Thermally Fused Laminate Vs Melamine

Also called direct or low pressure laminate.

Thermally fused laminate vs melamine.

In general melamine is cost effective due to its manufacturing process. Technically speaking melamine is the glue used to saturate the layers of paper transformed into a solid plastic surface through thermal fusion. Thermally fused laminate thermally fused laminate tfl panels for decorative surfaces. There is no kraft paper used in thermally fused laminates and the resulting panel is ready for finishing.

Each is produced differently. However the thicker textured thermal fused melamine has the same kind of life expectancy of high pressure laminate. Textured melamine opens up a lot of great options for your cabinets by giving a three dimensional texture to your doors. Melamine is produced with a pressure of just 300 500psi while to make a laminate a pressure of 1400psi is required.

Thermally fused laminate tfl is created by soaking decor paper with resin and allowing it to partially dry. Melamine is cheaper than laminate as it is manufactured by a method which is not cost intensive. 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. Tfl is a melamine saturated paper that is thermally fused directly to the substrate.

With the absence of the multiple layers of kraft paper that is found in hpl you will loose some of the impact resistance but also you will have a lower cost. The thermal fused melamine surface would likely bubble up and visibly damage the desk. 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. There are pros and cons to each material and most often the best choice depends on the application.

The high pressure laminate would only show minimal damage to the desk because of its superior durability. 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. Laminate is more durable than melamine and more resistant to heat and chemicals. There are two types of laminate that we use pretty often for furniture.