How thick / rigid do you need your laminated materials to be?
If you need your laminated materials to be thick/rigid you will need to go for a higher spec machine that can handle up to 500 micron pouches.

How important is the perfection of the finish?
When carried out correctly, hot lamination enhances the appearance of the images that have been laminated, making them brighter and cleaner. However if you laminate at the wrong temperature or speed for the pouch that you are using, the finished article can end up cloudy or wrinkled. This is a common problem and to avoid it you need to make sure that you choose a machine with either a variable heat or variable speed setting (or preferably both!) and make sure that you do not use pouches too thick for the machine.

How much laminating do you do / how quickly do you need to do it?
If the machine is only used occasionally (i.e a few times a week) then a low spec machine will be adequate. However, if the machine is going to be used everyday a higher spec and higher priced machine will normally be more reliable under intensive use and also have quicker laminating speeds. As with most things, you get what you pay for!

If you are doing very high volumes of laminating you should consider a roll laminating system as they are much faster than pouch laminators, you do not have to manually insert the documents into pouches and they are more economical.

What types of materials will you be laminating?
If you will be laminating heat sensitive materials such as photographs you should consider choosing a higher spec machine with heated rollers.

Other things to consider when choosing a laminator

Reverse Function
Sometimes laminating can go wrong and a pouch can get stuck. If you choose a machine with a reverse function you can usually extract the pouch quite easily and be up and running again in no time.

Warm up time
If you only laminate occasionally, but need to do it in a hurry you should choose a high spec machine which will normally have a quicker warm up time.

Is space/mobility an issue?
Some laminators are bigger and take up more space. Pouch laminators, in most cases, are easy to pick up and move around. Roll laminators usually take up more space and are harder to move, but lamination carts are available which make moving a roll laminator around from room to room much easier.

Do you want your document to last a long time?
Different types of lamination film will allow your documents to last longer. If the duration of your laminated document is not an issue, a less expensive lamination film can be used. If a document needs to last a long time you may want to use a thicker lamination film, acid-free film and/or UV film.

Why Laminate

- Laminating is great for preserving documents
- Documents can be used over and over again without being damaged
- Significantly enhances the colour and contrast of pictures.
- Protects items from fingerprints, smudges and abrasions.
- Protects items like menus which endure lots of handling.
- Allows materials to be kept in like-new condition for many years.
- Helps preserve colours longer, indoors or outdoors.
- Allows items to be handled and shipped without damage.
- Allows inexpensive paper items or banners to be used outdoors.
- Allows paper items to be used under water and in other unusual conditions.
- Increases the strength and rigidity of printed materials.
- Additional rigidity allows items to stand free or be placed in a frame without backing or reinforcement.
- Prepares items for immediate presentation under a variety of conditions and display methods.
- Documents can be wiped clean
- Documents can be enhanced at home or in the office
- Make colours more vibrant by using gloss pouches
- Laminated signs and notices stand out and look more professional
- Create a subtle professional finish use a matt pouch

Examples of what to you might laminate

- Signs
- Instruction Manuals
- Telephone Lists
- Presentation Covers
- Reference sheets and other frequently used documents
- Photographs and images of products
- Documents exposed to dust
- Posters/Room Signs