Cold laminating sheets in the uk

[sparks]

Hello,
Am a new member to the forum (have learnt so much so far, which I thank you all for!)

Im basically an art student (mature lol decided to go and finish my studies after having sproggets) and have decided to design a tarot deck of my own,
After having a good read of all the info here, i think ive got a basic idea how to produce a deck,

but I am having big trouble trying to locate some 1.5 mil cold laminate sheets, do i need a laminator for this? and where in the uk could i get these sheets from?

think ive found a corner cutter for about £114 (ouch! but im hoping it will be worth it in the end..hey if i dont get the grade at least i can turn to developing card decks lolol!)

Any help would be hugely appreciated!!!!!

[Lillie]

Can anyone tell me the difference between cold and hot laminating?

The one where you get pouches and put them through this thing to seal them, they are at stationary shops. The pouches and the machines.

I think you can also get them from Argos.
But I don't know what they have in the way of pouches, wether the thickness you want is a standard thickness, and easy to obtain.

I almost got one recently from a shop called 'The Stationary Box' cos thy were closing down.

I thought they were pretty cheap, nothing like the price of that corner cutter you mention.
Is that really a normal price?
I thought they would cost about a tenner from some card making shop. But I've never looked for one, so I wouldn't know.

Anyhow, good luck with the deck.
You'll have to show us some of your cards.

[sparks]

Thanks Lillie,

From what I have read cold laminating is more about applying with pressure rather then heat and bonds with the whole image much better (doesnt pull away when its cut as much) not too sure but thats what Ive gathered so far!

You can get hot/cold laminators on ebay quite cheaply but the cold laminates im having a real issue with (spesh at the 1.5mil size)

I thought about getting a cheaper corner cutter, but im not sure if the finish will be as good, I need it too look as professional as possible (after being quoted a billion pounds for a hundred billion trillion decks ..I only need a couple lol) its a bit of a bargain lol!

Oooh I will show you the deck when its done, Its not a presonally designed deck to my preference (if that makes sense) its a deck i designing to meet the critera for a brief i have been set, but i think ...well hope! its going to look cool when finished!

Thanks again Lillie x

[DraagonStorm]

sparks

I use a Xryon 900 machine and Two-sided lamination cartridge. I got the machine on eBay, and I get my cartridges from eBay also. I can always get the lamination cheaper off of eBay then in the craft stores. The lamination is 1.5 mil in these cartridges.

BB
DraagonStorm

[sparks]

oooh thanks Draagonstorm, will go and have another look,
I had a search last night but couldnt see any cartridges (although i was looking up pouches lol and not cartridges ..so this could be why lol :-))

[DraagonStorm]

The cold lamination for the Xryon is in a cartridge with two rolls of lamination that you hand crank the item thru the machine. I am much pleased with the results that I get for my SpiroTarot and Oh, Wicked Wanda! Tarot.

I agree with getting a good corner cutter. The one I have retails for $900 US, I got it for $400 on eBay. It can cut 25 cards at a time. When I think of someone using one of those craft store hand corner cutters, where you do one card at a time...... Well, you just wouldn't have a life, except for corner cutting

Good Luck on the search! Be sure you get Two-Sided Lamination. The Xryon also has laminate for creating permanate stickers, temporary stickers, and magnetic stickers.... When I got my machine, it came with one of each of these kinds of laminate. I did printout a micro-mini version of the SpiroTarot and Laminated it with the magnetic stickers. I do a daily reading with that one, and put the spread on my refrigerator so I can study the reading during the day.

DraagonStorm

[sparks]

WoooHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!! have just ordered one, thank you so much Draagonstorm! am soooo pleased!


Omg and it makes stickers!?! lolol sensing a lot of high excitement at my house when it arrives lol!!

Thank you so much for your help Lillie and Draagonstorm XX

[blue_fusion]

i'm not sure about the laminator (i had mine laminated by the printers themselves), but i think you can get a diecut blade commissioned at a quarter or less of the price of that corner cutter. at least in these parts (around US$40 or so, if my conversion's up-to-date). course that's just the blade, but if you're into the "harder" crafts, you can create a makeshift... device to go with that diecut blade.

[Grizabella]

I can vouch for it that Draagonstorm's lamination on her decks is great and makes them wonderful to shuffle. Very nice!

[Lillie]

So, this cold lamination stuff is a sort of sticky back plastic?

And you roll it through the machine so you don't get bubbles?

And then you trim right through the lamination, card and everything?

Is that right?