Decorative plastic laminate (Formica)
Laminado plástico decorativo (Formica)
- Date
- 1912 · confidence high
- Place
- Cincinnati, Ohio, United States
- Credited to
- Herbert A. Faber and Daniel J. O'Conor
- Field
- Tools
What it is
A laminate of layers of paper or cloth impregnated with phenolic resin and pressed with heat; it was devised as an electrical insulator in place of mica. With a decorated paper on top it served for washable worktops, furniture and counters.
The name means 'in place of mica' (for mica); decorative use developed from the 1920s and 1930s.
What it led to
- washable, cheap worktops and furniture
- high-pressure laminates in 1950s decor
- decorative melamine surfaces