If you’re in the market for a pouch laminating machine, you may be a bit confused by the wide selection. Some sites out there feature dozens to even hundreds of different models. I can tell you from personal experience that you need to get a high-quality pouch laminator. Having used pouch laminators and laminating pouches for over 10 years, I have a pretty good idea on what works and doesn’t work. Here are a few tips.
Purchasing a bad laminator can lead to some dramatically bad results. It can also lead to ruined documents and valuable material such as photos. Bad laminators can create cloudy splotches, ripples and bubbles. Many of these artifacts cannot be removed, even with multiple passes. It is horribly frustrating and can result in one bad day.
Even if you don’t take my advice on laminator models in this article, please at least try to find a pouch laminator with at least 4 rollers. That’s right. Four rollers is the magic number for a good pouch laminator. Some higher-end laminators feature 6, 8 and even 10 rollers. Stay away from 2 roller laminators unless you’re simply shopping around for a paper weight.
There are many brands out there, but I have personally had excellent luck with Intelli-Lam, Fellowes (some models), Akiles, Tamerica and Banner American. Now to the list.
Top 10 Best Pouch Laminators 2011 (Sorted by Price – Lowest to Highest)
- Intelli-Lam IL300 – This is the least expensive of the recommended pouch laminators. It features four rollers, can handle 10-mil thick film and is perfect for laminating signs, business cars, ID cards and much more. This laminator is a great value for the price.
- Tamerica TCC-230 – Tamerica (aka Tahsin) laminators have a great reputation with our customers. The TCC-230 is a feature-rich laminator and has an incredibly quick warm-up time.
- Intelli-Lam IL400 – The IL400 is one of the best deals available online for a 13″ pouch laminator. It features four rollers, the ability to handle 10 mil thick film and is extremely fast.
- Tamerica TCC-330 – The TCC-330 is a time-tested classic that has a proven track record for being reliable and producing high-quality results.
- Akiles iLam 240 – While relatively new, this 9″ laminator has quickly become a favorite. Akiles has a great reputation for producing high-quality equipment that lasts for years.
- Akiles iLam 340 – This laminator is perfect for the no-nonsense operator. This 13″ wide pouch laminator is extremely easy to set up and produces top-quality results.
- Banner American PL135-4 – The PL135-4 has been around for more than a decade and used to be one of the most affordable 4-roller laminators. This laminator is solid, time tested and you won’t be disappointed.
- Tamerica C-Lam – This laminator is cool to the touch, easy to operate and produces some of the most professional results of any laminator listed here. A total of 6 rollers produce crisp results.
- Banner American PL12A – This classic is by far the most popular commercial pouch laminator available. It utilizes 4 rollers and is designed for daily use.
- Akiles Pro-Lam 320 – The Akiles Pro-Lam line of laminators are fast, effective, easy to use and can handle just about any pouch laminating film out there. A total of 4 rollers quickly and evenly distribute heat.
So there you have it! My list of the top 10 pouch laminators for 2011. These laminators have proven themselves time after time and I’m confident you will be impressed as well.
We have been selling laminators for years, so if you have any questions, please feel free to call one of Office Zone’s laminating experts at 1-800-543-5454. You can find Office Zone’s entire list of pouch laminators here.
Related posts:
- Intelli-Lam IL300 Pouch Laminating Machine Review
- What’s the Best Laminator for you? Roll or Pouch?
- A Pouch Laminator That Lasts Decades: The Banner American PL4A
- What’s The Best Pouch Laminator?
- What is a Pouch Laminator?
Tags: Best Pouch Laminators, Pouch Laminating Machines, Pouch Laminators, Top 10 Lists
This entry was posted on Thursday, September 15th, 2011 at 9:26 am and is filed under Laminators, Tips and Suggestions. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.