MyBinding Knowledge Base
How do I laminate something with SelfSeal Laminating Sheets?
f you’re looking to preserve documents, photographs, newspaper clippings or other important memories, lamination can be one of the most effective ways to do so. With that said, not many people own a personal laminator. What do you do if you want to laminate but don’t want to buy the machine? You’re in luck. GBC has created SelfSeal laminating sheets and laminating pouches that you can seal without the use of a laminator. Here is a guide on how to use GBC’s SealSeal laminating sheets. 
- To begin, you will want to choose between three different styles- the regular, permanent laminate, the re-positionable laminate for straight lamination or the fun Framed PhotoPop Pouches that add a decorative border to your items. All can be great options but only you can decide which one works best for you.
- Next, make sure the style you have chosen is the right size for the materials in front of you. While the PhotoPop Frames are fun and colorful, be aware that they are only designed to be used with 4″ x 6″ photos. Permanent pouches come in sizes for wallet cards and pictures, horizontal and vertical ID badges, luggage tags with loops, and letter size documents. Repositionable SelfSeal sheets offer the most options– they offer the standard sizes for wallet items, business cards, and both glossy and matte 4″ x 6″ photos as well as glossy 5″ x 7″ photo pouches. GBC does, however, have a number of options for letter-sized documents. Large glossy photo pouches are great for 8″ x 10″ photos. NoMistakes letter pouches allow you to reposition items for up to 24 hours. Letter-sized laminating sheets are available as well.
- Another unique option from GBC is self-sealing laminating rolls. These come 16″ wide in 10-foot rolls. Rolls are excellent for laminating posters and other larger items. It is worth noting that these are not pouches, meaning that you will have to complete the process for both sides.
- Now it is time to laminate. For the pouches, one sheet will be sticky while the other one will not, the latter used for backing. Center your document on the backing. Peel the liner from the second sheet and smooth it down onto your project. Press firmly to be sure that it seals. Trim away the excess laminate. Pouches are excellent for mounting items onto posterboard, display boards, walls and more. Peel back the liner one inch. Center your document face down on the laminate. Press the sticky side to the surface. Slowly peel off the liner, pressing down firmly to seal all sides of laminate. This will adhere your page to any smooth surface. If you want to seal two sheets together, peel back the liner one inch and center your document face down. Pull off the linter of your second sheet about one inch and line it up with the first. Gently pull off the rest of the liner and seal the two sheets together firmly. Once again, trim off the excess laminate.
< 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)
