Which laminate should I use?

Lamination is a process where a very thin layer of plastic is applied to the surface of paper or card. It helps protect the print beneath.  It is also tear resistant and water resistant. Having materials laminated improves wear and tear in terms of handling, and potential damage from the sun

There are several types of laminate available on the market, many of my customers are unsure about which ones to use – here are details of the most common types.

Gloss laminate

This is the most commonly used laminate, generally used for book covers and brochures.  This laminate is the cheapest on the market and is extremely durable.  It provides lift to the image beneath, as the images become crisper and sharper providing more contrast. The laminate can be easily wiped clean if it gets dirty.

Matt Laminate

Matt laminate is also very popular as it provides a muted finish.  It is a softer look and has lower contrast on darker areas.  Matt laminate is affordable and is commonly used in conjunction with Spot UV for affect.  It has a velvet feel and is nice to handle.  The disadvantages of Matt laminate is that it can be easily bruised and scuffed with general handling, making the product look battered pretty quickly.  The darker the printed image the more easily this is visible.

Soft touch laminate

This laminate has become very popular in the past couple of years, mainly as it doesn’t mark very easily and it has a matt finish.  However the texture isn’t liked by everyone as it feels a bit like chamois leather. This laminate is more expensive than matt.

Anti -scuff matt laminate

This the most expensive of all the laminates listed but it does provide a higher quality product.  This type of laminate is best used on very dark areas of print where you want it to remain pristine and have a matt finish.

Spot UV Varnish

This effect isn’t so popular these days. Spot UV varnish is an offline UV application and if it hasn’t been managed properly at the printing stage can have a poor finish.  This is due to either “orange peeling” which can occur if too much spray is applied, or fit issues if the print isn’t registered properly.  If the UV runs over a fold or a spine it will crack, so please remember this at the design stage.  If printed correctly is can provide stunning results.

2017 Calendar

Our 2017 desk top calendar has been distributed and we have had some fantastic feedback. The calendar was printed with 4 colour text and a pantone double hit to the cover and easel, with a anti-scuff laminate to the outer and finished with a gold coloured foil, a truly beautiful piece.

After years of producing landscape wall calendars we felt that it was time for a change and with the move to open plan offices and limited wall space the desk option was the way to go. Les Welch at Lionhouse designed the job spending hours on the detail on each quote that interleaves the months using his creative brilliance. We are all very proud of the finished item. We still have few left should you like one.

Surprise purchase at the supermarket

It is a well known fact that printers like a tipple or two and all things print related, but Tim was very excited to find two of his passions on the supermarket shelf! We may be a waterless printer but there is always a place for other liquids.

Park Lane Installs LED lighting throughout business

Park Lane has installed LED lighting throughout the offices and factory. SMARTech energy consultants used the data collected to produce an energy reduction plan for the business.  This plan identified opportunities to reduce energy consumption considerably at the site with a very quick payback on investment, also make significant reductions in carbon emissions. The building layout and the range of activities undertaken demanded different coloured light output in each location.  The new lighting solution involved retrofitting the current fittings to LED tubes, installing 600×600 LED panels, flood lights and integrating PIR sensor controls.

Good luck Libby

After 16 years of working at Park Lane as Environmental Project Manager and Sales Manager, Libby has sadly left the company to live in New York. Tim her husband has landed a fantastic opportunity to work in a school in Manhattan, they moved in July 2016 with their two boys and have settled in really well.

Libby has also made a change in direction in her career and now works at the New York Sports Club as a Personal Fitness Trainer, as triathlons in particular have been a true passion for her over the years, so it has come as no surprise that this has been her chosen vocation.

Libby was instrumental in the development of our Environmental Management System and has helped to achieve all our environmental credentials as well as the numerous awards we have won, as well as winning many major clients for the company.  Her hard work, diligence,and attention to detail has been hugely appreciated and will be missed.

We wish her happiness and success in her new life abroad.

November 2016 – messages from happy customers

I have my file copies  – nice clean job, many thanks Lydia T.

I know you are men and men don’t typically  receive flowers but by way of thanks and gratitude to you for printing our booklets for free and wanted to send you a colourful thank you! The booklets looked amazing on Friday at our event and Im really grateful for you turning it around Nadine K.

We had the ERL brochure delivered last week and we are very pleased with the final printed version, thanks for your work on this and the quick turn around to meet our deadline Steve T.

The brochures are here and look absolutely bl**dy amazing! Thank you to you both and the team. You guys rock. Kate E.

Thanks for pulling out the stops this week,both to you and the rest of the team Phil R.

 

The Bath Chronicle Business Awards – Environmental Business of the Year 2016!!

We’re delighted to announce that we’ve WON the award for Environmental Business of the Year at The Bath Chronicle Business Awards.Park Lane Press has had in place an environmental management system since 2002. The award went to the which has shown outstanding commitment to manage the environmental impact of its business or has developed its own business in the field of managing the environmental impact of other businesses or the wider community.

Our entry this year recognised the following changes we’ve implemented this year:-

• The installation of an LED lighting system throughout the factory and offices.
• The saving on the use of paper in the make-ready of the printing presses by reducing the overs.
• The purchase of large quantities of paper directly from the mill instead of through merchants therefore reducing the transportation of the goods and merchants handling costs.

The green measures we already had in place include:-

• Environmental accreditation’s EMAS and ISO 14001 & 9001.
• Harvesting waste water from our plate processor in order to flush the toilets.
• All the electric used within the business is generated from renewable sources.
• Our inks are vegetable based.
• 97% of our waste is recycled.
• Power optimisation unit, maintaining a constant voltage to the machinery.
• Paper usage recycled or FSC accredited as a minimum.

These accomplishments take the continued efforts of all our staff, and the awards reflect their commitment to the environment.
The Bath Chronicle Business Awards celebrate business success across the city and surrounding areas. The awards are now in their 6th year and have seen a wide range of businesses winning awards in that time. We’re very pleased and proud to have been chosen for this award.