Covering printed Tube Tester paper sheets with plastic

As this will probably be a one time thing, I doubt yoy want to spend the money for a laminating machine.

Staples may provide that service for you.

You can do it at home by buying just the laminating paper, use a hot iron and put a thin towel over it. Several you tube examples of that.

The laminating paper is just clear plastic of some type that when heated will stick.

The paper is usually sold sort of like a clear envelope where you insert the paper between the sheets. Just like making a sandwitch

Probably the easiest and cheapest wa to get a high quality printed both sides and laminated product is to ge to FedEx Office, which used to be Kinko's. I have done this in the past. I brought my pdf file in on a 3.5" floppy but they must be able to use thumb drives now. Anyway, I brought in the disc and got back full color, printed both sides, and laminated sheets. I think I could have had them punch holes for a three ring binder too if I had wanted. Eric

This reply surprised me. The reason being that many years ago, I lived in a city and remember Kinkos. I used to have them copy stuff for me. I never knew they are now FedEx, which is completely different from the FedEx shipper I am familiar with. It's weird how companies merge, when they are not even the same sort of business....

But now that I know companies like that will laminate stuff, I'll have to look at the phone book for one of the larger cities around here and see what they offer. Being this is a one time thing, I dont know if I want to buy a laminating machine. I guess prices will make the decision. Or, maybe I'll try to use the iron method, after I find the sheets.....

Punching the holes is the easy part!

I remember those reinforcing rings from when I was a kid. Did not know they are still made, but I recall they were very useful and held up well.

Thats a good idea. I recall back in the 60's I used to buy the woodgrain contact paper and cover just about every electronic thing I built. It stuck well to steel or aluminum chassis or boxes and held up well. That contact paper was very popular back then, for darn near everything. I dont see it much in the stores anymore.... But I'm glad it's still around.

I'll have to look at their clear stuff. That might be the easiest and cheapest way to do this.... Heck, I might even put on some reinforcing rings before I cover it. That will make a very durable page.

Probably slightly off topic.

I got a hold of an old tube tester, which works well, but the paper roll for the settings is not in the best shape and tends to get stuck at the ends of the roll. I plan to work on that, but I want to make a printed copy for actual use. I was able to find a PDF file with all that data. The plan is to print it, coat the pages in some sort of plastic coating, and punch holes to put it in a 3 ring binder. My question is what to buy, and where to buy whatever is used to plastic coat the paper????

I have never done this, so I am not sure where to begin..... I think this is called laminating, which covers both sides of the paper. I'd be happy to just cover the front side of the page too, unless I double side the printing, (which I probably wont do, because I am not sure how to do it on a home printer).

Anyone know anything about this plastic coating?

Laminators are even cheaper than printers.

Gareth.

Con-Tact (the makers of "Contact paper") make a version which is a thin clear vinyl, with adhesive on the back. It's thinner and more flexible than the usual "lamination" plastic, and it doesn't require heat to apply (as heavier lamination materials do).

The one I'm looking at here on-line on the Staples web site is thieir item 401015, model C9AC12-06... a roll 18" wide, 20' long, for $9. It's described as "repositionable" but I would consider it it permanent when applied to something as thin as paper.

I've used it for years as a way of putting a protective layer on pieces of paper that I wanted to keep in my wallet. It has a matte finish, and is thin enough that it doesn't obscure laser-printed or hand-written text on the paper.

If you are just re-inforcing the holes for the ring binder, there's a much simpler way. If you can still buy self-adhsive ring stickers to attach at least to the back (& perhaps front too) of each sheet around the punched holes...

Mike.

I did not know they had gotten that cheap. I will probably get one. Guess that I was looking at the office ones instead of the home quality ones.

I'm sure you are right, but I would think any office supply store has them. Maybe even the local Walmart in the Stationary or School Supply Dept. This is just not something I have needed in ages, so I never paid attention to them in the stores.

You could find someone like me who has a continuous feed printer that could print out your roll on 20lb (or lighter) paper. Then you simply replace your old roll with a new one. Might be a bit expensive depending on width and length. These originally were printed on very thin paper AIR.

On the other hand, if you have a PDF why do you want to protect the paper? Print your copies and put into a 3-ring folder...

John :-#)#

Google will find them for you!

Mike.