MyBinding Knowledge Base
Can you use your pouch laminator for scrapbooking?
Learning to use a laminator is a big part of the scrapbooking process. Here are a few tips to get you started.
Getting Started
If you have never use a pouch laminator before, there are just a couple things you’ll want to know about before you get started. First, it takes awhile for the machines to get warmed up – sometimes up to ten minutes. A lot of laminators have indicator lights that flash when the machine is warming up and glow a solid color, or change from amber to green, when the laminator is ready to go. Second, you always want to keep in mind that these machines do indeed get rather hot, and that you will always have to use a bit of caution to keep yourself from sustaining burns. Laminators in general are very safe machines when used correctly, but different manufacturers give their laminators varying degrees of safety features (such as heat guards) and it is never a bad idea to spend a little more, or to shop around for the safest machine that you can afford, especially if you ever want to use the machine with children around.
Laminating
When you are ready to start laminating, take the item you want to have laminated and place it into the pouch or envelope you have chosen. If your item is smaller than the envelopes you have on hand, you can strategically place it in order to save some of the laminating film for a future project.
Carefully place the pouch into the laminator, making sure that it goes into the machine nice and straight, and not at any sort of angle. You really don’t want to know the mess that running your laminating pouches unevenly can create, and if your item is of any sort of sentimental value, you should know that it is somewhere between extremely difficult to almost impossible to salvage items that have been incorrectly or messily laminated.
The idea is to guide the pouch, rather than to push it through the machine. Let the laminator do the work, you just make sure that it goes in evenly.
Post-Lamination
Make sure that you let your item clear the machine before you touch it. Don’t pull or tug try to rush it through the process. The item will be quite warm, so be careful – not only for the sake of your fingers, but to keep the still-warm pouch from becoming marred by fingerprints, etc. Unless you are in some kind of crazy scrapbooking hurry, you can wait a few minutes for the item to cool.
Once the item is cool enough to handle without issue, you can trim the plastic to size if you wish. Make sure that you only trim where the plastic is fused together. For a more decorative look, you can use specialty scissors.
When you are placing the item into your scrapbook, be sure to use a glue or tape that is strong enough to hold the item in the book, as these items can be weightier than other typical scrapbooking objects.
< 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)
