If you were to ask me today which thickness of pouch laminating sheets is most popular, I would have to answer with the 5 mil laminating sheet. With so many different sizes available, why is it that this particular thickness is so popular? I’ll cover a few reasons why 5 mil laminating sheets may be what you want to use with your pouch laminator.

To begin with, laminating sheets are commonly available in four different thicknesses. These are 3 mil, 5 mil, 7 mil and 10 mil. On occasion, you may be able to find a 1.5 or a 15 mil laminating pouch, however, they are pretty rare and most people don’t want them.

So what does the term “mil” mean? It is a thousandth of an inch. A 5-mil pouch is 0.005 inches thick (one side). Both sides of a 5-mil pouch add up to 10 mils thick (0.010″). The smaller the mil thickness, the thinner the pouch. For this reason, 3 mil and 10 mil pouches are the least common sizes used by customers. There are two reasons for this.

Three mil laminating sheets aren’t quite as popular as 5 or 7 because many people think it is too thin, and 10 mils is too thick for many people’s taste. The 10-mil thickness also requires a laminator capable of handling that thickness.

Five-mil laminating pouches are popular simply because they provide enough stability along with a nice finished look, not to mention they cost less than 7 or 10-mil thicknesses. At ABC Office we offer 19 different laminating sheet sizes in a 5-mil thickness. They are as follows:

Clear Glossy 5 Mil Laminating Sheets (Standard Sizes)

• 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″)
• Military     —    (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 (File 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″)
• 4″ x 6″     —    (4″ x 6″)

Clear Glossy 5 Mil Laminating Sheets (Large Sizes)

• 6″ x 9″ Laminating Sheets
• 9″ x 11 ½” Laminating Sheets
• 9″ x 14 ½” Laminating Sheets
• 12″ x 18″ Laminating Sheets

As you can see, there are a lot of options out there for 5 mil laminating sheets. Because we buy direct from the source, we are able to offer some of the best prices available online for 5 mil laminating sheets.

You can find our entire selection of laminating sheets here. Please feel free to contact one of our laminating experts at 1-800-658-8788 with answer to any questions you may have about pouch laminators or laminating sheets.

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.