Lamination carriers have been around for decades and are nothing new to the lamination industry. How are they used? After placing your document in a lamination pouch, the pouch is then placed in a carrier prior to being run through a pouch laminator.

What’s the main purpose of a carrier? The main purpose is to provide the pouch with added support, preventing wraparounds and jams, as well as preventing hot glue from squeezing out onto silicon rollers and other important pouch laminator components.

Many of the newer pouch laminators claim they can laminate without the use of a carrier. While this may be true, I personally recommend still using a carrier. This isn’t because I want you to purchase more carriers, after all, most lamination pouches come with carriers. It is because I personally believe that carriers will extend the life of your laminator.

Even though newer laminators may be less prone to jams, the pouch still gets hot and hot glue still squeezes out of the sides of the pouch as pressure is applied. This glue can still get on rubber rollers inside the machine and decrease the effectiveness of your laminator.

HELPFUL LINKS & TIPS:

Have a laminator that needs to be repaired? Consider using our Service Department. You can reach them by calling 1-800-658-8788 x129.

You can find our entire selection of lamination pouches here.

You can find replacement lamination carriers here.

We are proud to announce the addition of the Banner American Green roll laminator to our site. This new laminator is not only green in appearance, but is also green in the way it works. This roll laminator includes several energy-saving features that will save you money and cut down on electricity use.

Energy Saving Features:

Standby Temperature: This laminator will cut the temperature from 300 degrees down to 150 degrees when it isn’t being used. Most roll laminators will maintain the operating temperature when not in use, wasting energy. When needed again, the Easy-Lam Green will warm back up to 300 degrees in only seven minutes. This is a great way to cut down on energy use.

Automatic Shutoff: The Easy-Lam Green will shut off after one hour of inactivity. This is a rare feature that will also save you additional money in energy costs.

If you are concerned about energy savings, your carbon footprint or your impact on the environment, you should consider looking into the Banner American Easy-Lam Green found here.

Cold laminators are less common now than they used to be. Advances in hot lamination technology have allowed hot laminators to claim the bulk market share. So are cold laminators obsolete? Is there still a need for them?

While it’s true that hot laminators have ironed out the wrinkles (literally) in its technology, there is still a place for cold laminators. Cold laminators are still the technology of choice for laminating temperature sensitive documents. This includes documents with wax-based ink, organic material, some types of photographs and more.

Another advantage of cold laminators is the electricity involved. Most cold laminators use very little electricity, with some cold laminators requiring no electricity at all. This means you can use a cold laminator, such as a Xyron laminator, almost anywhere.

There is less mess and cleanup involved with a cold laminator. Because there is no hot sticky glue involved, cold roll laminators don’t experience messy rollers. Cold laminators are also safer to use. This isn’t to say hot laminators are dangerous, but you won’t experience the risk of being burned with a cold laminator.

The most popular line of cold laminators is Xyron. Most Xyron laminators are powered by use of a hand crank. They use lamination cartridges, which eliminate the hassle of having to feed lamination film around bars and rollers. Xyron laminators are commonly used (especially by scrap bookers) to create stickers, laminate photographs, single sided lamination and much more.

You can find our entire selection of Xyron cold laminators here. You can find our entire selection of Xyron lamination cartridges here. Have fun laminating!

Laminating sheets, sometimes referred to as laminating pouches, are commonly used to protect and preserve business cards, report covers, photographs and much more. What are the different types of laminating sheets and which types are the best to use? Here are a few recommendations.

Laminating sheets come in a variety of different thicknesses. These typically come in 3, 5, 7 and 10 mil thicknesses. A mil is a thousandth of an inch. A 10-mil pouch has two 10-mil sides equaling a total of 20 mil. This means that 3, 5, 7 and 10-mil pouches are 6, 10, 14 and 20-mil thick once laminated (not counting the material being laminated). A credit card is 30-mil thick. Hopefully this hasn’t confused you too much.

The most common sizes of laminating sheets purchased today are 5 and 7 mil thick. A 10-mil sheet is very thick once laminated and is typically only used to laminate extremely thin documents. Five mil thick laminating sheets are probably the most common size used for laminating photographs.

Most pouch laminators can handle 5-mil thick laminating sheets, but not all can handle 10-mil thick sheets. Be sure you know what your laminator can handle prior to making a purchase.

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

We have just added the new SircleLam EM-40 roll laminator to our site. This laminator is a 40-inch wide machine capable of mounting pictures, posters and other material up to ¼-inch thick. It can handle lamination film up to 10 mil thick. Because it is so wide, it can be used to laminate signs, posters and other wide material.

We have had Sircle brand pouch laminators and binding machines online for some time. Most Sircle machines are designed for low to medium-volume use. One big advantage of Sircle machines is the price. They are usually priced much lower than comparable models.

Time permitting, you should stop by our site and take a look at the new SircleLam EM-40 by going here!

Whether you’re a sci-fi geek and want to preserve your Wrath of Kahn poster or you’ve just gotten back from a memorable Depeche Mode concert and want to laminate your poster souvenir, roll laminators (aka poster laminators) are just what you need. They’re inexpensive to use, are very quick, and can also be used to laminate maps, menus and so much more.

As the rabid fan, or a concert junkie, you will more than likely seek out a business or copy shop that can laminate these posters. If you’re a copy shop, these are the people you want visiting your establishment.

If your roll laminator is going to be used frequently, you definitely want to make sure you get the right roll laminator. A broken laminator not only costs money to fix, but also costs you in lost customers / revenue.

We have compiled a list of the top 5 poster laminators in the 25-27-inch range. These laminators have proven themselves over time and have an excellent track record.

Top 7 Rated Poster Laminators (Listed in alphabetical order):

1. ARL2700 27″ Roll Laminator
2. Banner American EasyLam II 27″ Roll Laminator
3. Banner American MightyLam 2700 Roll Laminator
4. GBC Pinnacle 27″ & 27″ EZLoad Roll Laminators
5. Ledco HD 25 Workhorse Heavy Duty 25″ Roll Laminator
6. Ledco Premier 4 25″ Roll Laminator
7. Tahsin TCC2700 Roll Laminator

Xyron laminators are pretty interesting little machines. They don’t fit under any of the more common laminator categories. They are, in a way, a type of roll laminator. Yet Xyron laminators do not use heat and use specially designed cartridges. Xyron laminators have grown in popularity among the scrapbooking crowd over the last 10 years.

Why are they so popular with scrapbookers (scrappers)? For one, they are very easy to use and are very portable. They are fairly inexpensive, for what they do. Because they are compact, they can easily be taken from one place to another. The biggest reason they are popular is because of what they can do.

Not only do Xyron laminators laminate photographs, paper and other material, but they can also be used to create stickers. Some cartridges apply adhesive to the back of the document for permanent applications and others are designed for temporary applications. This means that people can create a sticker from pictures of their kids, pets, family and more.

Most of Xyron’s lamination cartridges are acid-free. This means that paper will not yellow over time and photographs will not degrade. If you’re a scrapper, you know how important acid-free paper and lamination film can be. Xyron laminators range dramatically in size, from something as small as 9-inches up to a laminator that is 25-inches wide.

Xyron laminators are known as “green” laminators. This is because they require no power to be operated. They feature a manually operated hand crank. This means that a die-hard scrapbooker can add to their scrapbook by candlelight during a power outage or they can continue their scrapbooking efforts while camping.

You can find ABC Office’s selection of Xyron laminators here.

Here is a video demo of a Xyron laminator in use:

Pouch laminators are still widely used because they provide an affordable and effective way to protect documents. Pouch lamination film can be used to coat business cards, menus, photographs, important documents and more. Although lamination film has remained relatively the same for 10+ years, the equipment has progressed significantly during that same period of time. Here are a few tips on what to look for in a pouch laminator.

Rollers - All pouch laminators have at least a minimum of 2 rollers, one on top and the other on the bottom. Higher-end laminators will often come with more rollers. Many medium and high-volume laminators have 4 rollers. Photograph laminators will sometimes feature 6 to 8 rollers. The more rollers present, the more evenly pressure and heat are distributed.

Variable Temperature – Different thicknesses of film require different temperatures. Having a variable temperature control allows the operator to select exactly what is needed for the film being used. Many laminators have a simple toggle switch (5m, 7m or 10m) that will cool down or heat up the laminator. Many higher end laminators use a dial for precise degree adjustments.

Thermometer – This feature is not a necessity for most users, but if an object being laminated is temperature sensitive, or if the film being used requires a specific temperature, a thermometer is ideal to have.

Reverse Button – A reverse button is especially nice to have if you are concerned about jams. When laminating a document with little clearance (left or right), a reverse switch gives the user peace of mind. I personally like to have a reverse button on my laminator.

Motor & Heat Controls – Many laminators have a single button to turn on the motor and heat. This is fine if you are laminating a few items, but if you are laminating a lot of documents you will probably want to get a laminator with a separate button for the motor and the heat. This allows you to keep the laminator warm without having the motor on 100 percent of the time. This helps save energy and prolongs the life of the laminator.

While these are all great things to keep in mind while looking for a laminator, you can learn even more by reading ABC Office’s laminator guide here. You can also find our entire selection of pouch laminators here.

At ABC Office, we are always looking for new and better ways to make our site easier to navigate and use. Federal, state and local governments are valued customers here at ABC Office, and in an effort to make government purchases faster and more convenient, we now have a newly re-designed government resources index available.

This index covers a wide range of topics  including GSA pricing, purchase orders, I.M.P.A.C. Cards, SmartPay Cards and more. We also offer the government the option of receiving three different official quotes for bidding purposes. We are more than happy to accommodate any of our customers and can provide any quotes, paperwork or other documentation required prior to making a purchase.

Also be aware that ABC Office has its own service department, which means we can fully service our equipment and can offer service contracts with machine purchases. You can visit our newly re-designed government resources page by clicking here.

Renz is not an unfamiliar name in the office equipment industry. This German company has been around for years and is very popular for its line of high-quality binding machines. This includes comb, wire and coil binding machines.

This company has now released several new laminators, with three of them just being added to our site. These laminators are the HT 320, HT 320 C and HT 320 P. Feel free to stop by our site and look over these new laminators today!

Renz HT 320 C

The entire machine is only 18.1-inches wide, which means this laminator has a small footprint. It can be used on a desk or table and is extremely easy to use.

Renz HT 320

This pouch laminator is 12.6-inches wide and can handle paper up to 12-inches wide or A3-size documents. This laminator’s heat can be variably adjusted to accommodate different types of film and material.

Renz HT 320 P

The Renz HT 320 P is one of Renz’s top-of-the-line pouch laminators capable of clearly laminating materials such as photos and color copies.