Showing posts with label paper. Show all posts
Showing posts with label paper. Show all posts
Saturday, January 1, 2011
Family Tree Search: How To Find Your Ancestors
Are you planning on making your family tree? Are you curious to find where you come from and uncover your family's history throughout the years? You must know that it's not an easy task and you will need time and effort to create a complete family tree. You have to be organized and patient. But when you're done the feeling you get is really unique. So let's start.
I will try to give you some basic tips to get you started but you must remember that you need to research a lot unless there's already some kind of family tree created by some of your ancestors.
If you are serious, invest on a family tree software that will organize all the information you find. Paperwork may become overwhelming as you will notice.
You will need a lot of paper.
Use a single sheet of paper for every person/ancestor in your family. Then make small family groups of ancestors. You will write information you find for every person in the single piece of paper that belongs to that person. And you will write a summary of the information from all persons who belong to a family group to the sheet of paper that belongs to a certain family group. For example for your family group (e.g. you, your spouse and your 3 children), use 6 sheets of paper one for every member of the family and one for the family group (5 members and 1 family group).
In the ancestor sheet of paper you will write all kinds of information you find about that particular person: Date Born, Birthplace, Marriage Date, Date of Death, Father's Name, Mother's Name, Spouse Name and all other information you decide is worth mentioning in the family tree.
In the family group sheet of paper you will write a summary of the information you have gathered from all persons who belong to that family group: Number of members, Husband, Wife, Children and other kind of information you might find and want to include.
Now it's time to work and research. Start with yourself and your family. Gather information from your parents and their children. Then your grandparents and their children. Remember to keep track of the family groups and the sheets of paper that belong to each ancestor. As you go back in time you may need to contact other relatives, family friends or even researchers. Ask them to help you fill the information on your sheets of paper. Tell them you are creating a family tree for your entire family.
It's a good idea to keep a family tree log of your actions. For example when you find a birth certificate update your family tree log writing the date that you found that death certificate and the person that death certificate belongs to.
Check out if there's already someone who has created a family tree for a certain family group. Use that information to save time but verify if the information you find is correct. Look for wedding books, divorce papers, birth or death certificates, funeral cards, awards, diplomas, school books, employment records, military records, medical records and anything that you might find useful. You can obtain a lot of information from such papers like dates, ages, parents, witnesses etc. If you are really motivated and determined to create a family tree, this journey to the past will be fascinating.
And now let's move on to the fun part. After you have gathered all the information you need, it's time to design your family tree. You may want to use paper and fill the information so that it is organized and easy to access. But I'm sure after all that paperwork you will definitely need help from a family tree software that will save you a lot of time.
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
A Buyers' Guide To Laminators And Laminate
Lamination is simply the process of enveloping a document between two layers of plastic film and sealing its edges in order to provide a level of protection against outside influences that may cause damage. Photos, posters, letters, certificates and cards are all examples of documents that commonly utilize such a technique, and the items can either be produced professionally or with special laminating products that are used in the home.
Of the different types of laminators that are available, those which use the process of thermal (or heat) lamination are actually layers of film which are constructed of a polyester base and resin. During the heating process, the resin layer melts and is then spread across the surface of the print through the means of pressure. Once spread, the adhesive begins to cool, hardening as it goes, in order to form a permanent bond between the film and the print.
There are several types of laminating machines, each using different kinds of laminators. The easiest of these will allow you to feed the document into a laminating machine, where it comes into contact with the adhesive, which are then pressed together by rollers or - in some cases - an oversized plate.
Using the Proper Laminator
+ Depending upon the material of the print to be protected, certain laminators must be used in order to complete the job correctly. That being the case, it's important to match the correct type of laminator with the particular material that's being used. In other words, prints of paper, wood or fabric are going to require different types of laminators.
+ Due to the steps that are necessary to successfully laminate a print, it's important to know the size of the document. Since lamination pouches are used during part of the process, you'll need to ensure that these are a proper fit before the technique can be successfully completed.
+ The frequency in which you use the lamination machine and the size of the jobs should be considered, as well. If you plan to use it on a daily basis, or for large lamination jobs, then it's best to invest in a heavy duty laminating machine. For particularly large jobs, you might be better off obtaining an industrial machine.
+ Thickness is an important consideration, as well, since prints that are of a thicker nature will need to utilize a spring-loaded roller in order to be fed through the machine properly. The advantage to this type of tool is that it will automatically adjust to the thickness of the material that's being introduced.
+ Machines that are equipped with a stand-by mode and a readiness indicator are best for those times when you're planning to use them throughout the day, such as in an office environment.
Hot Lamination
Different jobs will require specific types of laminators - either hot or cold - depending upon the material and desired effect.
+ For documents that are up to 20" in width, pouch laminators are used. Photographs, ID tags and other jobs that are of similar size would do best using this approach.
+ You'll need to use a roll laminator if you're planning to process prints that are between 20" and 60" wide and 1" in thickness.
+ Dry mounting is the most expensive of the three types, and is performed by using a tissue adhesive as well as precise heat and pressure regulations, in addition to the necessary time that it takes to apply a substrate to the product. Specialized machinery needs to be used in order to perform this technique, and is often used in professional print shops.
Cold Lamination
Tape lamination uses a cold version of adhering a protective plastic film to the print. By inserting a pre-wound, rolled cartridge of laminated film into the machine and introducing the document, both the adhesives and the print are pulled into the machine with two rollers after pushing a button or using a hand crank. These types are often used in the home environment, office, photo-finishing labs and sign shops.
Various Types of Finishes
There are five basic finishes that can be applied to a laminated product. Depending upon the type of effect that you wish to produce will determine the best finish for the job.
+ Standard Clear - produces a glossy finish
+ Satin - reduces glare without frosting
+ Matte - applies a slightly frosted finish
+ Crystal - produces a granular texture
+ Scratch Resistant - hard finish for extra protection
With the right tools, you can produce a variety of high quality products that are suitable for framing, posting or inserting into a binding that houses keepsakes. Laminated documents are also more professionally protected when prepared for packaging, in the event that documents must be transported through mailing or shipping services.
Of the different types of laminators that are available, those which use the process of thermal (or heat) lamination are actually layers of film which are constructed of a polyester base and resin. During the heating process, the resin layer melts and is then spread across the surface of the print through the means of pressure. Once spread, the adhesive begins to cool, hardening as it goes, in order to form a permanent bond between the film and the print.
There are several types of laminating machines, each using different kinds of laminators. The easiest of these will allow you to feed the document into a laminating machine, where it comes into contact with the adhesive, which are then pressed together by rollers or - in some cases - an oversized plate.
Using the Proper Laminator
+ Depending upon the material of the print to be protected, certain laminators must be used in order to complete the job correctly. That being the case, it's important to match the correct type of laminator with the particular material that's being used. In other words, prints of paper, wood or fabric are going to require different types of laminators.
+ Due to the steps that are necessary to successfully laminate a print, it's important to know the size of the document. Since lamination pouches are used during part of the process, you'll need to ensure that these are a proper fit before the technique can be successfully completed.
+ The frequency in which you use the lamination machine and the size of the jobs should be considered, as well. If you plan to use it on a daily basis, or for large lamination jobs, then it's best to invest in a heavy duty laminating machine. For particularly large jobs, you might be better off obtaining an industrial machine.
+ Thickness is an important consideration, as well, since prints that are of a thicker nature will need to utilize a spring-loaded roller in order to be fed through the machine properly. The advantage to this type of tool is that it will automatically adjust to the thickness of the material that's being introduced.
+ Machines that are equipped with a stand-by mode and a readiness indicator are best for those times when you're planning to use them throughout the day, such as in an office environment.
Hot Lamination
Different jobs will require specific types of laminators - either hot or cold - depending upon the material and desired effect.
+ For documents that are up to 20" in width, pouch laminators are used. Photographs, ID tags and other jobs that are of similar size would do best using this approach.
+ You'll need to use a roll laminator if you're planning to process prints that are between 20" and 60" wide and 1" in thickness.
+ Dry mounting is the most expensive of the three types, and is performed by using a tissue adhesive as well as precise heat and pressure regulations, in addition to the necessary time that it takes to apply a substrate to the product. Specialized machinery needs to be used in order to perform this technique, and is often used in professional print shops.
Cold Lamination
Tape lamination uses a cold version of adhering a protective plastic film to the print. By inserting a pre-wound, rolled cartridge of laminated film into the machine and introducing the document, both the adhesives and the print are pulled into the machine with two rollers after pushing a button or using a hand crank. These types are often used in the home environment, office, photo-finishing labs and sign shops.
Various Types of Finishes
There are five basic finishes that can be applied to a laminated product. Depending upon the type of effect that you wish to produce will determine the best finish for the job.
+ Standard Clear - produces a glossy finish
+ Satin - reduces glare without frosting
+ Matte - applies a slightly frosted finish
+ Crystal - produces a granular texture
+ Scratch Resistant - hard finish for extra protection
With the right tools, you can produce a variety of high quality products that are suitable for framing, posting or inserting into a binding that houses keepsakes. Laminated documents are also more professionally protected when prepared for packaging, in the event that documents must be transported through mailing or shipping services.
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