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Wood Veneers
- Made from very thin layers of real wood, usually with paper and foil backer sheets
- Virtually all species available for laminating to plywood, particleboard, and MDF panels, matching edgebands available
- High priced
- Generally finishes well, depends on species used
- Machines well
- Good Availability
- Used for high end displays and component parts
Low Pressure Melamine Paper
- Made from resin saturated paper that is bonded to MDF or particleboard panels with heat and pressure
- Many different color and wood grain patterns available. Matching and contrasting edgebands available
- Can be used as a one sided panel
- Relatively low cost
- Generally does not silk-screen well, poor ink adhesion
- Good for vertical surfaces
Low Pressure Thermofused Melamine
- Made from resin impregnated paper that is thermally fused under pressure to particleboard or MDF core stock, a molecular bond is achieved with the panel
- Many different color and wood grain patterns available. Matching and contrasting edgebands available.
- Both sides must be laminated with the same material to prevent bowing
- Moderate cost
- Silk-screens well
- Good for light duty desk tops, shelves, displays
High Pressure Laminate (HPL) ("Formica")
- Made from proprietary resin mixtures
- Laminated to particleboard, plywood or MDF core stock
- Very smooth surfaces, wide variety of colors and patterns
- Hard durable surface
- Moderate to high price
- No finish required
- Good availability
- Use vertical grade for surfaces that see little wear
- Use standard or postforming grade for surfaces that see a lot of wear, i.e.: countertops
Vinyl
- Made from a solid vinyl film that is glued to a wood panel substrate.
- Many different color and wood grain patterns available. Matching and contrasting edgebands available
- Only one side needs to be laminated, woodgrains tend to look "Plasticky", not as durable as low-pressure melamines
- Low Cost
- Silk-screens well
- Fair availability
- Used primarily for miterfolded products
Solid Color Laminate ("Formica", "ColorCore")
 Similar to "HPL" except color goes all the
way through the material, corner seams become almost invisible.- Limited color available
- Machines well in most applications
- Limited in bending capability
- High cost
- Fair availability most colors
- Used for higher end displays and fixtures
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