MyBinding Knowledge Base
Do I need to use a pouch carrier with my laminator?
Using a pouch laminator is pretty easy and it offers a fast way of protecting your important documents and photographs. After all, you really need to do to be successful with this type of device is stick your document in a laminating pouch and then feed it into the machine. However, there is one more thing you should do to extend the life of your laminator: you should place the pouch containing your document in a carrier before it goes through the machine. Here’s a few reasons why…
- First off, you’re probably wondering what a carrier is. A carrier is simply a folded piece of cardstock that you place your pouch in before it goes into the machine. One is included in
- Every time you use your laminator, the machine emits heat so that the adhesive in the pouch melts to encapsulate your document. As the document makes its way through device, adhesive can trickle out of the pouch and coat the gears and rollers. Over time, the adhesive can build up and make the machine harder to use. There are a number of things that can happen if there’s a build-up of adhesive in your laminator. For one thing, you’ll probably experience a lot of pouch jams. Jams happen when the pouch becomes wrapped around the machine’s rollers. These can be frustrating to deal with and it can take some time to clear them up if they happened to be particularly bad. In the worst case scenario, your laminator could be completely ruined and you’ll have to replace it.
- The good news is you can avoid all the doomsday scenarios by using a carrier each and every time you use your laminator. The carrier will prevent the adhesive from getting all over the place so the inside of your device will stay clean. It will also keep your document straight so it will be less likely to become wrapped around a roller.
- Using a carrier can also help your documents look great. If you don’t use one regularly, you might find that your documents emerge from the device with adhesive deposits on them and possibly heat marks. This will be far less likely to happen if your document is in a carrier when you laminate it. Also, the carrier will prevent the item from becoming marred by fingerprints when it comes out of the device.
< Over the years, a number of customers have asked me whether they can use twin loop wire with their plastic comb binding machine. These customers often don’t want to have to buy a brand new machine but like the look and feel of twin loop wire binding. However, the answer to their question isn’t as simple as it seems. You see, they actually do make twin loop wire that is designed to work with the plastic comb binding hole pattern. With that said, if you want to use these wires you are going to need a way to close the wires. What is Spiral-O Wire? Let me explain a little bit more…There is a product that we carry called Spiral-O Wire. This wire has 19 loops and is designed to work with the hole pattern from a plastic comb binding machine. Spiral-O Wire is sometimes called Wire Combs or Ibico Wire and was originally designed for use with some of the older Ibico binding machines. A number of the older Ibico plastic comb binding machines also included a twin loop wire closer on the front of them to allow users to use both plastic combs and wire. This 19 loop wire was designed for this purpose. What Equipment is Needed? As the Ibico brand has been phased out by GBC and all of the older Ibico plastic binding machines have been replaced with new models, they no longer have the twin loop wire closer on the front of them. This presents a problem in trying to use these spiral-o wires since you can’t use the wires without a way to close them. One of the only options left is to purchase a Twin Loop wire closer. However, since twin loop wire closers are not incredibly cheap this option usually only appeals to users who have larger electric plastic comb binding machines. Otherwise, it is often advisable to simply buy a low end 3:1 pitch twin loop wire binding machine (the supplies are cheaper). This being said, if you have one of the older Ibico binding machines that has a wire closer included you are in luck. The Spiral-O binding supplies that we carry will work perfectly with your machine and you will be able to use both plastic combs and wire depending on your needs. These Spiral-O binding supplies are available in Black, Silver, White, Blue and Red and in sizes up to 1″ in diameter. If you aren’t sure what type of wire binding supplies that you need to work with your machine simply give us a call. Our trained sales representatives will be glad to help you find the correct supplies for use with your machine.(Read More)
