My autograph question for those board experts -- lamination

[thecatspajamas]

David,
I was thinking it had been commented in a previous thread that certain high-end professional restoration experts could, with some difficulty, un-laminate something. I could very well be wrong though.

[David Atkatz]

I could be the one who's wrong--I'm no expert on restoration.

[drc]

If it can be done, I'm sure it would be expensive.

Like the Walter Johnson. If it's worth only $3 now, I'll buy it.

[BrandonG]

It depends on what type of laminate was used. There are some laminates that are heat activated and some cool activated. The cool activated laminates are sticky and will adhere to anything that it touches and would be impossible to remove. Some heat activated laminate only sticks to the opposite laminate itself, so in other words the paper is sandwiched between the plastic and sealed in but not necessarily stuck to the plastic laminate, it could be removed if the "sealed" area was cut to expose an opening which could be pulled open to remove the contents. But on something like Richards postcard, there's no way I'd chance it.

[David Atkatz]

Laminate always adheres to the paper. The second method you mention is not lamination, but encapsulation. It is an archival method of preservation and storage (as long as the material is mylar), and is completely reversible.

[D. Bergin]

There is one seller on Ebay who sells laminated vintage Newspaper pages, and I've bought several over the years. I think they're great and they've shown no signs of deterioration, as of yet.

[BrandonG]

Originally Posted by David Atkatz

Laminate always adheres to the paper. The second method you mention is not lamination, but encapsulation. It is an archival method of preservation and storage (as long as the material is mylar), and is completely reversible.

I have laminated documents myself using a heat activated laminate, and the same exact machine FedEx Office uses and have been able to separate the two sealed pieces from the paper, it doesn't adhere permanently to the paper in all cases. It wasn't "encapsulating" it, I laminated it.

[David Atkatz]

Sorry. If it don't stick to the paper, it ain't lamination.