MyBinding Knowledge Base
How to fix a jam on my pouch laminator?
While owning a pouch laminator can make life easier in a lot ways, it can also cause you some grief from time to time. That’s because the items you’re working with can get stuck in the machine. This is known as a “pouch jam” and they can be inconvenient to say the least. Luckily, these jams can often be prevented and they’re usually easy to fix. Here’s what causes pouch jams and how you can fix them.
The best way to deal with a jam is by preventing them in the first place. You can do so by using a carrier, for one thing. The carrier prevents melted adhesive from causing problems with the machine’s gears. Another thing that can help is by never laminating metallic items and three-dimensional objects. These items can damage the rollers, leading to jams. Using the proper temperature and speed settings will also help, as well using pouches that your device can handle.
- If a jam does occur, the first thing you need to do is shut off your laminator. If you don’t, the machine will continue to run and it could burn itself out. Also, working with a machine that’s still turned on can be dangerous, even something as innocuous-looking as a laminator.
- Once the machine has been turned off, take a look at it so you can determine the exact nature of the problem. Oftentimes, a laminator will jam up because the item being processed is too thick for the machine. It could either be that the pouch itself is too thick or you tried to laminate a three-dimensional item. If this is the case, turn the machine on, put it in reverse mode, and try pulling gently on the pouch to remove it.
- Sometimes a laminator will jam up because the pouch ends up getting wrapped around the rollers. This is usually caused by adhesive building up on the device. If this happens to you, you can try the process outlined above to try to solve the problem. To prevent this from happening again, make sure you use a carrier when processing your materials. The carrier will prevent the melted adhesive from oozing out of the pouch and keep your laminator clean.
- If your machine has a pouch jam lever, you can try using it to free the jammed material. All this lever does is separate the rollers somewhat to make it easier to dislodge the stuck item. This feature should help you out, so give it a try.
- There are some laminators have hinges so they can open up much like a printer or fax machine can. If you device has them resolving pouch jams (and other problems) will be a bit easier. Make sure the device is unplugged and has cooled off beforehand so you don’t end up burning and/or electrocuting yourself. Also, be gentle so that you don’t damage the machine.
- If you’ve tried everything and you still can’t get the pouch out of the laminator, you should call in a professional so he/she can assess the problem. You could technically take apart the laminator and try to fix things that way, but doing so can void warranty and might cause further problems.
No matter how careful you are, pouch jams are bound to happen at some point. Luckily, you can try to prevent them from happening and it’s usually pretty easy to fix them. You just need to be careful and have a little bit of patience. Good luck and happy laminating!
< 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)
