To start with almost all office furniture these days is made from a thin top surface applied on a substrate of fiberboard or particle board. In other words, your wood desk isn't made from a solid piece of wood or a few boards pieced together. It probably has a piece of particle board with a very thin sheet of wood veneer or plastic laminate. There are countless grades of particle board, veneers and laminates with detailed differences which I will not go into here, but might in a future blog.
After this sheet of particle board with a surface of veneer or laminate is put together, it is banded around the edge with another piece of wood or some type of plastic edge. These pieces are then put together to make a desk.
Wood veneer is actual wood. (See photo of DFm wood desk above.) It is sliced in very thin sheets, often somewhere between 1/16 and 1/8 inch thick. Almost any wood species can be used. Most popular in the U.S. are cherry, mahogany, walnut and maple. Usually a matching edge of wood is put on the edge of the top. More expensive desks use thick pieces of this wood edge banding, making for a very durable edge. The whole thing can be stained and finished just like a solid piece of wood. It is also as sensitive to damage as any other piece of wood.
Laminate is made of resin, paper and plastic. The paper can have a multitude of patterns, including wood patterns. The resulting laminate surface is applied to the fiberboard in a similar fashion to veneer. The edge is usually a PVC, plastic or polypropylene strip glued to the particle board. Laminate tops are generally more durable than wood. Resisting water, heat and impact better depending on the quality of the laminate. Also, you can get a very consistent look with laminate from one desk to the next. Where-as wood can very, expecially if a new piece is ordered after a long period of time. (Photo of laminate desk below.)
There is a less expensive product often referred to as melamine that is cheaper and less durable than laminate. It is difficult to see the difference at fist look.
So which is better? It depends what you want. If you want a unique finish, warm touch or opulent look, veneer usually does that better. If you want a durable, consistent less expensive piece, you might consider laminate.
Just to confuse the issue, you can also have a laminate top with a wood edge.
