Should I laminate or mount first?

[JPR-5690]

This might be a stupid question but we do very little laminating so I don't have any experience to go off of, really.

Does it make a difference to laminate a print before or after it's mounted to a substrate?

If it makes a difference, this particular job is for small-ish dry-erase charts so I'm applying a dry erase lam to a vinyl print then mounting that to a display board.

 

[greysquirrel]

laminating first gives you a little more structure to handle...
laminating first can eliminate silvering

 

[MikePro]

laminating first can also eliminate scuffs/scratches in your print prior to & during application

...honestly, i see no benefit to lamination after application unless you're trying to do something quirky like sealing multiple hand-placed graphics under a single clear-layer like pictures/postcards under an epoxy bartop coating.