March 8th, 2011 Top GBC Laminators for Your Office Lamination Needs
If you’ve been shopping around for a laminating machine then I am sure that you have stumbled on one of the most popular brands when it comes to laminators. GBC is a pretty one of the bigger brands that not only offer laminating solutions but also offer binding, shredding, cutting and trimming equipment for home, office or industrial applications. GBC laminators are actually one of about four brands that lead the bestsellers list on Amazon’s office supplies sections. Other brands include Apache, Fellowes and 3M Scotch (some of which I have featured on this site).
If you’re looking for a good GBC laminator, I have done some of the research for you and present 4 models that are favorites among buyers:
GBC HeatSeal QuickStart H420 Pouch Laminator (Model 1703001) – this dual cold / hot laminator* offers some really nice capabilities, the most notable of which is its ability to fully heat up to operational temperature within one minute (this is one of the fastest laminating machines out there). It accepts laminating pouches that can work with up to 12.5 inch documents which make it a versatile model that can laminate all sorts of office-related documents. You can use it as an ID card laminator or a laminator for all sorts of documents It can accommodate 3, 5 and 7 mill thick films. It also sports a GBC-patented quick release mechanism that help release “mis-fed” laminating sheets. Being sold on Amazon for about $110.
GBC HeatSeal H425 12.5-Inch Commercial Series Pouch Laminator (Model 1702780) – this is another relatively popular model designed for commercial or office use. It features a carrier-free design that makes for more convenient space-saving operation. It is equipped with a 4 rollers to ensure even lamination on both thermal and cold settings. It will accept laminating film thickness from 3 to 10 mil. This one sells for approximately $250.
GBC 9″ Creative Laminating Machine (Model 1701860) – this one’s a smaller model that can accept only up to 9-inch wide documents. It’s a bit slow on the warm up which takes about 6 minutes and takes about 10 minutes to laminate a 10 inch document. Compare it to the Quickstart H420 featured above and you’ll see how awesome that laminator machine is. Its popularity may be due to the fact that quite cheaper (at $60) compared to the other two models above.
GBC HeatSeal H110 4.5-Inch Pouch Laminator (Model 1702750) – this is a small machine that’s basically an ID or photo laminator that can accommodate up to 4.5 inch documents. It is also designed for quick operation and can achieve optimal heat in just 1 minute. It is blazing quick at 6 inches per minute lamination. It is designed to accept 3 to 5 mil thermal or self adhesive (cold) films which is ideal for laminating photographic prints. Price is at approximately $60.
All of the above models will work appropriate GBC HeatSeal laminating pouches (e.g., Ezload pouches for the H110)
*See article on different types of laminators to know what this means
