[advice needed] Is laminating my received cards good idea?

Hi All,

I’m new to the community and loving it. I’ve sent a few cards now, received a few and gotten involed in swaps etc.
I want to store my cards on walls but don’t want to use tape or putty as I don’t want to damage the cards.

So I’ve started laminating each card and then sticking up, the protects the outside of the cards.

What is the downside to me doing this and is it a good or bad idea?

Thanks in advance for all your advice :smile:

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It’s been a long time since I used a laminater but I don’t think there should be many downsides if you’re doing 2 or so to a page and mindful of air pockets (unless they have smaller pouches now). I think you should just be careful to give each card enough of a border if you want to cut them out individually later, otherwise it’s not sealed properly.

I personally keep my postcards in a little postcard binder because I want to be able to flip through them and see both the front and back easily. But I think a wall display that’s something like string and cute little clips can easily get around that.

You have two options here. One: you can insert your postcard into a postcard sleeve and tape it (the sleeve) to the wall. Two: you can purchase sleeves from this company called Clear Bags. You insert your card into the sleeve, remove the adhesive strip on the back. The second step is to either seal the card in the sleeve completely OR after removing the strip stick it on your wall. Either option protects your card.

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Thanks Cliff, so do you see any down side to the laminating?

Awesome thanks, yes so I’m sure when the collection gets too big I’ll transfer to folder which won’t be a problem if they already laminated right?

I prefer the original touch, so I don’t like laminating, but if you prefer them that way. By all means.

I had a phase When I wanted to look at my postcards on walls. I used twine and mini wooden clips to hang postcards. That won’t harm the cards and easier to make arrangements. Also you can form any shape or design you prefer using pins and twine. I even made a wall Christmas tree out of them during the Seasons😁

To give you an idea
https://www.amazon.com/Postcards-Picture-Hanging-Collage-Display/dp/B097JDFCJG/ref=asc_df_B097JDFCJG/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=532300173099&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=891735362275618170&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=m&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9031251&hvtargid=pla-1390168988147&psc=1

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I realise there is sometimes a place for laminating things, but from an environmental point of view I prefer to avoid it if I can. There’s already far too much plastic in the world. I personally would rather not contribute to the plastic mountain this way.

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A downside for me would be that the stamps would kind of get destroyed (if you ever were interesting from separating them from the postcard).

Also, I sometimes really like the textures of the paper, cardboard, materials used on botj postcard and stamps and that would get eliminated (or should I say: e-laminated :wink: ).

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I received laminated cards only twice during all the years. Both of them had heavy travel marks, I don’t know if this has happened in the country of sender (both USA) or at Deutsche Post, but it really looked sad.
Also I don’t like laminated cards - for environmental reasons and because I personally think it doesn’t look pretty.

I would therefore use an envelope or these thin plastic bags for postcards (environmental?!?).

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Other than environment issue, I think the downside of laminating the cards is when you decide to store them in postcard binders with pockets, it will not fit. I once tried to store cards with a clear plastic sleeve on, but it wouldn’t fit even though it seems quite tight around the edges, not to mention laminated ones with thick boarder. Plastic sleeves are removeable and you can change the cards inside, which might reduce the use of plastic? It’s just my experience and I hope it helps! You just have to find a way that suits your needs the most :slight_smile:

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Laminating the cards is a bad idea from a conservation standpoint. You can’t remove the film without damaging the card.

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NO - there’s more than enough plastic in this world as it is!

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I prefer the cards the way they are, so I wouldn’t laminate them

(but I do like when I sometimes receive cards in protecting card sleeves - but don’t seem to find them myself - but if you do, that might work for you)

I wouldn’t do it for environmental reasons.
Aesthetically, I also think that it may look too shiny. I wouldn’t want my wall to look as if I had stuck stuff with scotch tape :grimacing:

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I’m in agreement with others, more plastic is generally not a good thing. In terms of conservation, I wonder if the laminate material protects the postcard from UV breakdown.

I stray from the topic a bit here, but believe this is pertinent:

While the original poster was asking about cards already received, some have mentioned sending or receiving cards that have been laminated or are in a plastic sleeve. I’ve received a card in a sleeve or two myself. I would note that, at least un the U.S.A, the United States Postal Service (USPS) has very strict rules about this. Stamps have to be on the “outside” of whatever is being sent, so that they can get cancelled and mail fraud is avoided. Put another way, the ink from the cancellation has to be applied directly to the surface of the postage stamp.

Additionally, pretty much all mail here is machine sorted. Mail (and in particular postcards) that will not process correctly through these machines (this includes square pieces of mail, by the way), or has the potential to harm the machines is not permitted. This is referred to by the USPS as “non-machinable” and there is a surcharge for that, meaning additional postage is required and has to be placed on the piece of mail. Here’s an article for how that works:

https://faq.usps.com/s/article/What-is-the-Non-Machinable-Surcharge-for-First-Class-Mail

Here’s the current non-machinable surcharge stamp:

Note that there is no denomination value printed on the stamp; this means that these act similar to our other “forever” stamps, in that they are always good for whatever the current non-machinable rate is (currently $0.99).

I would also note that some people like to decorate their cards with stickers that are non-two-dimensiona (kind of puffy)l. These violate the rules mentioned above, and often don’t process well (cause the card to get damaged or destroyed). I have nevertheless received some intact over the years, and in fact received a postcard with a wax seal on it intact just two days ago. You never know. I have also received cards like this with a “postage due” notice to collect the non-machinable surcharge.

Apparently the most common scenario in which the USPS seems to deal with non-machineable cards is specialized wedding invitations, either square ones or with was seals or other decorations.

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Thanks Everyone for the feedback some great views and advice.

Sounds like laminating has 2 main drawbacks:
1 - Non-recyclable so bad for the environment
2 - If you change you mind you screwed, cause it can’t come off.

So I’m going to look for Ultra-pro collectable sleeves, I use them for TCG and Comics they great and recycleable. If I can’t find those then my wall idea sort of goes out the window. String isn’t going to work because my whole room will then be covered in string as I’m going a wall to wall cover.

Also just to be clear as the OP, I’m definitely not intending on sending then in sleeves or covered. This is purely to protext the cards when sticking them to a wall.

Thanks again
Chris

Have you looked at the ideas for display in this thread? How do you store or display your postcards?

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Yip pretty much read all 380 posts. 1 person has a great wall similar to what I’m doing but just sticks them so there will be damage. No-one else really uses protectors or things like that. Most people use pegs, clips or tape

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Maybe using washi tape since it peels off easily might help?

I have found that washi tape, too, over time, will damage paper when you try to remove it (depends on the quality of the paper and on how long the washi stuck on it). Mind you, I have only ever used MT washi tape, so other brands might be different.

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