MyBinding Laminating Pouches

Check your laminator's maximum rated pouch thickness before ordering, since running a 10 mil pouch through a machine only rated for 5 mil can cause jams or an incomplete seal. Most standard pouch laminators handle up to 10 mil, but lighter school-grade machines are often limited to 3 or 5 mil. Confirming your machine's rated maximum against the pouch thickness you need prevents a mismatch that shows up only after you've already loaded the document.

A standard pouch seals a document or ID card fully around all edges, while a slotted pouch has a small cut-out near the top specifically for a badge clip, lanyard, or reel to pass through without needing to punch a hole afterward. If your laminated piece needs to be worn or clipped to something, a slotted pouch avoids the extra step of punching through the finished lamination, which can otherwise crack the seal at the punch point.

Standard clear laminating pouches work fine over most printed materials, including foil-fused accents, as long as the foil is fully bonded and flat before laminating. If the foil hasn't fully adhered to the print, running it through a heated pouch laminator can shift or bubble the foil rather than seal it cleanly. Confirming the foil application is complete and cooled before lamination avoids that risk. If the finished piece will be mounted for display afterward, MyBinding's laminating pouch boards cover that mounting step separately.

Pouches at 10 mil and above generally need a carrier to protect the laminator's rollers and keep the pouch feeding straight, while thinner pouches in the 3 to 7 mil range often run without one on most standard machines. Check your specific laminator's manual for its carrier requirement, since some machines require a carrier at every thickness regardless of the pouch's own rating. Carriers built specifically for pouch lamination are covered separately at MyBinding's laminating pouch carriers.