Alan Parkhill

In-plants are getting new business thanks to their laminating capabilities. Find out how to pick the laminator that's right for you. By W. Eric Martin You hardly need to be convinced that lamination is a good thing. After all, bringing an extra layer of professionalism to a job automatically places both you and your client in a better light. But what should you look for in lamination equipment? If you listen to the experts, you want to think big. Really big. "Due to the increase in popularity of 44˝-wide photo-like images, the majority of lamination equipment being sold is wide-format," contends Sol M.

As the cost of laminators drops, so does their size, the need for training—almost everything. Except quality, say these manufacturers. by Mike Llewellyn "Price is just about everything at an airline," reveals Bill Zieske, director of Printing Services for Alaska Airlines. So when his Seattle-based in-plant picked up a GBC 5270 laminator in 1998, a good price was the number-one priority. Zieske says his shop uses the laminator to handle a variety of tasks, from placards that end up inside the aircraft to much smaller identification tags for airline employees. Zieske's experiences parallel one general trend in laminating equipment, according to industry experts, and

Bringing laminating in-house increases quality, improves productivity and lowers costs. IN THE print-on-demand equation, laminators are often the forgotten quotient, says Alan Parkhill, vice president of sales and marketing at Banner American. While many in-plants have been quick to embrace digital printing, most have not taken the next step and purchased the finishing and laminating equipment needed to ensure that their operation is truly print-on-demand. "It's not print-on-demand if you send out your laminating work to a trade shop," says Parkhill. When an in-plant farms out its laminating work it loses control, not only over the quality of the job, but the timing