Lamination Printing: What is it? Matt, Gloss & Velvet Laminated Printing

Posted: 09 Sep 2020

Updated on: 28th June 2023

Whether you’re new to online printing or you’ve been printing materials for your business online for a while, you might have noticed online printers like us talking about something called lamination, or finishes, that you can add to your product.

In this blog, we’ll answer your questions about what lamination printing is, why you might add it to your print and what items it looks best on.

First things first, let’s start with a quick definition…

What is Lamination in Printing?

Lamination is a finishing process in printing where pressure and heat are used to bind a thin layer of plastic known as a laminate to paper or card. Lamination printing is generally used to protect the paper from general wear and tear and improve the longevity of the item. It’s available in gloss, matt and velvet textures and can be found throughout a number of our products, Business Cards have all of our finishes available.

What’s the Difference Between Lamination Types?

As we’ve just mentioned, lamination printing comes in three different textures: matt, gloss and velvet. The type of laminated printing you choose affects how your print feels, with each giving a very different texture to the print. Here’s a little bit more information on each type.

Matt

This is a great no-shine finish that gives a subtle, smooth texture to your print. A very common finish often used on multi-use restaurant menus.

matt lamination business card with a white background and black logo

Matt lamination example

Gloss

The opposite of matt, this is high-shine laminated printing like that used on glossy magazine covers.

pink business cards with a gloss lamination finish

Gloss lamination example

Velvet

This is a luxurious matt finish with a soft, almost peach fuzz-like texture. It's often used on novel covers.

multicoloured presentation folder wallets with velvet lamination coating

Velvet lamination example

What Are the Benefits of Adding Lamination to Print?

People choose laminated printing for a whole range of different reasons. Here are the main ones.

Protection

Like we’ve discussed, adding a layer of lamination to your printing can help protect your print. On business cards, this can help stop the edges from getting worn. It can help menus last longer in restaurants and posters stay in tip-top shape!

Wipeable

As part of this extra protection, laminated printing also makes your item wipeable. Taking menus as an example again, it means you can wipe them down after each use with a slightly damp cloth without damaging the print. High-quality, clean menus for longer – what’s not to love?

Quality

Adding a specific finish also improves the perceived quality of your print. Magazines use this all the time to make their covers glossy and attractive, and novels often have velvet laminated printing so it feels good in the reader’s hands. This is especially useful for business cards too, where the feel of the card boosts the all-important first impression of your business.

Enhanced Colour

Lamination printing also affects the overall colour of your print. Matt creates a slightly duller colour, whereas gloss lamination makes colours look more vibrant. Velvet lamination makes colours look deeper and richer.

Matt Lamination and Additional Finishes

Matt laminated printing is a gateway finish to a bunch of other cool finishes! For a lot of our products, if you choose to add matt lamination, you might notice a couple of other choices pop up that complement this option extremely well. These are:

Foiling

This finish allows you to create patterns or add details to your design in gold and silver foil. It looks great on logos as well as text for invites.

Spot UV

This classic finish allows you to add a gloss to specific spots of your artwork like a logo or icon. It’s slightly raised from the print, and super glossy, making it really stand out on a matt background.

What Print Items is Lamination Available On?

Now you know all about lamination printing, we bet you can’t wait to get started on adding it to your print creations! Lamination is easy to add to flat and folded print items, meaning it can be used on many different things. Here’s the full list of what’s available with lamination when you print online with instantprint:

How Do I Add Lamination to My Order?

To choose a lamination for your print, you might need to change the stock you’ve chosen. Choose 350gsm silk and the lamination options should appear.

If you have any more questions about print lamination or need extra help deciding which type you should go for, get in touch with our team for a free consultation today! Just click on the orange live chat icon in the right-hand corner of your screen or contact us here.

How Do I create artwork?

Now that you have an understanding of lamination, you can head over to our free Design Tool where you have a huge collection of templates you can customise.