Trabon Group provides an array of options for customizing your restaurant’s laminated menus. Servicing over 70+ national restaurant brands, Trabon Group maintains a vast experience and detailed knowledge when it comes to producing durable, laminated menus.

Lamination will ensure your printed menus last longer in a harsh restaurant environment. Menus are often exposed to food, liquids, bacteria and other elements that will deteriorate the menu quickly if not addressed. Laminated menus provide a protective covering that extends the life of the menu. The lamination can be cleaned with certain anti-bacterial chemicals, allowing the menu to be safely re-used day in and day out.

Trabon Group provides two primary types of laminated menus: edge seal laminated menus and flush cut laminated menus.

Edge Seal Laminated Menus

Edge seal laminated menus ensure the lamination is sealed around every side of the menu. This lamination extends beyond the edge of the paper menu, which is encased with lamination. Edge seal lamination tends to reduce wicking from moisture on the table, ensuring a longer term use of the menu. Most restaurant brands looking to prioritize menu durability choose edge seal laminated menus. Additionally, if the menu is not replaced frequently, edge seal laminated menus may be a good choice. These menus last longer in the restaurant environment meaning reprints to replace worn out menus are not as necessary.

Flush Cut Laminated Menus

On the other hand, flush cut laminated menus refers to a trim of the lamination that leaves no lamination visible along the edge of the menu. When restaurant brands prioritize aesthetics over durability, flush cut laminated menus tend to be the best choice. These menus are still durable, however, due to the exposed edges where the lamination and paper were trimmed together, the exposed paper can wick water. This leads to a deterioration of the lamination over time. However, if the menu is constantly updated resulting in frequent print runs it is possible the deterioration over time will not be a factor.

What Type of Menu Should My Restaurant Use? 

Deciding what type of menu to utilize in your restaurant often depends on factors related to how often you plan to print (or publish) your menu. There are two primary types of laminated menus (edge seal and flush cut), but there are also paper menus that may feature coated paper, or no coating such as disposable menus. Additionally, there are digital menus that can be surfaced through a QR code on the guest’s phone.  Each menu presents new opportunities and challenges, but ultimately you’ll need to find what works best for your guests and your seasonal menu changes.

For instance, if you plan to print menus monthly due to a rotating selection of seasonal food items, then maybe flush cut laminated menus or paper menus are perfectly capable of maintaining quality during that short time period. Longer gaps between campaign cycles may require more durability offered by edge seal laminated menus. Daily specials such as featuring beers on tap may be well suited for a digital menu board. These are just examples of the considerations you may have when deciding on your menu type.

Interested in Quality Restaurant Menus?

Trabon Group has decades of experience working with restaurant brands to print and produce laminated quality menus. If you are interested in learning more about our print capabilities, or menu management software, please contact us today!