u/AllOfYourBaseAreBTU

Hi there! After watching some videos from CryCry and reading some posts in this wonderful thread I decided to go for it. I figured try and error is the best option, in the EU there are different materials available and its also a matter of personal preference.

I have purchase different types of paper:

180gsm Photo Paper (HP)
240gsm Double Side Glossy Paper (Koala)
310gsm Heavy Weight Dual Matte (Ilfort Galarie)

I have also purchased some printable holo foil sheets (a set with 4 different types)

And lastly, the laminator I used (Bonsen A4 L3401) came with glossy lamination pouches (80 micron)
And I also purchased matte lamination pouches (micron) from Albyco

My questions:

1. Is lamination always needed? (I think yes because the image / ink damages when cutting the card).
2. What is your preferred paper / method? I find glossy paper with glossy lamination have the best effect on quality of the colors, but I don't like it when the cards become too shiny / feels too much like plastic.
3. And finally, 180gsm Photo Paper (hp) with matte foil, i think this is the best one when it came to thickness and general feel of the card, but when I compare it with a real card, the matte is too matte ;-)
4. When I laminate, the cards in the middle of the A4 sheet are not covered good and have more traces if air underneath it. How do I prevent this, more heat? Less heat? (I have 3 settings on the machine, 80 microns, 125 microns, and "Photo", which I assume is the hottest?)

So my conclusion so far:

180GSM Photo Paper + 80 Micron Matte Foil = Best Feel
240GSM Double Side Glossy Paper + 80 Micron Glossy Foil = Best Image Quality
310GSM Matte + 80 Micron Matte Foil = Too Matte
310GSM Matte + 80 Micron Glossy Foil = Colors too flat and Glossy too Shiny

And the last one which was really good looking : Printing Directly onto the printable holo foils and sticking these onto a A4 240 and cut without lamination. But I'm worried when I print directly on the foil and don't laminate it will be too difficult to cut the images and not damage the ink?