Thermally Fused Laminate Vs Melamine

Thermally fused laminate decorative panels once known as thermally fused melamine or tfm is made by fusing a resin impregnated sheet of décor paper directly to a substrate.

Thermally fused laminate vs melamine.

Technically speaking melamine is the glue used to saturate the layers of paper transformed into a solid plastic surface through thermal fusion. There is no kraft paper used in thermally fused laminates and the resulting panel is ready for finishing. There are two types of laminate that we use pretty often for furniture. Melamine is cheaper than laminate as it is manufactured by a method which is not cost intensive.

Thermally fused laminate thermally fused laminate tfl panels for decorative surfaces. Melamine is produced with a pressure of just 300 500psi while to make a laminate a pressure of 1400psi is required. The high pressure laminate would only show minimal damage to the desk because of its superior durability. Textured melamine opens up a lot of great options for your cabinets by giving a three dimensional texture to your doors.

Also called direct or low pressure laminate. The low quality melamine will not last as long as most laminate surfacing. Tfl is a melamine saturated paper that is thermally fused directly to the substrate. Laminate is more durable than melamine and more resistant to heat and chemicals.

In a news release the cpa explained the reason for the name change stating it is the collective view that the term thermally fused laminate tfl is more descriptive than melamine and. The thermal fused melamine surface would likely bubble up and visibly damage the desk. When its time to have the look of high pressure laminate hpl with similar performance thermally fused laminate tfl also referred to as thermally fused melamine tfm is often used. In general melamine is cost effective due to its manufacturing process.

Thermally fused laminate tfl is created by soaking decor paper with resin and allowing it to partially dry. However the thicker textured thermal fused melamine has the same kind of life expectancy of high pressure laminate. Thermally fused laminate tfl and high pressure laminate hpl. There are pros and cons to each material and most often the best choice depends on the application.