February 20th, 2011 Laminating Pouches for Your Laminator Machine
Having a laminator machine for office or home use means you will need to make sure that you always have laminating supplies in store for whenever they are needed. And as far as laminators are concerned, the only material supplies you need to worry about are the laminating pouches.
Laminating pouches are layers of plastic films used to protect documents, ID cards, luggage tags, library cards, teaching aids (e.g., cheat sheets, quick references, etc.) and help them last longer and withstand the rigors of everyday use.
Quick Buy List:
- Universal Clear Laminating Pouches, 3 mil, 9 x 11-1/2, 100/box
- Scotch(TM) Thermal Laminating Pouches, 9 Inches x 11.4 Inches, 50 Pouches (TP3854-50)
- 5 mil Letter hot Laminating Pouches 100/box 9″ x 11.5″ glossy thermal laminator pockets
- Clear Laminating Pouches, 5 mil, 4-3/8 x 6-1/2, Photo Size, 100/Box
- Scotch(TM) Thermal Laminating Pouches, 4.37 Inches x 6.06 Inches, 20 Pouches (TP5900-20)
There are a few variables that you need to be mindful of when buying laminating pouch supplies. Firstly, you will need to make sure that the pouches will fit the maximum size or dimensions that the laminator machine can accommodate. Hence, it is a good idea to remember that particular detail about your machine. A 9 to 9.5-inch cold or thermal laminator will fit most office and home lamination needs so these devices should be able to accommodate pouches up to a maximum of 9 to 9.5 inches. Pouch sizes bigger than 9.5 inches are also available for bigger machines that are usually used for professional or industrial grade laminating.
Another thing to consider is the thickness of the laminate films which can range from 3 to 10 mil thick where 3 mil is considered thin and 10 mil seen as thick pouches. A mil is equivalent to 1/1000 of an inch (0.001 inch) or about 1/40 of a centimeter (0.025 cm). Pouches also come in glossy or matt finishes so you will need to watch out for that when buying supplies as you may have a preference. Films thicker than 10 mil are available but most of them are used for industrial-grade applications.
Finally, one final critical variable is to check whether you are buying laminating pouches for hot or thermal laminators or for a cold laminator. Pouches for thermal laminators are materials that need to undergo a thermal or hot process to activate its bonding capability (see related article about HeatSeal laminating pouches). Cold laminate pouches do not need heat to complete the lamination process because they are designed to “glue” together to perform its job. These are referred to as self adhesive laminating sheets and they will not work with hot laminator machines.
