GBC HeatSeal H100 Pouch Laminator - 1701280

Staff Review

GBC HeatSeal H100 Pouch Laminator Review

The H100 is a small pouch laminator that is designed for laminating ID badges, name tags, luggage tags and note cards. It is the least expensive laminator produced by GBC (General Binding Corporation) as part of the Heatseal line of pouch laminators. The H100 is a popular choice with home users and for users who occasionally need to laminate small items and cards.  Here are some of the strengths and weaknesses of the GBC H100 pouch laminator.

Strengths / Features:

• Perhaps the best thing about the H100 is that it is inexpensive. With a cost of around $50 the Heatseal H100 is an extremely cheap laminator that will allow you to create your own name tags, badges, ID tags and other small laminated items.
• The H100 has a four inch throat that allows for laminating small items with your choice of 3mil or 5mil laminating pouches.
• The H100 offers a quick warm up time and is incredibly simple to operate. You simply need to switch the laminator on, wait for the ready glow light to turn on and then feed your pouches through. There are no complicated settings for temperature or speed that you need to worry about.
• The fact that this machine is made by GBC is a huge strength. GBC is the most reliable name in the laminating industry and the laminator comes with a 1 year convenient replacement warranty. In the unlikely even that it has problems GBC will normally simply replace it with a new one.

Weaknesses / Limitations:

• The H100 can only run 3mil and 5mil laminating pouches. Unfortunately, most small sized laminating pouches that would be compatible with the H100 are not available in 3mil thicknesses. This means that users will end up being limited to 5mil laminating pouches with this machine. This isn’t a huge problem but is something that users should be aware of when purchasing this machine.
• With a throat that is approximately 4.5 inches in width this laminator is essentially limited to use for laminating documents up to four inches in width. This is great for badges and nametags but means that the H100 will not work well for laminating larger cards or sheets.
• The H100 is relatively slow at only 12″ per minute. For personal use this shouldn’t be a huge issue. However, if you had to laminate hundreds or thousands of items it might become quite tedious.
• The H100 is missing several important features found on more expensive laminators such as a reverse feature for removing pouches that may become jammed in the machine. It also does not have any settings for adjusting heat or speed. This means that the H100 is somewhat limited in its abilities. However, it is extremely simple to operate.

Recommendation:

• The Heatseal H100 is ideal for individual use or for companies that need to laminate a few name tags, badges, ID’s or note cards. However, higher volume users will most likely find it slow and missing some of the important features that are included on other laminators. The lack of heat and speed controls will make it very difficult to adjust for problems in the laminate or for thicker stocks or for variations in heat. However, it is an excellent choice for users on a tight budget looking for a high quality easy to use laminator for minimal use.