Five Things To Consider When Buying A Pouch Laminator
There are a lot of different laminating machines out there on the market
, and with so many options, it can sometimes be difficult to choose the machine that is just right for you and your needs. If you have already decided to go with a pouch laminator rather than a roll laminator, here are five things you will want to consider before you buy.
1.) What size? Laminators come in many shapes, sizes, and abilities. If you are just going to be laminating small items such as business cards, I.D. badges, and the like, you can find a lot of machines out there with four inch throats that are small, portable, and that store away easily. If you are going to be laminating larger documents, such as letter size sheets, you'll need to find a machine that has a throat of at least nine inches. If your plan is to process legal, menu or double letter sized sheets, you will have to purchase a laminator with a twelve or thirteen inch throat. And, of course, if you are going to be working with poster sized items (such as you might find in many schools, churches, etc.) you will have to look into the largest of the bunch with throats of eighteen or twenty four inches.
2.) Pouches. The plastic laminate sleeves into which you insert your documents before laminating them are called pouches. These pouches come in various thicknesses, from 3 to 5 to 7 to 10 mil. There are a lot of machines out there that can only work with pouches of 3 or 5mil, and this is fine for a lot of applications. Heavier pouches offer more durability, however, and you can find many machines out on the market that can laminate using 7 and 10mil pouches, if that's what you think you will need.
3.) What are you going to laminate? Just about any laminator at any price point is capable of processing card stock and the like. If your plan is to mount documents, or you are going to want to process thicker materials and/or photos, you'll want to make sure that you purchase a machine that is capable of doing so. One thing you may want to ask is if the laminator you are considering uses rollers and plates that are heated. Those machines that do have that feature are usually the best bets when you are going to be laminating photographs.
4.) What are the other features? For such a simple machine, there are a lot of other options to consider when you are looking into purchasing a laminator. One of the most important, headache-saving features to look for is some sort of either reverse function, or jam release. Another great feature to have is speed and temperature controls that allow you to adjust for pouch thicknesses and document type.
5.) Carrier or no carrier? We vote carrier. Whether or not you choose a machine that offers carrier free operation, there are many advantages to using one. First of all, it helps keep adhesive from collecting on the rollers and ruining your machine. Second, the carrier will help to ensure a cleaner, more imperfection-free document.
by: Jeffrey McRitchie
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