What Is the Difference between Thermofoil Cabinet Doors and Laminate Cabinet Doors?

As a homeowner, you have many choices when it comes to sprucing things up. There are so many colours, textures and products to choose from, it can feel as though you have a dizzying array of selection. If you’re making changes to cabinet doors, one of those choices you may come across is choosing between Thermally Fused Laminate (TFL) -- which is known sometimes as Thermally Fused Melamine (TFM) -- or Thermofoil doors.

What is the difference, though? While the two are similar in some ways, they have distinct features.

the difference between Laminate and TFL

What is Thermofoil?

Thermofoil is a surface finish made from a plastic material. This material is then heated and formed to a specific shape on medium density fiberboard (MDF), which is a mix of sawdust, wax and resin that is formed into sheets by applying a high temperature and pressure. This gives the MDF a seamless and stain-resistant coating that is durable and easy to clean. Thermofoil is a versatile laminate that comes in many colours.

What is tfl Laminate?

This type of laminate is created by soaking decor paper with resin and allowing it to partially dry. Once it starts to dry the material is placed on MDF and both heat and pressure are used to fuse the laminate and the substrate together -- a general term that means any surface below another surface but which, in the home remodeling world, most often refers to the stabilizing layer of material directly beneath the finish, typically MDF. The desired size of door is then cut out and edge-banded.

TFL does not use multiple layers of Kraft paper that you’ll find in other high-pressure laminates, which means you’ll lose some impact resistance. Since TFL doesn’t have that extra cushion, you’ll find it used mostly for cabinet doors and drawers. That said, low quality TFL will peel, so you’ll want to be careful and buy a higher quality laminate that will tolerate the day-to-day stress you may put on it.

the advantages between Laminate and TFL

The Advantages of Laminate

1. Laminate doors come in a variety of faux wood textures and species that offer far better grain consistency when compared to real wood options.
   
   
2. Laminate is a quality cost-effective solution. The cost of a laminate cabinet door is lower -- it is much more cost-effective than buying solid wood cabinet doors, in most cases saving up to 30% the cost of a cabinet door package.
   
   
3. Despite having lower impact resistance, TFL is still durable enough for your cabinet doors and drawers and can be easily cleaned with a damp rag. You can rest easy knowing that you’ll be spending more time enjoying the beauty of your cabinet doors, not attacking them with a scrub brush.
   
   
4. Swedish Door is flexible to your needs and can manufacture a TFL doors and components in larger sizes to match any new or existing cabinet box configurations from IKEA cabinetry to custom made cabinets and everything in between.

The advantage of Thermofoil

1. The most cost-effective solution in the market.
   
   
2. Offers a full front wrap finish that does not require edge banding. This results in a cohesive front facing style with no visible edges on the front side of each cabinet component.
   
   
3. Available in a variety of styles and colour choices that would be typically seen in painted cabinet door packages.
   
   
4. Swedish Door is flexible to your needs and can manufacture a Thermofoil doors and components in larger sizes to match any new or existing cabinet box configurations from IKEA cabinetry to custom made cabinets and everything in between.

Where to find the best Laminate or Thermofoil

Swedish Door specializes in a high quality TFL and Thermofoil cabinet doors that come with a 10 year limited warranty so you can enjoy your kitchen worry free for years to come.

Whether you are planning a new IKEA Sektion kitchen, updating your existing discontinued IKEA cabinets or interested in customizing your custom cabinets we have the perfect solution for you.