Anyone who has to preserve documents or create items that must withstand ongoing handling and use is likely to need laminators. These are machines that seal a document or other flat item between two sheets of durable plastic. The process involves only the simplest of procedures and can be done with or without the use of heat.

In this buying guide, we are going to consider the different factors you must use to choose the ideal laminator for your needs. Because they can be used in a home, an office, a school, or even at a professional business, there is a distinct need to choose accordingly.

The Types of Laminators

The first thing to consider is the type of machine you require. There are the "heat activated" models that are also called thermal laminators. Then there are the cold laminating machines that are usually described as pressure sensitive laminators. It is obvious that the heat activated machines will melt the plastic to the document while the cold laminators tend to use adhesive sheets and pressure to seal the document.

Keep in mind that the cold laminators require careful handling when the sealing process is done because the films or plastics used will be coated with an adhesive. This means aligning a document can be challenging, and that many bubbles or wrinkles can occur with cold lamination procedures.

Both types of laminators will usually require rollers to complete the task, and the more rollers the higher the quality of the laminating procedure. Standard roller arrays feature from two to six rollers, and when there are more rollers it will distribute the pressure and the heating in a far more even manner. Thus, professional quality results will come from six roller laminators.

Size

In addition to knowing the type of process you prefer with your laminator, there is also the issue of size. Generally, laminators are described by the width of their chambers. The most common size is 9" because this is a slot capable of accepting standard letter sized paper or items. There are also much smaller sizes (usually around 4") and these are meant to handle such things as ID tags, business cards, and similarly sized items. This does not mean that there are no larger units, and it is not difficult to find laminators that can tackle posters, menus, and items that are 12 to 17 inches in width as well.

Clearly, you must make this a priority in your decision making if you intend to get what you want from the laminating gear. 

Size also includes the thicknesses that the machine is capable of handling too. For example, most laminators are referred to as pouch laminators and the pouches can be found in a range of thicknesses described in "mil". Common thicknesses include three to five mil, but there are many instances when seven to ten mil may be required. When a machine is incapable of accepting or handling this sort of weight, it will create low-quality output or even jam when being fed the document to seal.

Professional quality lamination is often done at the seven to ten mil thicknesses and that means that it is important to consider both the width and the thickness when choosing your laminating machine.

Safety and Ease of Use

Another factor is the safety factor of the laminating machine. Both processes use rollers, and this means that protective guards are a "must" in order to avoid any harm to the fingers. There should also be an easy to use jam or reverse function that stops the process if materials begin to shift, bend, or fold during the loading procedure. Having a reverse function also prolongs the life of the machine and prevents any damages to the rollers.

The best laminators have a roller opening feature that releases all pressure on the document and laminating pouch and allows you to simply pull the document from the unit without any further harm.

Pricing

Once you know the features you require from a laminator (type, width, thickness, extra functions) it is much easier to choose from the best brands and prices. The most common names include Fellowes, Creative, Ibico and more. They each make units available in a wide array of prices and with all of the different functions described above.

One thing to also explore when pricing out the ideal laminating gear is to consider the availability of laminating pouches. Not all machines work with all types of pouches, so never choose a model that requires only a specific set of pouches or materials.