The stock used for book covers is actually just paper believe it or not. It has a plastic-y glossiness because of the ink. The process is really cool, but I used to be a graphic designer and love print shops so I fully admit I am biased.
It kind of is? There are some chemistry shenanigans going on to get the ink to dry with a high gloss finish. To be fair, that might involve plastics (I don’t know off hand), but it can be run on a normal press so heat is not available for melting a normal laminate.
Heat Laminated paper is more durable, but also more expensive than other commercial durable papers and at scale is cost prohibitive. It’s why the local diner has a laminated menu and the chain restaurant (usually) doesn’t.
The stock used for book covers is actually just paper believe it or not. It has a plastic-y glossiness because of the ink. The process is really cool, but I used to be a graphic designer and love print shops so I fully admit I am biased.
Oh neat I always figured it was some kind of laminate.
It kind of is? There are some chemistry shenanigans going on to get the ink to dry with a high gloss finish. To be fair, that might involve plastics (I don’t know off hand), but it can be run on a normal press so heat is not available for melting a normal laminate.
Heat Laminated paper is more durable, but also more expensive than other commercial durable papers and at scale is cost prohibitive. It’s why the local diner has a laminated menu and the chain restaurant (usually) doesn’t.