Identification card printer and laminator

Abstract

A laminator for laminating sheets of lamina onto substrates such as cards uses a web of lamina material that preferably has a bondable and printable layer on the reverse side and can then be printed with information and laminated onto a blank card. The web also preferably has a series of spaced transverse lines of reduced strength so the web can be separated into individual sheets of lamina by creating a tension in the web across the transverse line of reduced strength.

What is claimed is:  
     
         1 . An apparatus for laminating a sheet of lamina onto a substrate comprising a supply of lamina in the form of a continuous web and having transverse lines of reduced strength to define a plurality of sheets of lamina, guide rollers for controlling movement of the web including a first and a second set of drive rollers that are spaced apart, controllable drives to the sets of drive rollers to provide differential drive speed, to create tension in the web between the first and second sets of drive rollers and to cause separation of a sheet of lamina from the web between the sets of drive rollers, and a lamination station for receiving the separated sheet of lamina and a substrate for laminating the separated sheet to the substrate.  
     
     
         2 . The apparatus of  claim 1  wherein the web of lamina material has a printable layer on a reverse side thereof that faces a substrate when lamination occurs, and a printer to print information on the reverse side thereof.  
     
     
         3 . The apparatus of  claim 2  wherein the lamina has a layer of vinyl forming the reverse side thereof.  
     
     
         4 . The apparatus of  claim 1  including a supply of individual substrates comprising cards, and a printer to print information on a card prior to laminating the lamina sheet thereon.  
     
     
         5 . The apparatus of  claim 1  wherein the web has a pair of laterally spaced, longitudinally extending side edges, and at least one pair of scallops on the side edges, the pair of scallops being transversely aligned on opposite edges to define a line of reduced strength across the web.  
     
     
         6 . The apparatus of  claim 4  wherein a micropreforated line extends across the web between the aligned scallops.  
     
     
         7 . A web of lamina material for use in covering a substrate having a length, said web having a longitudinal length and spaced apart longitudinal edges, a series of scallops formed along each of the longitudinal edges and arranged in transversely aligned pairs to define a transverse line of reduced web strength.  
     
     
         8 . The web of  claim 7 , wherein a length of the web between adjacent transverse lines of reduced web strength is substantially equal to a length of the substrate to be covered by the lamina material.  
     
     
         9 . The web of  claim 7 , wherein the scallops form rounded corners that are substantially the same configuration as corners of a substrate on which the lamina material is applied.  
     
     
         10 . A method of providing a protective lamina on a substrate comprising providing a web of lamina material with a heat bondable layer on a reverse side thereof, printing information on the reverse side web in selected locations, separating the selected locations into separate sheets of lamina, mating the separated sheets with substrates, and laminating the separated sheets onto separate substrates.