GBC Heatseal H435 Jam Free 12.5" Pouch Laminator - 1702810

Staff Review

GBC HeatSeal H435 Laminator Review

A new addition to GBC’s Jam Free line of laminators, the HeatSeal H435 is presented as a laminating solution for small to medium sized organizations that need the flexibility of being able to laminate documents of many sizes, and of thicknesses up to 7mil. Here are the strengths and weaknesses of this machine as we see them.

Strengths:

1. The first thing we noticed when checking out the H435 was the nice set of controls. There is a dial that will let the user adjust the temperature of the laminating process to correspond to the type of paper and pouches that are being used at any given time. The H435 also features an LCD screen that displays the warm-up time, and also a reverse button in case a pouch jam occurs during the laminating process.
2. The H435’s feed opening of twelve and a half inches makes it possible for the user to use just about any size laminating pouch. Just like the majority of laminators on the market, the H435 can handle projects such as badges, tags, and note cards. With this large throat opening, however this machine can also laminate documents that use bigger size laminating pouches such as menu and large menu. Using long side sealed “speed” pouches is also a possibility with this machine, increasing the speed and productivity of your projects.
3. The H435 accepts laminating pouches of 3mil, 5mil, and 7mil sizes. This gives the user lots of versatility and options for laminating projects. If you are laminating documents that need to maintain a certain amount of flexibility, you can use 3mil pouches. When rigidity is the goal, 7mil pouches are the way to go.

Weaknesses:

1. The ability to work with 3mil to 7 mil pouches is great, but for organizations that will be producing documents that need to be even more rigid that 7mil can provide, you may want to look for a machine that can handle 10mil pouches. 10mil, for the uninitiated, are what are normally used for items that will need the utmost in durability, either because they are handled a lot on a daily basis, like ID cards, or they need to stand up to outside use like signs.
2. The carrier free operation of the H435 has its advantages, but it also means that there are some things that the user should be aware of. On the plus side, of course, is speed and productivity. One thing you are going to have to keep in mind, however, is that the rollers will have to be cleaned on a regular basis to keep the pouch adhesive from building up. The H435 comes with a cleaning sheet to help with the process, and the GBC warranty only covers the machine of you use their laminating pouches. The danger of not keeping the rollers clean is that eventually a laminating pouch may get wrapped around them, and at that point the machine is essentially ruined. As stated above, however, if you make a point of regularly cleaning the rollers with the cleaning sheet that is provided (you simply run it through the machine) you should get many years of use out of the H435.