Layering

Layering in the premium products industry

Thanks to layering we can get very thick business cards, passes or invitations. It allows to combine several different or the same layers of paper. You can combine paper with different textures and weights. As a result, we get thicker material, which by its volume enhances and emphasizes the prestige of the owner.

Layering can make the product different on one side than on the other. Bah! there may be one (or more) between two outer layers of paper in the middle between them. You can use different thickness of paper layers for layering. Very interesting effects are obtained by using thin papers on the outside and thick papers on the inside. The effect is a "sandwich" with a thick filling.

Colorful edges

With layering we can replace edge coloring. The effect of colored edges obtained by sandwiching can be better than the actual dyeing with paint. Coloring the edges with paint depending on the quality of workmanship can be very unstable. The edges of the business card are most exposed to chafing. Nothing will happen when layering. There is paper there that is dyed in its mass and will not rub.

More layers - thicker product

2 layers

We then obtain a thick and rigid material with a total basis weight of about 600 gsm.
If we use different papers, we will receive, for example, a business card with different surfaces on the front and back. They can be layers of the same type of paper of different color or completely different.

3 layers

We then receive a substrate with a basis weight of 900 gsm. You can then get the effect of the so-called "sandwiches", where the middle layer has a different color than the outer layers. Of course, the middle layer can only be seen from the edge.

4 layers

The material is then very thick. The total weight is about 1200 gsm. Middle layers, similarly to the 3-layer version, can be used to obtain a "sandwich" effect, but with much thicker "filling" :)

Layering in the packaging industry

In the packaging industry, layering is the process of wrapping with a thin finishing layer of paper. It is rather called lamination. Most often used for wrapping thick cardboard or cardboard boxes. However, not only. Hard book covers are also laminated.

Layering and Multiloft

You have probably heard about "Multiloft" on the occasion of multilayered products, and in particular about Multiloft business cards. This technique is invented and patented by the US company Mohawk. We explain below what this technique is and what are the main differences between real layering and multiloft.

Layering is a physical glue

During layering, the combined layers are joined in a very durable way. With physical glue on the entire surface. It is a relatively long process compared to Multiloft because it requires the glue to dry. However, this is the most durable way possible to combine paper. It is impossible to separate the individual layers without destroying them. There are no restrictions on the use of any paper stock. You can combine thin papers with thick papers, metallized with traditional or even cotton. You can choose any color sets, which is impossible with Multiloft.

Multiloft - no glue, but is it really permanent?

In the "multiloft" technique, paper layers are combined differently. Just the slicer itself (guillotine). The joint occurs when the finished product is cut. Special patented surface properties of individual layers are already coated in the factory with special contact adhesive. They are only 3 layers - two external (white or cream) and one colored dyed in the mass that is between them. Under the pressure of the slicing knife, the surfaces of the touching layers are joined, which lie on each other in the right order. After joining (junction at a pressure of at least 3 kg / cm2) they form a kind of "colorful sandwich". As a result, the layers of paper are joined together, but only at the edges. The extent of this connection is from 1 to about 5 mm depending on the pressure force of the pressure beam, sharpness and geometry of the guillotine knife. Paradoxically, the more worn and blunt the knife, the better "stuck" multiloft.

Limitations in the use of Multiloft

Because it is a patented technique and is subject to licensing, production and distribution take place under strict control. There is no possibility of any paper selection. Recipients rely solely on the paper offered by the manufacturer himself. The same applies to insert colors. There are a limited number of them. Multiloft is very effective in production, because it allows you to bypass the gluing process and very quickly return the finished product to the customer. However, it has often happened that multiloft products have stratified. Not bad when it happened at the stage of quality control. It is worse when it happens after the sale to the customer or even after handing over, for example, a business card to the contractor. Sometimes a slight tension is enough to let the layers part on some edge. It is not difficult to imagine contractor's reaction with a "multiloft" business card might look like, which will delaminate in his hands.