The Best Laminating Machine Option - Bob Vila

Our Top Picks ; Best Overall. 1. Fellowes Laminator Venus 2 125. ExpertadvicefromBobVila,themosttrustednameinhomeimprovement,homeremodeling,homerepair,andDIY.Tried,True,TrustworthyHomeAdviceAboutBobNewslettersHow-ToCenterGetIdeasFindInfoDiscussItWatchTVWinLaserToolsfromKapro!OtherRoomsBuyer’sGuide:TheBestLaminatingMachinesAlaminatingmachinecanhelpprotectandpreservememorabilia,crafts,importantdocuments,andmore.ByDeirdreMundorf|UpdatedFeb22,202110:22AMBobVila.comanditspartnersmayearnacommissionifyoupurchaseaproductthroughoneofourlinks.BestOverallFellowesLaminatorVenus2125CheckLatestPriceRunnerUpFellowesLaminatorSaturn3i125CheckLatestPriceBestforHeavyDutyGBCThermalRollLaminatorCheckLatestPricePhoto:amazon.comLaminatingmachines,or“laminators,”canpreserveimportantitemsbyencasingtheminplastic.Theseniftymachinesuseheatedrollerstomeltglueontolaminationfilm.Youcanusealaminatortoprotectimportantdocumentsfromtearingorfadingovertime.Laminatorscanalsobeusedtocreatemakeshiftdry-erasechecklistsandgrocerylists,ortopreservefamilyphotosorpressflowers,amongmanyotherapplications.Findingthebestlaminatingmachineforyourneedscanbeachallengeifyou’reunfamiliarwiththeprosandconsofthedifferenttypesoflaminatorsincommonusetoday.Readonforsometipsandguidelinesthatwillhelpyounavigateandchooseamongtheavailableoptions—anddon’tmissourroundupoftop-favoritepicksbelow!BESTOVERALL:FellowesLaminatorVenus2125RUNNERUP:FellowesLaminatorSaturn3i125BESTFORHEAVYDUTY:GBCThermalRollLaminatorBESTFORCRAFTING:ABOXLaminatorMachineMOSTVERSATILE:SwinglineLaminatorBESTPORTABLE:ScotchThermalLaminatorALSOCONSIDER:CrenovaA4LaminatorPhoto:amazon.comTypesofLaminatingMachinesWhenlookingforalaminatingmachine,decidewhetheryouneedahotlaminatingmachineoracoldlaminatingmachine.Eachtypehasprosandcons.HotAsthenameimplies,hotlaminatorsuseheattomelttheadhesivematerialonlaminatingpouchesorfilm.Whentheadhesivemelts,bothsidesofthepouchorfilmadheretoeachother,encasingtheitemtobepreserved.Hotlaminatingmachinesofferaquickandeasywaytoprotectdocumentsandoftenproduceamoredurablefinishedproduct.However,hotlaminatormachinesaren’texactlyuser-friendly.Itcantakesometimetolearnhowtouseonetodeliverflawlessresults.Theyalsostartslowlyandrequirealotofheattoworkproperly.Ifusedincorrectly,userscanburnthemselves.ColdInsteadofheat,coldlaminatorsusepressuretothoroughlysealtheadhesiveontoalaminatingpouch.Unlikethelaminatingpouchesusedwithhotlaminators,heatisnotrequiredtosealthepouchesforacoldmachine.Thelaminatorhelpsremoveairbubblesandcreasestocreateanattractivefinishedproduct.Coldlaminatingmachinesareusuallylessexpensiveandeasiertousethanhotlaminators.Moreover,coldlaminatingmachinescanlaminateoneorbothsidesofanitem,ausefulfunctionwhenmakingdecorationsordecals.Ontheotherhand,itemslaminatedwithacoldlaminatormaynotbeasdurableasthoselaminatedwithahotlaminator.WhattoConsiderWhenChoosingtheBestLaminatingMachineOnceyou’vedecidedonthetypeoflaminator,thereareafewshoppingconsiderationstothinkoveraswell.Eachlaminatoroffersdifferentfeatures,andunderstandingthosefeaturescanhelpyouselectamodelthatwilldelivertheresultsyoudesire.DesignLaminatingmachinescomeinpouchandrollstyles.Pouchlaminatorssealspecial,pre-sizedlaminatingpouches,whilerolllaminatorsworkwithtworollsoflaminatingfilm.Laminatingpouchesaresizedspecificallyforbusinesscards,photos,letters,legalpaper,andmore.Ifanitemisnotastandardsize,trimofftheexcessmaterialafterlaminatingit.Inapouchlaminator,eachitemmustbeplacedintothepouchandfedthroughthemachineoneatatime;asaresult,pouchlaminatorsdon’tworkasquicklyasrolllaminators.Rolllaminatorsarewiderthanpouchlaminators,canlaminatemorethanoneitematatime,andhavetworollsoflaminatingfilm.Onelayerofthefilmsitsundertheitembeinglaminated,whiletheotherlayersitsontopoftheitem.Asanitemisfedthrougharolllaminator,theheatcausesthetwolayersoffilmtoadheretooneanother.Rolllaminatorsaremoreexpensivethanpouchlaminatorsandrequirealargeamountofspace.Arolllaminatorcan’tbeplacedinadraweroronashelfwhennotinuse.NumberofRollersEarlyoninyourdecision-makingprocess,determinethenumberofrollersyouwouldlikeyourlaminationmachinetocomewith.Laminatorswithmorerollersdistributeheatbetter,whichhelpstomelttheadhesive.Themorerollersthelaminatorhas,themorepressureisappliedtotheitembeinglaminated,whichresultsinatightersealwithfewerairbubblesorwrinkles.Laminatingmachinestypicallyhavetwo,four,orsixrollers,thoughsomemayhavemore.Ifchoosingamachineforpersonaluse,twotofourrollersmaybesufficient.Ontheotherhand,foraschoolorworkplace,you’rebestoffoptingforamodelwithaminimumofsixrollers.HeatingTimeHotlaminatorsneedtimetoheatup.Thelengthoftimeittakesforalaminatingmachinetogethotvariesbymodel.LaminatingSpeedConsiderthelaminatingspeedofanymodelyouareconsidering.Particularlyifyouplanonlaminatingmultipleitemsinasinglesession,afastermodelmaybemoresuitableforyourneeds.Somerolllaminatorsalsoofferadjustablespeedsettings.Slowerspeedscanbehelpfulwhenlaminatingmultiplesmalleritems.Versatility Finally,considerhowmanydifferenttypesofitemsthemachinecanlaminate.Somelaminatorscanonlylaminatepaperitems,whileothermodelsworkonlywithslightlythickeritems,suchasflowers,fabric,orleaves.OurTopPicksPhoto:amazon.comCheckLatestPriceUsingInstaHeatTechnology,theFelloweswarmsupquickly(within60second)andiscapableoflaminatingupto31inchesperminute.Whilemanypersonallaminatorshaveonlytwoorfourrollers,thismodelutilizesasix-rollersystemtoensureeachitemcomesoutproperlysealedandbubble-free.TheFelloweslaminatorcanbeusedwithhotorcoldpouchesupto10millimetersthick.ThismachinealsohasanAutoSensesystemthatautomaticallyadjustsitssettingsbasedonthethicknessofthepouchbeingused.Photo:amazon.comCheckLatestPriceLaminatedocumentsupto12.5incheswidewithheavy-dutylaminatorfromFellowes.Thismodelcanaccommodate3-and5-millimeterhotlaminationpouchesaswellasself-adhesivecoldlaminationpouches.Itsmaximumspeedis12inchesperminute.Whileotherlaminatingmachinescantakeupto5minutestobereadyforuse,theFellowesusesInstaHeatTechnology,whichmeansitonlyneedsaboutaminutetowarmup.Toconserveenergyandpreventthemachinefromoverheating,theFellowesautomaticallyshutsoffwhennotactivelyinuse.Italsocomeswith10samplelaminatingpouchestohelpyougetstarted.Photo:amazon.comCheckLatestPriceTheGBCcanhelpteachersandotherprofessionalsquicklylaminatestacksofpapers,posters,decals,andothermaterialsupto27incheswide.Itworksquicklytoo.Thismachinecanlaminateupto120inchesperminute.Duringthelaminationprocess,alignmentguideshelpuserskeeptheirdocumentsstraightastheyfeedthemthrough,andtheunit’sAutoSpeedfeatureautomaticallyadjuststhespeedtotheideallevelbasedonthespecificdocumentbeinglaminated.A10-minutewarm-uptimegetsthislaminatorhotandreadyforuse.Useitwithlaminationfilmsupto3millimetersthick.Frontandbackbuttonsallowuserstostopthelaminatortopreventwastingfilm.TheGBCalsoboastsanauto-shutofffeature,aswellasaprotectiveshieldtohelppreventaccidentalinjuries.Photo:amazon.comCheckLatestPriceTheABOXthermallaminatorusesabubbleheatingsystemandthermalconductivitytoevenlyheatlaminationpouchesanddeliverconsistent,wrinkle-freeresults.Thoughitoperatesquietly,theABOXdoesn’tworkespeciallyquickly.Ittakes3to5minutestoheatupandhasamaximumlaminationspeedof9.8inchesperminute.Notethatthemachineaccommodatespapermaterialupto13inchesinwidth.Photo:amazon.comCheckLatestPriceSwingline’spersonal-uselaminatoroffersbothhotandcoldsettingstolaminatedocumentsupto12incheswide.Switchingbetweenthetwosettingsisaseasyasflippingaswitchfromonesidetotheother.Thelaminatingmachinehasasinglepowersetting,andwillautomaticallyadjusttothethicknessofthepouchbeingfedthroughit.Itcanbeusedwithboth3-and5-millimeterlaminatingpouchesandcanlaminateupto10inchesperminute.Photo:amazon.comCheckLatestPriceWeighingjust1pound,theScotchlaminatoriswellworthconsideringifyouarelookingforasomethinglightweightandportable.Thismodelhasa9-inch-wideslotandcanlaminatepouchesthatare3or5millimetersthick.Basedonyourlaminationneeds,youcanchoosebetweentwotemperaturesettings.Photo:amazon.comCheckLatestPriceTheCrenovacanlaminatepapersupto9.45incheswideandiscompatiblewithlaminationpouchesupto4millimetersthick.Oncepoweredon,usersmustwait3to5minutesforthelaminatingmachinetobehotenoughtouse.Agreenlightletsyouknowwhenit’sreadyforthelaminationpouch.Onceit’sreadyforuse,thiscompactandlightweightmodelcanlaminateapproximately10inchesperminute.Ifanyoftheitemsbeinglaminatedgetstuckinthemachine,usetheABSlevertoreleasethejam.FAQsAboutYourLaminatingMachineIfanyquestionsremainastowhichisthebestlaminatingmachineforyou,theanswerstothesequestionsmayprovideadditionalguidance.Isthenumberofrollersreallythatimportantwhenchoosingalaminatingmachine?Yes,it’sveryimportanttoconsiderthenumberofrollersinanymodelyouareconsidering.Laminatorswithmorerollersdistributemoreheatandpressuretoevenlyandsecurelysealtheitemsundergoinglamination.WhatpouchthicknessdoIneedforlaminating?Themostsuitablepouchthicknessvariesdependingonyourpreferencesandwhatyouarelaminating.Thethicknessofapouchismeasuredinmillimeters.Somecommonthicknessesinclude1½,3,4,5,7,and10millimeters.Thinnerpouchesaremoreflexible,whilethickerpouchesaremorerigid.What’sthedifferencebetweenahotandcoldlaminatingmachine?Hotlaminatorsmeltglueontotheplastic,sealingintheitembeinglaminated.Coldlaminators,ontheotherhand,removethewrinklesorbubblesfromcoldlaminatingpouches.Whenusingathermallaminator,it’smorelikelythatairbubblesorcreasesmayoccur.Disclosure:BobVila.comparticipatesintheAmazonServicesLLCAssociatesProgram,anaffiliateadvertisingprogramdesignedtoprovideameansforpublisherstoearnfeesbylinkingtoAmazon.comandaffiliatedsites.TAGS:HOMEOFFICEDIYCHOOSEMoreFromBobVila12StunningHomeWineCellarstoInspireOenophilesBuyer'sGuide:MattressesAdvertisement25Smart,InspiringWaystoUseaSpareBedroom11IdeasforWorkingRemotelyWhenYouDon’tHaveaHomeOffice10TipsforSoundproofingYourHomeOffice8"ZeroDollar"LaundryRoomHacksMakeYourBed:16EasyDIYHeadboardsHomeOfficeSoundproofingBestDeskLampBestDeskFanHomeOfficeIdeasBestPaperShredderHomeOfficePaintColorsBestComputerDeskHomeOfficeAlternativesBestErgonomicChairNewslettersignup:YouagreethatBobVila.commayprocessyourdatainthemannerdescribedbyourPrivacyPolicy.AboutBobNewslettersContactAdvertisingPrivacyPolicyTermsofUseDoNotSellMyPersonalInfoCopyright©2021ActonMediaInc.Allrightsreserved.