Laminating a document is a great way to protect it while adding a distinct aesthetic touch to the document. The process of lamination, however, is not something that you can pull out of thin air. If cars burn gas and computers eat up electricity, then laminating machines need laminating supplies in order to get the job done.

But before we get ahead of ourselves, what exactly is a laminator? A laminator is a machine designed to press two sheets of plastic close together in order to seal an item inside. This sealing procedure uses one of three types of films in order to get the job done:

Hot laminating film involves sheets of plastic that can be fused together with a heat-activated adhesive. These sheets are designed to be pressed by hot rollers that add an even stronger seal by combining heat with pressure, allowing the films to stick closely together.

Cold laminating films are also sheets of plastic that will be fused together, except this time by ordinary adhesives instead of heat-activated ones. The adhesive is protected by a sheet of glossy paper, which will be removed once you need to laminate an object.

Pouches, on the other hand, do not use adhesives to seal an item inside them. All but one side of the pouch is sealed, which will serve as a portal for the item to fit into. Once the item is secure inside the pouch, the pouch laminator will then apply pressure unto the open side of the pouch. This closes the portal shut and effectively seals the item inside the pouch.

Now the size of the laminator has a definite effect on the type of laminating supplies you'll need in order to keep on laminating. While the aforementioned types of plastic film and pouches will be used according to how your laminator works, the following types of supplies will be dictated by the laminating process your laminator uses to get the job done:

Laminating pouch packs are designed specifically for pouch laminators. Their small size allows for quick refills, but you have to make sure the item you are going to use fits nicely into the pouch. An ill fitting card or document will not fit these pouches, and there is little you can do except to find a pouch pack that fits the size of your documents.

Laminating rolls are made for the hot or cold rolling laminators. They basically end up looking like a "scroll" of sorts, where the laminator pulls on them to tightly squeeze the document or card in between the sheets. The sheets of plastic that are rolled up can be small and compact enough for office laminators, or huge enough to be the size of a man's leg. Again, the size depends on the laminator that you have.

It is important to remember that laminating supplies increases with size and thickness. A typical pack of hundred thin pouches costs about $3, while the larger rolls could reach up to a hundred dollars each. So be prepared to spend more for bigger, thicker laminating projects than with smaller, thinner ones.