MyBinding Knowledge Base
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What should I look for in a Laminator?
The first thing you will want to consider when you are thinking about purchasing a laminator is the type of documents you are going to want to laminate on a regular basis. There are two main types of laminators: pouch and roll laminators.
If you are going to be laminating smaller items such as ID cards, business cards, tags or badges, you will most likely be looking at a pouch laminator. These machines come in sizes from the aforementioned ID card size (four inches) to medium sized machines that are capable of laminating letter and legal sized sheets such as you might use for a list of rules or instructions that you plan on posting somewhere. There are also larger pouch laminators that are capable of handling larger sheet sizes such as you might use for a restaurant menu or a small poster.
Pouch laminators, as the name suggests, use plastic pouches in which you place your documents. The pouches are then run through the laminating machine where the adhesive in the pouches is heated and the document is forever sealed in a plastic casing.
Depending on the size and capabilities you require, you can find pouch laminators in two, four, or six roller configurations. Some of the main manufacturers of pouch laminators include GBC, Fellowes, Akiles, Tamerica and Lamitek.
When you purchase your pouch laminator, you will also want to pick up some laminating pouches. Read the instructions on your machine for guidance on what size and thickness you will need.
Roll laminators are larger machines that employ – you guessed it – rolls of laminating film. Usually used in schools and other larger business service settings such as commercial print shops and the like. Roll laminators are designed to be able to handle any size job, but they excel most when they are being used for larger jobs such as big posters, etc.Whatever size you choose to get, try to make sure that it can at least handle the size of the average document.
For various reasons, roll laminators are generally more expensive than pouch laminators, so you should be sure that you wouldneed the added capabilities before you make your purchase.
Relatively new on the market, the cold laminating process uses adhesives that are pressure activated rather than using heat. Some cold laminators do not even require power in order to work, meaning that you can use them anywhere you might need to. These machines – as the name suggests – do not use heat, so they are safer than heated laminators as well.
Features
There are a couple features you might want to be on the lookout for when you are purchasing a laminator. One thing to consider is whether your machine has a reverse function, which will allow you to extract documents that have been laminated if you find you need to. Also, it may be wise to pay some attention to how long the manufacturer’s warranty lasts. The laminator industry is not known for handing out particularly long warranties, so if you can fond a machine that is covered for even ninety days, you are doing pretty well.
< 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)