Laminating Pouches

Lamination pouches are plastic pockets of material. You put the document you want to laminate inside and feed it through a hot laminator, which will bind the layers together and seal the pouch. Excess parts of the pouch can be trimmed off when the item has been laminated. You can get laminating pouches in different thicknesses and sizes. The thicker the pouch, the more durable and stiff your laminated item will come out.

Laminating Film

Some laminators use film rather than pouches and these also come in different thicknesses and widths. The thicker the film you use, the more durable and stiff the laminated item will come out. Some laminating films are low melt films, meaning they need less heat. You can use these for heat sensitive items, such as photographs.

If you use a film laminator, you also have the choice of whether to laminate one side or both sides of an item. You might want to laminate a poster on the front only, if the back is going to be mounted on to a board. These laminating films come in different finishes, such as satin, matte and gloss.

You can get both laminating pouches and laminating film in different sizes, with A3 and A4 laminate pouches being the most common. If you are going to be printing documents of different sizes, it might be a good idea to get A3 laminating pouches or film because you can always laminate two smaller documents at once if you do not need the whole of the A3 laminate sheet. An A3 laminator will laminate A3 and smaller sizes too.

Self-Laminating Sheets

You can get self-laminating sheets if you just do the occasional laminating job or if you want to laminate something on the go. With these, you place the document between the sheets and seal it yourself without a laminator. If you do more than the very occasional bit of laminating though, it is best to get a laminating machine for superior results and ease of use.

ID Supplies

Laminators can be used to make ID cards and supplies for these laminators include hologram ID cards, ID cards with magnetic strips or barcodes and the film to laminate them with.

Other lamination supplies include attachable pins and clips, retractable badge reels, luggage straps, lanyards and protective carriers. Obviously your need for these will depend what you are laminating.

You can get laminating supplies online or at a stationery store but it is worth stocking up on lamination supplies because they keep for a long time and you do not want to suddenly run out of laminating film or pouches when you need to laminate something.

Laminating machines are used both in homes and offices and there are many different types of laminating machines to choose from. Many people use an A4 laminating machine for example but an A3 laminating machine can be used for A4 as well and offers the option to laminate in A3 if you need to. These machines do not take up a lot of room and can be stored sideways and out of the way when not in use.

Some laminating machines cost thousands of dollars but if you are looking for a home machine rather than something to make ID cards for a large company, you will probably be looking at cheap laminators. A used laminating machine is another option, as long as it is in good condition. A used laminating machine might also come with unused lamination pouches which will save you more money.

Depending on what you want to laminate, you will need to decide which size of laminator suits your requirements the best. A 12″ laminator is big enough for most home users but you can a get larger one, such as a 25″ laminator, which are good for making banners, signage and posters.

If you have a small business such as a bar or restaurant, you might like to look at a larger laminating machine, since having your posters and signs laminated in a print shop can add up to quite a lot of money. In this case, it works out quicker and easier to have your own lamination machine.

Pouch Laminators

You can get a pouch laminating machine for a hundred dollars or so and they are easy to use. There are also more expensive pouch laminators if you plan to use the machine a lot. A lot of cheap laminators use pouches and the pouches are also inexpensive. There is very little wastage with pouch laminators since you can use an A4 laminating pouch to laminate two A5 items for example.

Also, pouch jams do not happen very often and will never happen if you are careful when feeding the documents into the machine and using the right temperature and speed settings.

Roll Laminators

Roll laminators are more expensive and are heavy duty for profession laminating jobs. These start at around a thousand dollars and can laminate posters and big signs. If you laminate a lot of things, a roll laminator can save you time and give consistently good results.

If you want to laminate heat sensitive materials, you should use a cold roller laminator or a tape laminator instead.

All the adhesive layers bond to each other, so if you laminate a document which is smaller than the laminate pouch, you can trim it down to size or use one laminate pouch to laminate several small items at once.

Pouch laminators are good for home or office use. They are not expensive but they do work well and give good results. If you plan to do a lot of lamination, however, you might prefer to look at roll laminators instead which do not use laminating pouches.

Lamination Pouches

The pouches come in varying thicknesses, measured in micrometers (MIC). Normal home laminating machines use eighty to two hundred and fifty MIC pouches, depending on the machine. Thicker pouches tend to be more expensive.

Some pouches, such as butterfly pouches, are used with a laminator to make ID cards. This type of pouch has a magnetic strip on it for security. Magnetic strips are used for authentication and information. Some laminators put holograms on to the card to show that it is original and real. There is no limit to the combination of magnetic strips and holograms that can be embedded on to a lamination pouch.

Laminating pouches come in different sizes, such as A2, A3 and A4 pouches. You can also get size 4×6 laminating pouches which are perfect for laminating photos or glossy prints, to protect them from moisture, color loss and creasing. You can get badge pouches which have rounded corners and come with carriers.

It is important to make sure your laminator can accommodate both the dimensions and the thickness of the laminating pouch you want to use. Remember that you can trim any excess material from the pouch before or after laminating.

Self-Laminating Pouches

You can get self-laminating A4 pouches for A4 documents, which work without a laminating machine. Self-laminating pouches are usually non-reflective and offer a matte finish. These pouches are good for making posters and signs. Self-laminating pouches work well if you only need to laminate the occasional document but if you want to laminate more often, it is quicker and easier to use a machine.

Retrievable Lamination Pouches

Retrievable pouches are also popular. With these, you can remove the laminated document safely and easily. This is a good idea if you are worried about ruining an important document if you accidentally use the wrong heat setting or if you do not feed the document into the machine properly. Retrievable pouches are also a good idea if you might want to remove the document, make changes to it and laminate it again.

GBC HeatSeal Laminators

The most popular GBC laminating machines are in the HeatSeal range. The HeatSeal Ultima 35 Ezload 12″ Roll laminator is a tabletop sized hot roller laminator which is great for posters, maps, banners and other documents. It comes with a reverse function in case of jams, adjustable heat settings, standby and a built in trimmer.

The HeatSeal H210 GBC laminating machine is ideal for offices requiring moderate laminator use. The control panel is user friendly and menu driven and you can laminate documents up to 9.5″ wide. This laminator comes with a variable temperature control and laminates pouches from 3mil to 5mil thick. It also has a jam release lever and comes with two year warranty.

The HeatSeal H535 Commercial Series Pouch Laminator is a good choice if you want to avoid wasted time because of misfeeds or jammed pouches. This laminator is good for moderate usage and has a 12.5″ entry feed, which is ideal for laminating documents, photographs, menus and more. You can vary the temperature and there is also a cold setting. This Heatseal GBC laminator model shuts off after an hour of non-use.

GBC DocuSeal Laminators

The DocuSeal range of laminators is ideal for laminating documents. These laminating machines heat up twice as quickly as many similar models and heat sensitive inks on your documents stay perfectly safe. If you only want to laminate small items, the 4″ DocuSeal laminator is cheap yet effective.

GBC 25″ Roll Laminator

This laminator is designed for convenient, safe laminating in a small print shop or office. You can laminate placemats, posters, signs, banners and more with this laminator model. The GBC Catena 65 laminator has silicone rubber rollers, an LCD display showing the speed and temperature and an infrared heating coil which distributes heat evenly and gives excellent results. If you need to use a laminator often and you want to laminate larger items, this one is a good choice.

GBC ID Size Laminating Pouches

If you want your laminated documents to look crisp and clean, these GBC HeatSeal pouches offer clarity so you can protect the documents without losing color or detail. GBC ID size laminating pouches come in packs of twenty five and are pre-punched so you can attach them to clips, lanyards or chains. These laminating pouches are compatible with all ID laminators and you can use them for photos and luggage tags as well as ID cards.

Other GBC Laminator Supplies

GBC offer film and different types of laminator pouches. They also make self-seal laminator sheets if you only laminate occasionally and do not need the stability or top quality results of a GBC laminating machine.

It is a good idea to take your time when choosing GBC laminators because there is a good range and each laminator offers slightly different features. Whether you want a home laminator for occasional use or a heavy duty model for office or print shop use, there are plenty of GBC laminators to choose from.

How to Choose a Laminator

One of the most important considerations to bear in mind when choosing a laminator is which size you need. There is not much point in buying an A4 laminator if you have an A3 printer and might want to laminate A3 size documents. You can also laminate smaller documents with an A3 laminator. If you have a 36″ printer, you might want to get a 42″ laminator so you can laminate whatever you print.

Buying a slightly larger laminator is definitely more cost effective than saving a few dollars on a smaller one and having to buy a bigger one in a few months because it is too small. The best laminator is one which is versatile enough to laminate different document sizes.

What exactly are you planning to laminate? If you might need to laminate items which vary in rigidity or thickness, you should look for a higher specification model which can laminate five hundred micron pouches. This means you can laminate thick paper and cardboard with it as well as regular paper.

It is a good idea to get a laminator with a reverse function if you want the best laminating machine. This means that you can extract a film or pouch if the lamination goes wrong or if it gets stuck.

The Importance of Speed and Pressure

If you opt for a heated roller type laminator, speed is important because the film only heats up for a short time, when in contact with the rollers. If it runs too slowly, the film can overheat which will cause creases and waves. If it runs too fast, the glue will not melt and the laminating sheets or pouch will not stick.

Pressure is used to force the laminate on to the document and with the best laminators the speed and pressure used to laminate are perfectly balanced. Some of the best laminators offer different speeds and temperatures so you can match the speed and temperature to the lamination pouches and the item you want to laminate, for the best results.

3M Laminator

One of the most popular laminating systems is the 3M laminator. There are different models of 3M laminators so it is a good idea to compare the features of each one, to see which suits your needs best. 3M laminators are renowned for their ease of use and portability. You can laminate one or two sides with these laminating systems.

Take your time when looking for the best laminating machine. It is usually worth buying a laminator which offers all the options you might need, rather than getting a smaller model or one with very limited features, since you will only need to replace it with something better in a few months time.

Laminating machines are the easiest way to laminate ID cards and there are various ID laminating systems to choose from, depending how often you will use the machine and what type of ID cards or documents to need to laminate.

You might work for a company and want to issue everyone with an ID card which cannot be forged or copied or you might want to laminate your own ID cards and other important documents, such as your birth certificate. For that, you would need a different laminator, since laminating ID machines are usually used for companies or organizations who want to issue each member of staff with a security card that is impossible to copy or forge, meaning more security for the company.

Why Use a Laminating ID Machine

Before laminating machines were available, you would have had to use laminate sheets which were not easy to use and used to pucker with tiny air bubbles, making the ID hard to read. Laminate sheets also resulted in a lot of wastage. With a laminating machine, laminating is quicker and easier and the finished ID card is easy to read and perfectly protected.

When you are laminating ID cards, you can also punch holes in them, so if you plan to wear your ID around your wrist, neck or attached to your clothing, you can attach a chain or clip. The card would be too delicate to wear without laminate protection.

Safety and Security

A lot of companies like to laminate ID badges because it prevents the badges from being altered or tampered with in any way. In addition to this, some ID laminators come with the option of putting holographic patches or holograms on the laminated item, making it even more secure and less likely to be tampered with.

Some ID laminators also feature ultraviolet colors, laser visible imaging, micro text and nano text, for the very best security. With these features being used on the ID card and the lamination, it makes forgery an impossibility as well as protecting the ID card itself. ID card laminators might not be cheap but they do offer a very high degree of security.

Types of Laminate ID Machines

To select laminating ID machines, it is a good idea to compare several. Some machines laminate both sides of a card and others only do one side. ID machines usually come with a webcam and ink for printing, either in ribbon form or ink form. You will also get blank cards for printing and laminating, software for the laminate ID machine and technical assistance when required. The machines come in different sizes and usually a 4″ laminator or 9″ laminator will be good enough for most uses.

Laminating ID machines are a good idea for offices, small businesses and can also be used to protect any ID cards.

Types of Laminating Systems

Pouch laminators, roll laminators and CD laminators are three kinds of laminating equipment which are popular today in homes, offices and schools.

Pouch Laminator

A pouch laminator is effective without being expensive and is suitable for home or small office use. This type of machine uses plastic lamination pouches which are sealed on the long or short edge. The pouch is coated with film which adheres to the paper you are laminating when exposed to heat. The pouch is passed through a set of heated rollers under pressure.

Pouches such as butterfly pouches can be used if you want to make ID cards. These pouches have embedded magnetic strips. Laminator pouches come in different thicknesses, with the thicker ones usually costing more.

Cold Roll Laminator

A cold roll laminator uses a plastic film with a glossy, sticky backing that does not adhere to the glue. When this backing is taken off, the adhesive sticks to the item you want to laminate. This is a good lamination system for items which might be damaged by heat, such as photographs. Cold laminators range from small, basic, two roller machines to big, motor-driven machines with a variety of features.

Heated Roll Laminator

A heated roll laminator works in a different way. This piece of laminating equipment uses heated rollers to melt glue on to lamination film. The film is then applied to card or paper using rollers. These roll laminators vary in size and they are often used in the print industry, to cover magazines, posters, books and postcards for example.

Heated roll laminators work more quickly than some other types of laminating equipment and are the most common type of laminator used in schools, homes and offices. The rollers are used to enable to adhesive to spread better. This reduces the risk of tiny air bubbles getting inside the laminate.

CD Laminator

A CD laminator is used to coat CDs, DVDs and other discs with a thin plastic coating to protect the inkjet printing from normal handling, eliminating the risks of scratches and moisture. Top of the range CD laminators can coat hundreds of discs per hour.

Laminator Sizes

Laminating systems range from small, inexpensive household and office machines for laminating ID cards, documents and photographs to huge laminating equipment for making posters and banners.

You can choose from A4 laminators, A3 laminators, big A1 laminators or even a 44″ laminator for laminating very large items. Laminators range in price from twenty dollars for a very basic model to thousands of dollars for a large, industrial laminator.

Best Laminator Brands

Some of the best laminating equipment on the market is made by GBC, Fellowes, 3M, Brother, Ibico, Xyron and Lamitek. When buying a laminator, it is a good idea to compare different laminating systems to find a good price. You should also know which sizes of documents or other items you want to laminate, so the machine can handle them. Finally, it is a good idea to compare laminator features and choose a machine offering all the features you will need for laminating.