by Ed Pell
A Guide to
Plastic Laminates
and other decorative cabinet surfaces
“It's a mica cabinet with melamine
interior and foil edging."
People who sell or spec kitchen and
bath cabinetry hear terms like this all
the time. But what do they mean? What
are the differences between types of
decorative surfaces? And what are their
advantages and disadvantages?
There have been major technological
advances in surfacing in the past few
years, and more come along every day.
With these advances in mind, Kitchen &
Bath Business prepared this guide to
some of the decorative surfaces used in
cabinetry and countertops today.
High-Pressure Laminate
What it is: High-pressure decorative
laminate (HPDL) is composed of three
types of paper fused under, heat