We’ve all been to restaurants and have all handled and used the menu. While not always the case, most restaurant menus consist of a single folded 11 x 17 sheet of paper or an 11 x 17 sheet of paper cut in half. Restaurant menus have soda spilled on them, dipping sauce smeared all over them, experience chicken wing accidents and much more. So how do menus endure daily abuse and use? They are laminated.

Laminating film makes a menu easy to clean off, prevents liquid damage and gives menus the rigidity they need to keep from tearing. So what are the best laminators to use for laminating a menu? There are two ways to do this. You will either want to use a pouch laminator or a roll laminating machine.

If you are using a pouch laminator, you will want to use a large 12 x 18 –inch pouch (found here). Place the printing menu inside the pouch and run it through the laminator. Once laminated, the menu can be creased or bound for use. Often times the menu isn’t folded or bound, but left as a single sheet. The slightly larger pouch will allow for a small overlapped border around the menu. If you don’t like this, it can be easily trimmed off.

If you are using a roll laminating machine, you can often laminate two menus simultaneously. This can be easily done if you are using a roll laminating machine that is 25-inches or wider. Once laminated, the menu can be trimmed down using a rotary trimmer. The most common roll film our customers use for menus can be found here.

Roll laminators are typically better for high-volume laminating, but I have found that more restaurants use a pouch laminator for menus.  The thickness of film used will depend on the restaurant’s preference. The higher the mil thickness, the thicker the film will be. A mil is one-thousandth of an inch. I probably wouldn’t go with anything thinner than 5 mils thick.

While not completely necessary, many of our customers also like to use a corner rounder to round the corners on the menus. This makes the menu less dangerous (pointy corners = ouch) and makes the menus look nice.

Here is a list of what you may need for your restaurant menu:

• Pouch Laminator or Roll Laminator
• Pouch Laminating Film or Roll Laminating Film
• Rotary Paper Trimmer
• Corner Rounder
• Paper Creaser

Good luck with your menus! We have a lot of people that do this, so don’t feel too overwhelmed. The end results will look great!

Pouch laminators protect, stabilize and preserve documents by using cheap and inexpensive laminating film. These useful little machines can be used by anyone and are commonly found in schools, homes, copy shops and other businesses. So which pouch laminator should you use? Have you considered the Banner American PL12A? If not, perhaps you should. Here’s why:

The PL12A is a time tested, widely used pouch laminator. In fact, the PL12A is one of the most popular laminators we offer. This compact laminator is 12-inches wide and can be used to laminate menus, photographs, business cards and more. It is designed for continuous use throughout the day and can be considered an commercial / industrial pouch laminator.

The build quality on the PL12A is really nice. The heating element holds up well over time, the rubber rollers don’t prematurely crack or dry out and the external shell does a good job of preventing injury. If for any reason the laminator needs to be disassembled, the outer shell can be easily removed.

The Banner American PL12A uses a four-roller system. These rollers help evenly distribute heat and pressure, which improves the laminating quality. Many laminators only feature two rollers, which often require multiple passes to finish the job.

The PL12A has an adjustable temperature control, which is nice when using laminating film of varying thicknesses. In fact, the PL12A can easily handle laminating film as thick as 10 mils. This laminator is also available with an optional thermometer for precise temperature control.

One of my favorite features is the separate motor and temperature control. Many laminators only have one button that turns the heat and motor on simultaneously. The PL12A has separate buttons. This allows you to keep the laminator conveniently heated without unnecessarily running the motor. This helps prolong the life of the motor.

One thing I would like to see in the PL12A is some sort of digital readout. This would be more for convenience. The design, however, has been time proven to be user friendly.

I have personally used this laminator many times and have to say that I highly recommend it. You can find the Banner American PL12A pouch laminator here. You can find our entire selection of pouch laminators here.

So you have a project or a job that requires a laminator. So which laminating machine should you use? Is one better than another? There are several different types of laminators out there. I will discuss the most popular models and which ones will work for your laminating job.

There are two main types of laminating machines available. These two styles are commonly referred to as pouch laminators and roll laminators. The finished product, from both laminators, is identical. The biggest difference between these two types of laminators is the way in which they laminate.

Between the two, pouch laminators are generally considered to be ideal for low to medium-volume laminating where roll laminators are considered to be ideal for medium to high-volume laminating. Pouch laminators are generally ideal for smaller items, where roll laminators are ideal for larger items.

Pouch Laminators

Pouch laminating machines use film called laminating pouches. These pouches open, allowing the operator to insert the document. This may be a photograph, a business card or a menu. Once inserted, the laminating pouch is placed in a carrier.

The laminating pouch carrier looks a lot like a manila folder. The carrier’s primary purpose is to assist the pouch in its journey through the laminator. It provides support, prevents jams, distributes heat and keeps the inside of the laminator free from hot glue.

Pouch laminators are more compact and portable than roll laminators. They are generally used on a table or other surface. Unlike a roll laminator, the rollers, heaters and other components are generally hidden under an exterior cover.

Pouch laminators are available as small as four inches wide. These smaller machines are more commonly used for laminating cards, business cards, photographs and other small documents. Most pouch laminators fall within the width range of 9-12 inches. You will find our entire selection of pouch laminating machine here.

Roll Laminators

Roll laminating machines use film called laminating rolls. A roll laminator uses a total of two rolls. One roll is located on top of the machine and the other below. No carrier is required for a roll laminator. Once heated up, the poster or sign can be placed on the feed tray where it is pulled into the roll laminator and laminated.

While roll laminators are generally considered ideal for laminating maps, posters, signs and other large documents, they are also ideal for high-volume laminating of many small items at once. Roll laminators generally take up more space than pouch laminators, weigh more and are generally more of an investment.

Roll laminators generally start off at about 25-inches wide, although smaller versions are available. Roll laminators can get as big as 60-plus inches wide. You will find our entire selection of roll laminating machines here.

A few recommended pouch laminators:

• Banner American PL12A 12″ Pouch Laminator
• Banner American PL100 Pouch Laminator
• Banner American Wonderlam PL135 13-1/2″ Pouch Laminator

A few recommended roll laminators:

• Banner American Easy Lam School Budget Roll Laminator
• Tahsin TCC2700 Roll Laminator
• Banner American EasyLam II 27″ Roll Laminator

Whether you are laminating a simple photograph, or need to laminate a large banner, laminating machines are handy machines to have around.