If you have been waiting around for a great deal on a roll laminator, your time has arrived. The Banner American Easy-Lam School Budget roll laminator (found here) is on sale for a limited time for only $729. This laminator retails for $824, which means your saving almost $100. This deal is for a limited time only.

While it is possible to find roll laminators for under $800, you will not find a 27″ roll laminator for that good a deal. The Easy-Lam School Budget is the perfect 27″ roll laminators for schools. It stays within budget, uses film from 27″ or smaller and can be used by schools to laminate posters, banners, maps, signs and much more.

The Easy-Lam School Budget can be used with both 1.5 and 3 mil film, which is extremely affordable. You can find our 27″ wide roll laminating film here.

I have personally used this laminator and can vouch for the fact that it is easy to set up and use. It isn’t the fastest roll laminator out there, at 3.5 feet per minute, but it will easily keep up with most school laminating needs.

You can find our entire selection of roll laminators here. Please call us at 1-800-658-8788 with any questions. Hurry! This deal won’t last long.

If you need to laminate posters, signs and banners that fall within a 27″ width, you probably need to use a thermal roll laminator like the Banner Easy-Lam 27″. This laminator has been around for well over a decade and has a good track record with customers. I have used this laminator several times myself and this is my review.

While the American-Made Banner Easy-Lam roll laminator has undergone a few aesthetic changes over the years, it still remains true to what the laminator was originally designed for, an affordable “budget” laminator for schools, copy shops and other businesses. This laminator has an effective laminating width of 27″, which is one of the most popular sizes used today.

Made in the USA, the overall build quality is exceptional. It features higher-than-normal quality electronic components, which includes the motor, switches and wiring. This becomes evident when removing the side protective shell. This laminator also features a durable metal frame as well as a metal shelf, metal mandrels and much more. This is far better than your typical “foreign-made” machines. It even comes with 2 free rolls of 25″ x 100’ 1.5mil film, which is a great deal.

The Banner Easy-Lam is very easy to set up. A toggle switch lets you adjust the laminator between 1.5 mil (0.0015″ gauge) and 3 mil (0.003″ gauge) film. It also features a built-in LED temperature readout that keeps the operator in the know. There really isn’t much “fine tuning” involved in getting this laminator up and running. It only takes about 15 minutes to get up to full operational temperature.

As mentioned earlier, the Easy-Lam is designed for use with 27″ wide film that has a 1″ diameter core. While it can be used with 27″ film, it can also use 25″, 12″ and other smaller width film. Loading the film, unlike many roll laminators is easy. Simply place a mandrel through the top roll, one through the bottom roll, and insert the mandrels back into the machine. The film can then be wound around the heat shoes and tension bars.

While thermal roll laminators can get blazingly hot, the Banner Easy-Lam is designed with safety in mind and even includes an attached safety shield, which keeps the hottest parts covered. While it does still get hot, it is far safer to use than many comparable machines.

The laminator itself measures in at 20″(50.8cm) L x 35″(88.9cm) W x 16″ (40.6cm) H and weighs 68 pounds unboxed. While it isn’t going to win any races, it still operates at a reasonably fast speed of 4.5 feet per minute. It can be plugged into a standard 120volt (60Hz) outlet and draws 1800 watts at its peak. A 200-volt version, however, is available for the same price.

This is a video demo of the Banner Easy-Lam 27″ roll laminator:

What can I say? The Banner Easy-Lam 27″ roll laminator (found here) is a solid machine and I personally recommend it for light to medium-volume use. A slightly upgraded version, known as the Banner Easy-Lam II 27″ (found here) is also available. It is great for schools, copy shops and any business that needs to laminate signs, banners, posters or even several small things at the same time like business cards, menus, letter-size paper and more.

You can find our entire selection of thermal roll laminators here. Please don’t hesitate to call us at 1-800-658-8788 with any questions. Have a great day!

When shopping around for laminating pouches (found here) or rolls of laminating film (found here), have you ever wondered what the film itself is made out of? Plastic…right? While laminating film is made out of certain types of plastic, it is usually a combination of several types. This article will go into great detail regarding the composition of laminating film.

The first thing you need to be aware of, when shopping for laminating film, is that a sheet of laminating film is composed of various layers of plastic. The harder layer is on the outside and the softer layer is on the inside. Combined, these layers make up the mil thickness, with a mil being a thousandth of an inch (0.001″). Outside the United States, laminating film is measured in microns rather than mils. A micron is a thousandth of a millimeter (0.001 millimeters).

Have you ever shopped around for a laminating pouch (or roll) and saw 4/3 on the outside of the box, or perhaps 3/2 on the outside of the box? These are numbers displaying the ratio of hard to soft plastic used in the laminating sheet. A 4/3 would be 4 mils of hard plastic and 3 mils of soft plastic (glue), totaling 7-mils. A 3/2 pouch is a 5 mil thick pouch. This ratio can change depending on the amount of hard and soft plastic used, however, the ratio will always add up to the total “mil” thickness of the sheet of film.

So what kind of plastic is used in laminating film? While this isn’t always going to be the case, the harder outer layer is usually made from PET plastic (Polyethylene Terephthalate) and the softer inner layer is made out of EVA plastic (Ethylene-Vinyl Acetate). Occasionally a combination of PET plastic, PE (Polyethylene Plastic) and EVA plastic are all used together.

PET (Polyethylene Terephthalate) – This type of plastic is commonly used in food, beverage and other plastic containers. It is also used for producing synthetic fibers used in clothing. It is a resin of the polyester family. It can be easily formed into various shapes, and in the case of laminating film, it is formed into a thin sheet. The funny thing is that PET plastic doesn’t actually contain Polyethylene, which is why PET is sometimes simply called Ethylene Teerephthalate. In the case of laminating film, the PET is clear. It was especially popular in the 70’s for the production of polyester clothing.

EVA (Ethylene-Vinyl Acetate) - This type of plastic is condiered to be extremely durable, stress resistant and is commonly used as a hot-melt adhesive. Have you ever used a glue gun? Glue sticks are made out of EVA plastic, the same material that lines the inside of a laminating sheet. EVA is also used in materials such as plastic wraps due to its “clingy” properties. EVA plastic is also used in expanded rubber or foam rubber for padding in ski boots, fishing reel handles and more.

PE Plastic (Polyethylene) – This is by far the most common plastic used today and is commonly used for bags, packaging and more. This isn’t as common in laminating film, although some may contain PE plastic.

I hope this helps you out. While this may not influence or change your mind on the type of laminating film you purchase, I still think it is helpful and educational to know what laminating film is made out of. Hopefully this will help you better understand how laminating film works and exactly what it is.

You can find our entire selection of pouch laminating film here and roll laminating film here. As far as machines go, you can find our pouch laminators here and roll laminators here.

If you still want to learn more, or need help finding the right film for your laminator, please don’t hesitate to call us at 1-800-658-8788. Have a great day!

When shopping around for laminating pouches (found here), you probably want to use the best thickness for the job at hand. While you may not know what thickness to buy, I can tell you that 5 mil laminating pouches are by far the most popular thickness. ABC Office offers a great selection of 5 mil pouches in a wide range of sizes. So why is the 5 mil thickness so popular? I’ll explain in this article.

To begin with, you probably need to know what a mil is. Mil is not short for millimeter, although many people think it is. A 5-millimeter pouch would be extremely thick. A mil is one hundredth of an inch (1 mil = 0.001″), where a millimeter is 0.039″ thick. In relation to what we are used to dealing with, a mil is pretty thin. A 1.5 mil pouch is about as thin as they come and a 10-mil pouch is about as thick as they comb. Five mils is a great compromise between price and durability.

At ABC Office, we offer 5 mil pouches in about 18 different sizes. These include:

• Business Card (2 1/4″ x 3 3/4″)
• Credit Card (2 1/8″ x 3 3/8″)
• Driver’s License (2 3/8″ x 3 5/8″)
• IBM (2 5/16″ x 3 1/4″)
• Key Card (2 1/2″ x 3 7/8″)
• Miliary (2 5/8″ x 3 7/8″)
• School Card (2 1/2″ x 3 5/8″)
• Jumbo (2 15/16″ x 4 1/8″)
• Luggage Tag w/o Slot (2 1/2″ x 4 1/4″)
• Luggage Tag w/ Slot (2 1/2″ x 4 1/4″)
• Index Card (3 1/2″ x 5 1/2″)
• Circulation Card (3 15/16″ x 5 11/16″)
• Postal Card (3 9/16″ x 5 5/16″)
• Extra Circulation Card (3 15/16″ x 6 7/8″)
• 6″ x 9″
• 9″ x 11 ½”
• 9″ x 14 ½”
• 12″ x 18″

These various size pouches can be used to create photo IDs, laminate photos, business cards, menus, cards, signs and much more. The 5 mil thickness is affordable, with 100 pouches per box costing very little, yet it still has enough stability to keep the item being laminated from being easily damaged.

Unlike other online dealers of laminating pouches, whose quality is often questionable, ABC Office’s pouch laminating film is fresh, new and high-quality stuff. It has a crystal clear finish with a glossy surface.

You can find our entire selection of pouch laminating film here and our entire selection of pouch laminators here. Please feel free to call us at 1-800-658-8788 with any questions.

If you’re shopping around for a roll laminator for your school, copy shop, church or business, you may have determined that the 27″ with is the best for your applications. Twenty-seven inch laminators can be used to laminate posters, maps, banners and much more. They can also be used to laminate many smaller documents simultaneously. So which one is best?

At ABC Office, we have been selling 27″ laminators since 1980, so we have a pretty good idea which ones work and which ones don’t. We also have years of customer feedback and history to look back on, which helps us help you to find the best laminator possible. Based on that history, I will be including a list of the top 5 best roll laminators.

Keep in mind that just because a laminator is labeled as “Best” doesn’t mean it will be best at all jobs. A low-volume laminator is still not going to do high-volume jobs. A “Best” label also doesn’t mean that the laminator can handle all types of film. Many of the laminators in my top 7 list can only handle film up to 3 mils thick (3 thousandths of an inch). That being said, these are all solid roll laminators.

Top 7 Best 27″ Roll Laminators

• Banner American Easy-Lam 27″ Roll Laminator – This laminator has been around for well over a decade and is a customer favorite because of its blend of capabilities mixed with a low price. This is ideal for low to medium-volume laminating.
• Ledco Professor 27″ Roll Laminator – This laminator is excellent for high-volume and continuous laminating. This is one of the best laminators we offer, big or small.
• Banner American Easy-Lam School Budget Roll Laminator – This budget laminator is one of the least expensive 27″ roll laminators around. It works great and produces excellent results, however, it isn’t the fastest roll laminator out there and isn’t designed for high-volume use.
• Banner American Easy-Lam II 27″ Roll Laminator – This laminator is a slightly more robust version of the standard Easy-Lam roll laminator and is excellent for school or copy center use.
• Banner American MightyLam 2700HC 27″ Roll Laminator – The MightyLam 2700HC from Banner American is a robust laminator that can be used for daily medium-volume laminating. It also has mounting capabilities (up to ¼”) and can be used with cold film as well.
• GBC Heatseal Ultima 65 27″ Roll Laminator – The GBC Heatseal Ultima 65 is a great medium-volume laminator for school, copy center, church or business use. It is fast, warms up quickly and can be used with film up to 3 mils thick.
• Tamerica TCC2700 27″ Roll Laminator – This laminator, especially considering the price, is a great value. It is fast, can handle film up to 10 mils thick (thickest available) and uses standard 1″ core rolls of film.

So there you have it! My list of the top 7 best thermal roll laminators. Having used most of these laminators myself, I feel confident in saying you won’t be disappointed. If you need a quote, need shipping prices or simply have some additional questions, please feel free to call us at 1-800-658-8788. You can find our entire selection of roll laminators here.

If you own a roll laminator and need to keep it up and running, you are going to need to roll lamination film. Roll laminators use two separate rolls of film. One is used to coat the bottom of the document and the other is used to coat the top of the document. Combined, the finished results look great and can be used with posters, signs, banners, maps and much more. So what are the most common roll widths, core diameters and thicknesses used today?

Roll laminators come in dozens of different sizes, however, the most common width is 27″, followed by 25″. These sizes of roll laminators are popular because they are affordable, can be used to laminate posters as well as multiple letter-size documents. You will find both 27″ and 25″ roll laminators in schools, churches, copy centers and businesses.

Being that 27″ laminators are extremely popular, most people looking for roll film need it in a 27″ width. The 27″ width is by far the most common and popular size with customers. This film comes with 1″ and 2 ¼” core sizes. The core is what slides onto the laminator’s mandrel. The mandrel is the metallic bar that the roll film slides onto. The 1″ core size is by far the most common size.

Now that we have determined the width an core size, what is the most common roll film thickness? While film comes in 1.5, 3, 5, 7 and 10 mil thicknesses, the 3 mil thickness is the most popular. This is because 3 mils (3 thousandths of an inch) is accepted on most laminators. Thicker 5, 7 and 10 mil sizes require laminators that are a bit more robust and capable of heating up the thicker film.

Most Popular Roll Laminator Film Specifications

• Roll Width: 27″
• Roll Core Diameter: 1″
• Roll Laminator Thickness: 3 mils

At ABC Office, we offer a great selection of roll film in a 27″ width. We also offer film with a 1″ core and 3 mil thicknesses. We also offer a great selection of 25″ film, 12″ film, 18″ film and much more. You can find our entire selection of 27″ roll laminating film here and our entire selection of roll lamination film here.

If you have a roll laminator, but don’t know the core size or the thickness it can accept, please feel free to give us a call at 1-800-658-8788. We are very familiar with most laminators including those made by Ledco, Banner American, Tamerica, GBC and many others. You can find our entire selection of roll laminators here.

If you have photographs that you would like to protect, enjoy scrapbooking or would like to create your own at-home signs and banners, you may want to use a home laminating machine. These small devices are easy to use, are extremely affordable and come in a wide range of shapes and sizes. Which machine should you use? Here are a few questions you may want to ask yourself prior to buying a laminator.

Laminating machines, that used to cost hundreds of dollars only 10 years ago, are now far more affordable, making it possible for more people to use and own a home laminating machine. These machines, sometimes referred to as pouch laminators, can be purchased for $110 or less for home and entry-level use.

Prior to purchasing your laminating machine, consider answering the following 5 questions:

• How large an item are you laminating? Try to determine the maximum width that you will need to laminate and use that to determine the width of the laminator you will purchase. Be aware that you will probably want something slightly larger that the maximum width you will be laminating to allow for some wiggle room. If you will be laminating 8 ½” x 11″ documents, I recommend going with a laminator that is at least 9″ wide or wider.
• What are you laminating? If you are only laminating basic copy paper, just about any laminator will work for you. If you will be laminating thicker items, such as cardstock, or perhaps photos, I recommend using a laminator with at least 4 rollers (versus 2).
• How many documents are you laminating per day? Volume can play a big determining factor in your purchase. If you are laminating a few dozen items per day, which is typical for home or small business use, most entry-level laminators will work for you. If you will be laminating dozens to hundreds of items a day, you may want to consider a commercial-grade laminating machine.
• Where will you keep your laminator? While laminators have varying capabilities, they also come in different sizes. Determine where you will be storing or using the laminator and make sure you have ample room. Most laminators will specify, on the product page, their length, width and height.
• What thickness of film would you like to laminate? Laminating pouches come in 3, 5, 7 and 10 mil thicknesses. A mil is a thousandth of an inch, which means the higher the number the thicker the pouch. While most people don’t use anything thicker than 5 mils, you may want to use 7 or 10. Most laminators will handle 3 or 5, but not all will handle 7 or 10. Be sure you know the laminator’s capabilities and the film you want to use.

Now that we have covered a few important questions, I would like to recommend a few nice “all around” good laminators. These machines have a proven track record, are designed for home or small business use and are affordable.

Recommended Home Laminating Machines:

1. Intelli-Lam IL300 Pouch Laminator
2. Intelli-Lam IL200 Pouch Laminator
3. Banner American QuikFinish PL100 Laminating Machine
4. Fellowes Cosmic CL-125 12″ Pouch Laminator
5. SircleLam SG-230 Pouch Laminator

While I have tried to answer all the important questions in this article, I understand that you may still have a few questions. If you need an answer to one of your questions, please feel free to contact one of our laminating experts by calling 1-800-658-8788.

You can find our entire selection of pouch laminating machines here.

If you laminate a lot of letter-size documents, you may be thinking a 9″ pouch laminator is exactly what you need. While a lot of pouch laminators can be used to laminate 8 ½” x 11″ documents, there are a few tips to keep in mind that will help cut down on jams and bad results. Here are just a few of those tips.

To begin with, while a 9″ laminator may be technically wide enough to laminate a letter-size document, you end up with only ¼” wiggle room on each side of the document. From what I have seen, that can result in a serious jam if you are not extremely careful.

If you feed the film in at an angle, even off just 1/8″, the document begins to get more and more crooked as it progresses through the machine. What will happen, as the error becomes more pronounced, is the side of the laminating film will begin to touch the side, creating tension and pressure. This will often cause stress on the laminator’s motor and can cause a jam.

I’m not saying you shouldn’t ever consider a 9″ laminator. Laminating letter-size documents can be done, and may even be feasible for many of you, but I recommend going with something a little wider.

I personally like the 13″ width for laminating 8 ½” x 11″ documents. This gives you ample room. The wider 11″ width also allows you to laminate smaller ID cards, multiple smaller objects and more. You can even use it to laminate 11″ x 17″ and 12″ x 18″ documents.

Here are a few 13″ pouch laminators that I personally recommend:

• Intelli-Lam IL400 13″ Pouch Laminator
• Tamerica TCC330 Pouch Laminator
• Tamerica C-Lam 3306 Pouch Laminator
• Akiles ProLam Plus 330 Pouch Laminating Machine
• Banner American PL135-4 13 ½” Laminator
• Akiles iLam 340 13″ Pouch Laminator

Here are two great 12″ wide laminators, which are still great for letter-size documents.

Fellowes Jupiter JL 125 12.5″ Laminator

Banner American PL12a 12 ¼” Pouch Laminating Machine

These laminators should all perform well and produce professional results. I have personally used all the laminators on this list and consider them to all be great machines. You can find our entire selection of pouch laminators here. If for any reason you are having trouble deciding on a specific make or model, feel free to call one of our experts at 1-800-658-8788.

Laminating machines, in particular pouch laminators, are far easier to use that you might think. Many people get frustrated by all the dials and buttons. Don’t worry. You can have your laminator set up in less than 60 seconds with these easy-to-use instructions.

To start with, just keep in mind that a laminator is simply a glorified heater with a motor. All a laminator does is melt glue and apply pressure for sticking it to paper, photos, cards and other documents. I have spoken with people that went extremely retro and simply used an iron and a towel to laminate documents. While I don’t recommend the iron approach (although some people swear by it), it really is that easy.

Here are 5 easy steps to get you laminator up and running.

• Step 1 – Plug in the machine and set the temperature. If there is no temperature dial, set the switch to the pouch thickness you are using. Common pouch thicknesses include 3, 5, 7 and 10 mils. The higher the number, the thicker the pouch.
• Step 2 – Turn on the motor.
• Step 3 – Insert your document into the pouch folder and then place it in a carrier folder.
• Step 4 – Place your pouch into the machine and wait for it to run through.
• Step 5 – Remove your document and repeat the process (if needed).

Sometimes seeing something in action is easier than following a step-by-step list of instructions. Here is a video demo of a pouch laminator:

While there are minor differences between pouch laminators, they all pretty much operate in a similar manner. I have personally found that once you know how to use one, the rest are all pretty easy to figure out. At ABC Office we offer some of the best prices and selection on pouch laminators. You can find our entire selection of laminating machines here.

If you are laminating a sign or a banner, there is a chance you may want to use it outside. If it is outside, there is a chance it could be affected by rainwater, snow, sprinklers and other elements. A question I frequently get from customers shopping around for a laminator or for laminating film is, “Is laminating film waterproof?” This is a great question. This is my answer.

To begin with, there are two primary forms of lamination. One is pouch lamination, which is done using a pouch laminator. The other is roll lamination, which is done by a roll laminator. While both formats produce results that are very similar, the method is slightly different.

Pouch laminators use laminating pouches, which look very similar to a folder. Products are placed inside and they are run through the laminator. Heat, rollers and pressure is used to melt the thermally-activated glue, finishing the lamination process.

Roll laminators use two separate rolls of film. One roll is for the top and the other is for the bottom. As a sign or banner is run through the laminator, a layer of thermally activated glue is applied to the top and bottom.

Pouch laminators are typically used for smaller items, up to about a legal-size sheet of paper. Roll laminators are used for mass laminating and for laminating larger signs and banners.

Laminating film is waterproof as long as there is a sealed barrier around the sign or banner. This barrier prevents water from seeping in and damaging the paper, photo or sign. If for any reason you use scissors and cut into the film and into the laminated paper, water can now soak in from the edge.

Laminating film will, however, deteriorate over time as hot sun begins to break down the glue. This process usually takes months of direct harsh exposure to the elements. If the laminated item sits under an eve or isn’t in direct sunlight, it could potentially last years.

The sun can also cause colors to bleach over time. For this reason UV film was created. While it is a bit more expensive, UV film can help filter out bleaching sunrays and dramatically enhance and preserve color.

You can find our entire selection of laminating pouches / film here and our entire selection of roll lamination film here. We also offer a great selection of laminating machines here.

Please feel free to call us at 1-800-658-8788 with any questions about laminators or film.