The-Amazing Shrinking Laminator

A quick return-on-investment (ROI) is one surefire way to do that.

Jason Long at Southwest Plastic Binding adds that mounting, which goes hand-in-hand with lamination, is also increasingly less expensive.

"People have always mounted items, but in the past it's been very expensive. Machines cost in excess of $20,000," he says. "Three or four years ago, you could suddenly bring that in-house. And the markup is incredible. The margin has been very nice. We show our customers a little ROI, saying 'This is how many pieces you have to mount to cover your initial investment.' "