted by altering the thickness of the laminate used.
The supplies necessary to protect your photographic memories with lamination are minimal. Usually all it takes is a pouch laminating machine, and special photo pouches. Photo laminating pouches such as LoydsofIndiana.com’s PhotoPouch brand are specially sized and formulated to work with traditional photograph prints as well as inkjet, laser prints and dye sublimation prints. PhotoPouches will protect your professional or personal quality photographs, are easy to use and provide for your photos protection at a cost that is more than reasonable for home or business use. Laminating machines can be purchased which will coat and seal photographs up to 13 inches in width. The machines themselves are easy to use.
The cost to laminate your photos will be about 10 cents per photo, which seems a very small price to pay for the peace of mind you get back knowing your business or home photos are protected from the elements that might damage or destroy them. In comparison to losing the photo of a lifetime, or losing critical photographic evidence makes that 10 cent investment seem tiny.
PhotoPouch brand laminating pouches are exclusively available from Lloyd’s of Indiana (www.lloydsofindiana.com) and select distributors. Lloyd’s can provide for your laminating needs with machinery and photo pouch supplies, purchased from an easy to search web site which will keep track of your cumulative orders and any discounts you may have coming, to assure that not only your photos are protected, but so is your time.
Business Card Laminating Pouches
Whether you’re laminating business cards, customer loyalty cards or wallet cards, these business card sized laminating pouches (2 1/4″ x 3 3/4″) are perfect for the job.
How are they Used?
Just like any other laminating pouch, simply slip the business card or wallet card into the pouch, add a carrier cover if it’s needed and run it through the laminating machine. These pouches can be used with any brand of laminator and come in three different laminate thickness sizes (5 mil, 7 mil and 10 mil).
I use them at home for laminating important cards that I want to keep protected or intact or even laminating my business card for use as an ID. I just laminate it, strap it to my laptop bag and I’m good to go.
And How Much Does it Cost?
A box of 500 business card sized laminating pouches at Lloyd’s is $12.53. That price will decrease when you order higher quantities, dropping to just $10.02 per box when you order 20 or more.
For more information on our business card laminating pouches or to place an order, please visit the Lloyd’s website.
School Size Laminating Pouches and Supplies (2 1/2″ x 3 5/8″)
School size laminating pouches are designed to protect standard-sized school documents from everyday wear and tear and potential damage.
How are they Used?
Just like most of our laminating pouches, simply slip the appropriately-sized school document into the laminating pouch, add a carrier cover if it’s needed and run it through the laminator. These pouches can be used with any brand of laminating machine and come in three different laminate thickness sizes (5 mil, 7 mil and 10 mil). But before you purchase a thicker laminate, like the 10 mil option, make sure your laminating machine can handle it.
These pouches are crystal clear, simple to use and designed to protect important documents against UV light, moisture in the air, dirt and regular use.
And How Much Does it Cost?
A box of 500 school size laminating pouches at Lloyd’s is $9.98. As the size of your order increases, the price per box will decrease – dropping to just $7.98 per box when you order 20 or more.
For more information on our school sized laminating pouches and supplies, or to place an order, please visit the Lloyd’s website.
Drivers License Size Laminating Pouches (2 3/8″ x 3 5/8″)
Where there’s a standard-sized document, there’s a laminating pouch and while our driver’s license sized laminating pouches can be used for any standard ID card, they were originally designed for state licenses.
How are they Used?
Like most laminating pouches, simply take the ID card and insert it into the laminating pouch. If the laminating machine manufacture recommends using a cover carrier, use one, and then run the pouch package through the heated machine.
You can use our driver’s license size laminating pouches with any laminating machine. That said, you may want to check the laminate thickness threshold on the machine before you attempt to run our 10 mil laminate pouches through. The glossy pouches come in three different levels of laminate thickness – 5 mil, 7 mil and 10 mil.
And How Much Does it Cost?
A box of 500 driver’s license sized laminating pouches at Lloyd’s will set you back $9.43. That works out to just under $0.02 per pouch. Order 20 boxes at once and you’ll pay just $7.54, or $0.015 per pouch.
For more information on our driver’s license sized laminating pouches or to place an order, please visit the Lloyd’s of Indiana website.
Credit Card Laminating Pouches
These laminating pouches may be credit card sized, but that doesn’t make them credit card specific. You can use them for making wallet cards, IDs or customer loyalty cards for your business.
How is it Used?
Just like any other laminating pouch, simply slip the wallet card into the pouch, add a carrier cover if it’s needed and run it through the laminating machine. They can be used with any brand of laminator and come in 3 different laminate thicknesses (5 mil, 7 mil and 10 mil).
The lamination process will protect your wallet cards from UV light, wear and tear and possible water damage. This makes them an ideal protective coating for cards that are going to be used regularly. So, if you run a business where you’re giving loyalty cards to customers, do them a favor and laminate them.
And How Much Does it Cost?
A box of 500 credit card laminating pouches at Lloyd’s is just $7.98. Meanwhile, a pack of 25 at an office supply store will cost you anywhere from $10-$25, so this is a huge savings.
For more information on our credit card laminating pouches or to place an order, please visit the Lloyd’s website.