How do I choose the right Laminating Pouch?

Pouch laminators are really popular because they can help you produce quality laminated documents within a few minutes. To successfully use one of these devices, you need to have some laminating pouches in your office supply cabinet. But you don’t just need any pouches: you need ones that are right for your needs. To find the right ones, make sure you keep the following in mind:

1.)    Size and thicknesses. You’re going to need pouches that are just the right size for your materials. Luckily, a variety of different sizes are available: small, medium, large, and every size in between. When selecting your pouch, make sure it’s large enough to give you about a 1/2-inch border around the document. This ensures that it will be properly laminated. You also need to choose supplies that are the right thickness so that they’ll be compatible with your laminator.  Laminating pouches range in thickness from 1.5 to 10 mil and not every machine can work with all thicknesses. The thicker supplies will give your document more protection (which is important if they’ll be handled a lot), so be sure to choose accordingly.

2.)    Finish. A lot of the pouches that you can currently buy are glossy. They help your documents and photographs look great, and are smooth to the touch. (They can also help the colors in your materials stand out.) However, documents laminated with glossy film can be difficult to read in certain situations because of glare. If that’s an issue for you, matte pouches are a good alternative. You can also write on these supplies which can be very convenient. And if you want to give your work a different look, there are some that have colored backs as well as ones with a sticky back so you can make adhesive documents. Be sure to take a look all of the available supplies to see what’s out there.

3.)    Brand name and quality. Laminating pouches are manufactured by a lot of different companies and, as you would expect, quality varies greatly. As a general rule, you should avoid the “no name” products and look for ones made by companies such as GBC. Using higher-quality pouches might be cost a bit more, but your documents will look better and you won’t experience as many problems as you would when using “no name” supplies.

In a nutshell, those are the things you be looking for and thinking about when selecting your laminating pouches. You’ll want to choose ones that are the right size and thickness. (The thickness is especially important. Consult the machine’s instruction manual to see what the device can handle.) Also, finish is important because it can affect the readability of your document. (Chances are you want people to read your work, right?) And, depending on the finish, you can make stickers and more. Finally, high-quality supplies are best even if they’re a bit pricey. Shop for your laminating pouches today and get some for your office supply collection.

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