[en] After referring to the economic importance of resin-bonded paper laminates and to the environmental and energy-related aspects of radiation chemical processes, the radiation polymerization of resins and monomers is discussed. Furthermore, a survey is given of the application of melamine resins to the production of laminates and of the modification of these melamines to obtain radiation polymerizable resins. According to the dose distribution within the laminate samples a detailed investigation has been made with regard to the radiation conditions at the electron processing unit used. Some relevant methods of preparing modified melamine resins were examined by analytical tests and efforts have been made in optimizing the resins obtained. To investigate the radiation curability of these resins, an analytical procedure has been developed based upon the precipitation of manganese dioxide from potassium permanganate, which enables to establish a quantitative relation between the decrease of the double bond content and the absorbed dose as well as to compare the reactivity of radiation curable systems. A description of common production processes of laminates is followed by some data concerning the radiation damage of cellulose, the basis of both conventionally and radiation chemically produced laminates. By thorough investigations a correlation could be found between the composition of the resin-monomer-systems and the properties of the corresponding laminates making the latter predictable. These investigations did not only lead to a preference of acrylic-modified melamine resins but also to a reduction among the available reactive diluents to non-volatile mono- and diacrylates. Finally, a description of a production line on a large scale is followed by a calculation of cost of the radiation chemical part of the process. (author)