As you’re shopping, you may also notice that some products say “self-laminating pouches” instead of sheets.

If you want to ensure that your writing stays on the board and doesn’t smudge easily, then you may want to invest in a few wet erase markers instead. Like traditional laminating, self-laminating sheets are made of a plastic material that protects your printouts (and other documents) from wear and tear, dirt, water, and spills.You can always trim down the edges, but you can’t size up. You don’t want to buy sheets that are too small for your printable. By the way, it’s very simple to resize your printable PDF if you find that you need a different size. Next, the type of marker. Your average dry-erase marker will write on templates that have been laminated with self-adhesive sheets, but will they write well? Maybe. If you have a laminating machine or are willing to invest in one, you can use laminating pouches that get sealed by the machine’s heat. These offer the convenience similar to self-adhesive pouches since you just put your document inside and run the pouch through the machine. These pouches often work with most brands of laminating machines, but some are labeled as recommended for a particular brand.

However, they are great to have around the house for any type of worksheet or document you want to protect.That way, your kids can practice their numbers, letters, handwriting, etc. without having to print heaps and heaps of worksheets. What are the best dry-erase markers for laminated paper? With these handy sheets, you can turn ANY ordinary printable into one that you can use over and over again. How to use self laminating sheets for printables There’s no need to buy a special eraser for cleaning your laminated printables. A damp cloth or paper towel is all that’s needed. For example, sometimes insurance cards, for whatever reason, won’t be a nice plastic card – They may be printed on paper instead. You can use a laminating sheet to protect them and make them last longer. Another example, if you’re a parent, is homework practice. You can use laminating sheets to turn any worksheet into a reusable learning tool.

Whether you choose self-adhesive sheets or thermal laminating pouches, it’s important to position your document appropriately. It’s best to center the document and leave around one quarter inch of space between its edges and the edges of the laminating sheet or pouch. Even if the thing you’re laminating is small, this won’t be a problem since you can trim away the rest of the film after you’ve sealed it. Display your finished product on the fridge, keep one in your desk, or place it wherever else you’d like! But do they work? For the purposes of this step-by-step, I’m going to walk you through the entire process of laminating without a laminator – using a family chores template. If you like this chart, you can grab the same one for free!

The sheets, on the other hand, typically have adhesive that covers the an entire side of one sheet. What types of printables are best for laminating? And, you can also write on this material, which eliminates the need to print a new copy each time you want to use a certain printable. First, the marker tip. A fine-point tip typically works better for laminated printables since you are writing on a much smaller surface than a large dry erase board. Both laminating sheets and pouches usually come in sizes that fit traditional letter paper measuring 8.5 inches by 11 inches. However, the measurements may be slightly larger such as 9.5 inches by 12 inches or 9 inches by 11.5 inches. The lamination is easy to cut, though, so you can easily adjust the size as needed for smaller documents like business cards.

They’re also incredibly easy to use. All you need is some scissors and an object for smoothing out the bubbles (much like you would when applying a screen protector to your iPhone). Always make sure the document is clean and dry before you start using laminating sheets or pouches.

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Some people prefer to trim their printable, but that’s totally up to you! 2. Peel off the plastic film from sheet #1 and place the printable facedown. You do want to make sure the edges line up, but it doesn’t have to be perfect because, remember, we will be trimming the edges once everything is nice and pressed together. 4. Smooth our any air bubbles you see. The pouches may not be quite as durable as the sheets since it’s common for them to have adhesive that only goes around the edges. When you are marker shopping for laminated paper, there are a couple things to keep in mind with this as well.