Laminating Machine

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The emergence and increasing numbers if digital printers has sparked an interest in laminating machines that can work with high-quality photos and/or glossier printed pages. The Lamitek Photosmart 13 is a laminating machine that is designed to meet this demand. In the following review, we delve into this machine, and give you a list of what we consider to be some if its strengths and weaknesses.

Strengths:

We liked that everything that we put through the Photosmart 13 came out free of air bubbles or cloudiness. Lamitek claims that this is due to the Photosmart 13’s heating system that uses four rollers and heated plates. We have to say that the finished product was rather impressive almost every time. The controls for the Photosmart 13 are very simple and intuitive. We were able to adjust the temperature with ease to match the thickness of the pouch we were using, a pretty useful feature that not every laminator in this price range offers. Also fairly unique for this price point, the Photosmart 13 gives the user the option of doing his or her laminating project in thicknesses from 3 to 10mil. It seems to us that a lot of machines top out at 5mil, so this is a great feature that adds a lot of versatility to this machine. You can adjust the Photosmart 13 to work at a temperature that is hot enough to use with foil laminating. You will, of course have to use a special foil designed to adhere to toner output for photocopier or a laser printer. The feed opening of thirteen inches is a great feature, enabling the user to use the largest laminating pouches on the market including the twelve by eighteen inch large menu size. The heated plates of the Photosmart 13 are Teflon coated, meaning that adhesive will not collect on them. Over time this feature should lead to fewer paper jams and – even worse – wrapped pouches.

Weaknesses:

Though the Photosmart 13 is designed to process large menu pouches, we had a little bit of difficulty trying to laminate the larger pouches with some of the heavier paper stocks. Somehow, the weight was causing the materials to go through the machine slightly crooked. Depending on how you intend to use the Photosmart 13, this may or may not end up being a problem for you. It is just something you should be aware of before you purchase this machine. The inclusion of a temperature setting is a nice touch, but there are a lot of other laminators out there that also have settings for speed (thought it must be noted that, for the most part, these machines are more expensive). The speed setting would allow the user to adjust for different materials, and to increase productivity in most cases. The Photosmart 13 is still a great machine, but we do miss this feature. The Photosmart 13 has a speed of eighteen inches per minute. This should be an adequate speed for most uses, but for huge projects or high volume use, you might want to find a faster machine.

Laminating machine is known as a great tool that has a function to laminate cards, documents, sheets, and so forth. This beneficial machine is available in different types with different applications based on the specifications of each machine. If you want to know more about this machine, you can simply check out the following information about recognizing laminator directions.

Laminator or laminating machine is certainly a great way for protecting your documents from the moisture and overuse. One of the most common types of laminator is called pouch laminator. This laminator uses heat in sealing the double-sided plastic sleeve over the document. The pouches are available in various standard sizes like A4 and A3. They can be easily purchased on many local office supplies store. Although laminator comes in different types, there are actually some basic steps that you can take in a way to get a smooth and professional result.

The first step that you can do is to plug in the laminator and then turn it on. Just select the setting of the heat based on the instructions from the manufacturer. Then, you need to wait for the laminator to heat up.

The second step is to place your document in the pouch. There is no problem for the way in or up your document goes. Just make sure that all of the four sides of the paper have margin. If the machine comes with special carrier, you can place your document inside the carrier.

The third step is to feed your document into the machine by inserting the closed end first.
The last step is to collect your document when it has finished feeding though the opposite end. Do not ever pull on your document until it certainly exits the laminator.

By following the laminator directions above, now you can easily laminate your document. So, you do not have to worry anymore about getting your document damaged.

Fellowes laminating machines are well known in the industry for safety, innovation, and versatility. Here are four of their best small-office machines.

1. The Cosmic CL 95. A uniquely versatile, easy to use personal laminator that is perfect for using at your home or your small office, the CL 95 has a feed width of 91/2 inches that can easily accommodate both letter and legal size documents. Afor such a small machine, its temperature control system is fairly advanced so you get nice clear and even lamination quality. Fellowes’ new and advanced HeatGuard makes this machine safer than most all others by including a double-walled insulation system that keeps heat away from the outside of the machine so it remains comfortable to the touch. The versatile CL 95 also gives you two separate setting: one heated for 3-mil pouches and a new and unique cold application for laminating heat-sensitive items in Fellowes’ special SelfSeal pouches. Featuring a warm up time of five minutes, the CL 95 can laminate a letter size item in about one minute.

2. The Cosmic CL-125 contains all of the fine features of the CL 95, but this machine can laminate documents that are up to twelve and a half inches in width. The same unique temperature control system that that 95 uses is here as well, and so is the same consistent performance and quality. The HeatGuard system keeps the machine cool and hands safe, and like the CL 95, the CL 125 can do hot or cold lamination as well. A five minute warm up time lets you get to work quick, and a handy release lever lets you disengage pouches if you need to recenter or remove them.

3. The Saturn SL-95 is a small office wonder. A nine and a half inch feed opening lets you laminate letter and legal sized items with ease, and the temperature control ensures a consistent quality. Like the above machines, the SL-95 features HeatGuard to keep heat in and away from you. The Saturn SL-95 has a couple different temp settings that allow for either 3mil or 5mil pouches, is warmed up and ready to go in five minutes, and takes about a minute to process the average letter sized item. The green light indicates readiness, and there’s even a beep to let you know the machine is ready. There’s a lever for opening the machine so you can recenter or remove your item if necessary, and a tray that helps guide your item while also acting as a protective dust cover.

4. The Saturn SL 125 is a slightly bigger version of the SL 95, and can fit documents that are as wide as twelve and a half inches. Like the rest of the machines in this article, the SL 125 contains Fellowes’ innovative HeatGuard safety feature to keep the outside of the machine cool to the touch while it is in use. Able to laminate both 3 and 5mil pouches, the SL 125 is warmed up and ready to go within five minutes, and will takes only about one minute to laminate a letter sized document. A green light and a beep let you know when the machine is ready, and a special handle lets you disengage the machine and center your item or remove it entirely if need be.

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The GBC HeatSeal H210 is one of the manufacturer’s entry-level pouch laminating machines, intended for use by small and/or home offices. In this review, we will dive into the various features of the H210 and give you a list of what we consider to be this particular machine’s strengths and weaknesses.

Strengths:

The H210 has a throat width of around nine and a half inches, which means that it is capable of laminating documents that are letter and legal size. You will also be able to laminate ID tags and other similarly sized documents with the H210. We were pretty happy with the H210’s relatively quick warm up time of around five minutes. We also found the nice green glowing light to be a pretty handy indicator of when the machine was ready to get to work. A particular strength of the H210 is that it is designed for lamination with a carrier. One of the big problems you can run into with some of the less expensive laminating machines is adhesive collecting on the rollers and making a big mess, not to mention leading to jams. The carrier design of the H210 helps to prevent this. Another nice feature to find in a lower end laminator, the H210 has a jam release lever that allows the user to easily and quickly take the carrier out of the machine in case of there is a jam. We thought this was a nice inclusion in the H210 and wish that more manufacturers would include similar devices. It must be said that a couple of the best features of the H210 are the price and warranty. You will have a hard time finding a similarly capable machine at this price point, and GBC has a great reputation for backing up their machines. The H210 a one year warranty and in most cases GBC will replace your machine instead of repair it if you end up with problems. That means you won’t have to hassle with waiting if you ever do need to file a warranty claim.

Weaknesses:

The H210 is designed to use laminating pouches that are 3 or 5mil in thickness. You will find that this particular machine can’t handle thicker pouches. If you think that you are going to need to laminate items with thicker pouches such as 7 or 10mil, you will want to look at a machine with that capability. The nine and a half inch throat will get you through most laminating jobs with standard document sizes. You should be aware, however, that the H210 is not the best choice for using with “speed” laminating pouches since you always want to put the sealed side in first, and those pouches are sealed on the long side requiring an eleven inch opening. Also, you won’t be able to laminate larger docs like menus. Though the H210 has a small exit tray, we were puzzled to find that it is too small for just about any size document. If fact, the tray just seemed to get in the way, and we had a much easier time using the machine without the exit tray in place.

When it comes to taking care of your roll laminator, there is really only one thing to concern yourself with. But you should repeat it like a mantra every time you use, look at, or even think about your laminating machine. Are you ready? Here goes: Keep the rollers clean.

No, you don’t need to clean the rollers every time you use the machine, (a good rule of thumb is about four times a year) but the more you think about doing so, the more often it will get done, and the longer your machine will last. This is especially important to keep in mind for large organizations such as schools and churches and in any situation where the machine will see heavy use from many different users of varying levels of experience.

There is no hard and fast rule as to how often the rollers should be cleaned, but it is important to note that the longer you wait, the harder the adhesive becomes, and the more difficult it is to remove. Also important to keep in mind is that you should never, ever, use sharp objects like Exact-o knives or any other kind of blade to scrape the rollers clean. The rollers are made of softer rubber like material and any sort of cut or ding will lead to even more future problems.

Here are some simple steps to keeping the rollers of your laminating machine clean:

Make sure that there isn’t any film in the machine. In fact, you might use that as a good excuse to clean the rollers every time you change the film. Heat the machine as if for normal operation. This will help soften the adhesive so that it can be removed more easily. Just please be careful not to burn yourself while you are working on the machine. When the machine is warmed up, use a green scrubbie (aka 3M Scotch Brite pad) to scrub the rollers. Set the machine so the rollers are moving as slowly as possible. Never, ever use steel wool or SOS pads or anything of the sort, as these can lead to damage. Be patient, take your time and make sure that you are getting all the adhesive off the rollers. When the cleaning process is finished, go ahead and install some new rolls and remember to make sure that the feed table is engaged.

There are some ways to help prevent problems with your rollers, and for a heavy use machine it might be a good idea to make a sign (and laminate it) to place near the machine that says the following:

Do not attempt to laminate anything that is made of metal or contains glitter. The glitter gets stuck in the rollers and can ruin the machine. Do not attempt to laminate heavier items such as wooden objects or coins. We know of one school who ruined their laminator attempting to laminate 3D collages containing sticks.

We hope that by following these rules and by keeping your rollers clean, you can enjoy many years of use from your roll laminating machine.