What is lamination?

A laminate is a thin sheet of clear plastic which is applied to one or both sides of a piece of paper. It provides protection from handling and prevents ink from smudging or coming off on the hands (this does not apply to most digital printing processes which use a dry ink toner). Lamination is commonly used on the outer covers of prestigious brochures and corporate folders.



Be aware that, in the UK, leaflets which are usually VAT zero rated (you do not have to pay VAT) become subject to VAT standard rating (you pay VAT at 17.5%) if lamination or encapsulation is applied. HM Revenue & Customs consider a laminated or encapsulated leaflet as something which is intended to be retained by your customer rather than to be read and then thrown away. Lamination to the outer covers of a brochure or booklet does not alter its status as a VAT zero rated product.

Related article: UK VAT rules for printed leaflets, flyers, brochures, booklets etc