MyBinding Knowledge Base
The Fellowes EXL 45-2 Vs. the Royal Sovereign ES-410
A personal-sized pouch laminator offers a fast, easy way to produce professional-looking ID badges, bookmarks, and more. There are a lot of them on the market, including the Fellowes EXL-45-2 and the Royal Sovereign ES-410. Here is a comparison of these machines as well as some advice as to which one you should purchase.
Fellowes EXL 45-2:
- The EXL 45-2 is a high-quality product from Fellowes that’s great for both home and office environments. It has three adjustable temperature settings, including a cold one for thermally sensitive documents. (However, it lacks adjustable speed settings.) It is also capable of laminating photographs.
- This machine has a feed opening of 4.5 inches, making it ideal for laminating smaller items such as ID badges and luggage tags.
- The EXL 45-2 can only deal with one size of laminating pouch: 5 mil. However, it will also work with pressure-sensitive supplies such as Fellowes’ SelfSeal pouches. The machine has two rollers for high-quality lamination that is free of bubbles and wrinkles.
- The EXL 45-2 takes only 5 minutes to heat up and it can laminate a small document within about 30 seconds. If you forget to shut it off after use, don’t worry, because the machine will automatically turn itself off.
- This is a very small device with measurements of 3.25″ (height) x 11.5″ (width) x 5.5″ (depth). It only weighs 4.3 pounds.
- This machine has a two-year warranty just in case you have problems with it.
Royal Sovereign ES-410:
- The ES-410 has a feed opening that’s slightly smaller than the EXL 45-2′s. It’s only 4 inches wide, although it might not be that big of a deal depending on what you’re laminating.
- Like the EXL 45-2, the ES-410 can laminate photographs and other thermally sensitive items because it has a cold lamination setting.
- This laminator has two rollers so all of your items will look great and it can accept 3 and 5 mil pouches, as well as self-sealing ones.
- The ES-410 lacks an automatic shut-off feature. It also takes slightly longer to warm up than the EXL 45-2. (It takes 6 minutes as opposed to 5.) Also, it lacks a reverse feature, so dealing with pouch jams could be challenging.
- This machine is pretty easy to use. Its cold and hot settings as marked by snowflake and sun graphics, respectively. Just select the correct setting and you’re on your way.
- Like the EXL 45-2, this machine is pretty small. Its dimensions are: 8.9″ (width) x 5.2″ (depth) x 3.5″ (height). It weighs a scant 1.9 pounds.
- The ES-410 has a limited one-year warranty.
Conclusion:
Although these two products have a lot of similar characteristics, the Fellowes EXL 45-2 is definitely the better of these two laminators thanks to its longer warranty and the automatic shut-off feature. Plus, it warms up faster so you can get done with your work in less time. If you need a personal-sized laminator, the EXL 45-2 is the one to get.
< 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)
