Laminating folding pocket survival guides

I have several "what to do if" survival guides that were printed out from PDFs. They are meant to be folded into the size of a business card and carried in your wallet. Being ordinary paper, they will fray and rip in no time at all. Can you, and if so how do you, laminate a piece of paper that is supposed to be folded up and carried in your wallet? Anyone here do this?

Well, you can buy "laminating sheets" at most office supply stores, which are basically sheets of clear, sticky backed plastic. They will do the job but are bulky and stiff.
The way I have found that "laminates" a piece of paper, and gives it a fair amount of water resistance, is to cover it with a layer of clear plastic packing tape, the kind that comes in 1 3/4- or 2-inch wide rolls. If you do that to the front and back of a piece of paper, it'll have a lot more wear resistance and be able to put up with a certain amount of abuse. It's also easier to fold a sheet of paper after you laminate it with the packing tape.

Most stationary shops will laminate almost anything for next to nothing. I'm sure if you look in your yellow pages you can find somewhere to do this. Usually the same type of place where you can make copies for a quarter.

Another option is to "paint" the paper with a product like map seal (http://www.aquaseal.com/map-seal.html). I use it on the instruction sheets that come with certain gear (like my GPS receiver) and for cheat sheets of the kind you are describing. End result is paper that can be folded much more compactly than if laminated and will still be highly weatherproof (probably not as good as laminated).

Since you are printing this out you can also buy Rite-in-the-Rain paper in most standard sizes and print it directly on there.

http://www.riteintherain.com/

I really like the idea of the clear packing tape mentioned above. I never thought of it before. <img src="images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" />
Thanks
Tom

Some (... may be more ... <img src="images/graemlins/blush.gif" alt="" />) years ago, when playing with electronics and etching my own printed circuits, I used to protect them with an aerosol, which deposited some kind of plastic coating.
I also used this method to somewhat "waterproof" papers.
But I guess waterproofing the paper won't do anything about its deteriorability (did I just invent a new word or what ???? <img src="images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />).


Regards.

Alain

Hi Craig,

Would you be willing to share some of your *.pdf files with other forum members? I'm presuming that you are referencing files similar to what Bill Vannerson shared, and would be interested in seeing your ideas. Thanks.

Comanche7

Circuit boards are usually protected with a conformal coating that is essentially a layer of plastic deposited on the surface that isolates the board and components from the environment. Tends to be pretty high viscosity and if used on paper, I would think it would stay mostly on the surface.

The map seal type products are actually absorbed into the fibers of the paper and in fact seem to significantly extend the life of the paper especially if it is folded and unfolded frequently

I've used clear acrylic spray sold at art supply houses--yes, it waterproofs the paper. Unfortunately, it's then brittle...I've bought a 200 sheet pack of rite in the rain, to use in a laser printer, but have not yet had time to compose my list of "tips"...I'm still trying to pare it down to a couple dozen pages <img src="images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

I'm including matierial from FM 3-05.70 (latest revamp of fm 21-76, survival), FM 21-76-1 SERE (level A), the SERE level B course, etc etc etc.

Go to your local Kinkos (or whatever your local print shop calls itself..). Mile has a laminator - in about a minute and $2, I can laminate anything up to 11x14). Trim to suit. It is a good idea to shrink the document size as much as possible before laminating, using the xerox.

Another trick is to just place the sheets in the right sized ziploc bag. That will give them good protection if you are not pulling them out too very often. Ziplocs are available in a wide variety of sizes

The quality of the paper itself will effect durability. Most commercial paper is wood cellulose and clorine bleached. I have been looking into high quality "archive" paper as an alternative. You can find it at specialty stationary stores and small print shops. You could sacrifice an antique book . Many were printed on paper made from egyptian mummy wrapping <img src="images/graemlins/blush.gif" alt="" />

Except for one small detail. Never, ever, ever, feed Rite in the Rain or any other "treated" paper through a laser printer, unless you want to run the risk of the high temperature in the printing drum reacting with the treated paper in a way that can get very messy and very, very expensive.
And don't ask me how I know that ...

Sure, provided I can find the original PDFs. I downloaded them over a year ago. I'll see what I can find.

Not a bad idea. I'll have to try it.

Me neither. I guess I'll skip the Rite in the Rain paper bit.

When I was sailing my boats, I used to just go down to a store, buy a 5' roll of CLEAR CONTACT PAPER, and cover whatever paper I wanted to have in the cockpit with it on both sides. You can also write on it w/ a grease pencil and wipe it clean <img src="images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" /> It takes a bit of practice to work with, but once you get the hang of it you'll cover lots w/ it <img src="images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> Hope it helps, Gene

I should have been clearer - LASER printers might melt a "treated" paper, because they use heat to transfer the toner to the paper. INK JET printers should be fine, because no heat is involved. The down side to ink jet printers is that, unless you get one of the new $70-per-cartridge inks, it'll run and splotch the first time any moisture gets on it.

Maybe back in the day...but my box of paper says laser print OR copier...

There is a product designed to make master copies for record keeping. It is made of white plastic and can be run through almost any copier or laser printer. The copies are permanent and virtually indestructible. I have used them to make PSK cheat sheets and the product works perfectly. I left my package at home, so I will have to wait until tomorrow to post the manufacturer and product number. It maybe an AVERY product, I know I picked up mine from STAPLES, so it should be available at many of the larger office supply companies. Pete

If I am not mistaken thay make two versions, one for laser printers and one for ink jets. I would suggest checking their web site. Pete

Found the PDF file I mentioned. I must admit I have no idea how to post files or attach them to messages. I don't even know if that is possible. Could someone please clue me in?

You'll need to post it to a website and then provide us with a link.

If you don't have a website, attach the file to an email and send it to me, if I have room I'll post it for you.

I just emailed it to you.

Thanks, Craig...

It was only 317k and I could have posted it on my site (I've got half a meg left), but it already exists here on billvann's website and I want to give credit where credit is due! <img src="images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" />

Also here's a recent thread about the cheat sheet if you wanna know more about its origins.

Cheers!

So THAT'S where I got it.

Here is the information on the plastic copier sheets:

AVERY 6725
Non-Tear Sheets for Copiers

Try this page:

https://durarite.safeserver.com/DURA-COPIER%20PAPER.HTM