Best heat laminator

[favoritestamper]

Anyone have a heat laminator that makes the items stiff? I want one for Christmas but don't even know what to ask for.

[sarsah]

The stiffness of the sheet depends on the thinckness of the laminating film (plastic). The higher the 'mil', the thicker the sheet and more stiff the item will be.

I got an 9" laminator for free after rebate on Black Friday from Staples (reg. price was $19.99). It will laminate 3 mil & 5 mil sheets. The 3 mil is fairly flexible, the 5 mil is more stiff, but you can still bend it. Most of the low-end laminators will work with both 3 mil & 5 mil. I would assume that you would need a higher end lamintor to work with thicker film, but I haven't done any research on it.

Sarah

Originally Posted by favoritestamper

Anyone have a heat laminator that makes the items stiff? I want one for Christmas but don't even know what to ask for.

[amysings]

I have a cheap little laminator I got at Walmart a few years ago. It was around $23. It's 9 inches wide. I *love* it. I go through phases when I use it constantly, and other times I forget about it.
Here's a picture

It looks like they've improved it a bit since I bought mine. Mine doesn't have the black trays--which would be a great improvement!

I buy my laminate pouches from Oregon Lamination
They are (or at least were!) $11 per 100, plus $4 flat shipping. I usually stock up, and my sister and various friends all order at the same time.

[stampermomof2]

I like my Duck brand too! I'll have to check out Oregon Lamination. Thanks Amy!

[amysings]

I just checked it, and it looks like their prices have gone waaaaaay up since last year!

Sam's club has the laminate pouches for about $12-14 per 100.

[amysings]

That should have been their *shipping* has gone way up! Edit button, where art thou?

If you have a bunch of people order, it still is a pretty good deal.

[favoritestamper]

I am glad to hear there are cheaper ones out there, I was astonished at the prices at first but have found a few more reasonable.

With the Duck ones, do you put it in a pouch and do they come with starter supplies?

[amysings]

The Duck does not require a folder (the cardstock file folderish thing), although I have one friend who *swears* it makes it work better. I always forget. It doesn't come with a folder, but I think it does come with a few smaller pouches.

Some people swear by those gigantic rolls of laminate film (and they are cheap), but I can barely use Saran Wrap, so . . . LOL The pouches I buy from Oregon Lamination come with a few folders.

The laminate pouches are two pieces of laminate sealed together at the top. You slide your paper/object/whatever inside and run it through the laminator. Does that make sense? It kind of doesn't to me, now that I'm typing it out!

[amysings]

I should mention that my sister has a larger laminator that accepts up to 12 inches. That is nice to have, as it allows you to laminate file folders (which is why she bought it) and other larger pieces. I think I have used hers twice in the last 8 years or so. Otherwise, mine has been fine. She paid about $100 for hers, and I paid $23. So . . . it depends on what you'll be laminating.

When I ordered laminate pouches, I ordered one box of legal size (longer than letter), because sometimes that fits better.

Another thing to keep in mind is that little kids (yes, I'm speaking from 6 kids' experience here!) can pick apart things you laminate and THEN cut out. If you cut out, and THEN laminate, you can leave a seal around the item when you cut it out. It all depends on what you need it to do.

It is a little trickier to laminate lots of little objects rather than one big sheet. Then it is useful to use the folder.

[scgustaf]

I'm considering the purple cow laminator which is on sale at JoAnn.com. Does anyone have this model ~ it accepts up to 12" material, so seems pretty useful. If you are just laminating a small item such as a bookmark, can you cut the material smaller so as to not waste the full laminating sheet or folder?
Thanks for your help you wonderful SCSers!!

[housefan]

IBICO all the way. I have one that has been very heavily used for 10 years now. Schools almost always buy the IBICO industrial ones. Mine cost $65 and is a dream and takes things 18" wide.

[stamps&cars]

Watch the requirements when you get one. 'Some require a carrier which is like a file folder you put the laminating sheet into before you send it through the laminator. My requires a carrier and it's okay but just another step that I could do without. Mine will laminate up to 10mil and I got it off ebay for about $50. It is made by Xyron. I also get my pouches from Oregon Laminators and their service is great. Their shipping is $5.95 for orders over $19. I think that isn't too bad. I've purchased the generic (non-US made) pouches and have been pleased with them. I've gotten the business card size, 6 x 9 and full sheet size. 7ml......it's pretty stiff!