If you are having a difficult time figuring
out what laminating roll film is right for your laminator and your job,
you are not alone.Here are five simple questions that you can ask yourself when choosing
supplies. By answering these questions you will be able to determine
the roll-film that you need.
If you are having a difficult time figuring
out what laminating roll film is right for your laminator and your job,
you are not alone. Almost every day I receive calls from individuals
looking to find the right supplies to fit their laminating machine.
However, choosing the right film really doesn't need to be that hard.
Here are five simple questions that you can ask yourself when choosing
supplies. By answering these questions you will be able to determine
the roll-film that you need.
What width of laminating film do you need? Of course you
are going to be limited by the size of your laminator. Most school
machines will handle film that is up to 25" or 27" wide. However, you
will need to check your machine and see what size it can handle and
then consider the items that you are going to be dealing with. If you
are just going to be laminating letter sized documents you might want
to consider 12" film or choose a 25" roll and feed two at a time. Don't
worry so much about length at this point since your answers to the rest
of the questions below will most likely dictate the lengths of the
rolls available to you.
What thickness of film do you need? After you have
selected the appropriate width, the next step is to choose the right
thickness. Laminating roll film is available in 1.5mil, 1.7mil, 3mil,
5mil, 7mil and 10mil. Depending on your application you will need to
choose one of these options. Schools most commonly use 1.5mil to
laminate teaching materials, posters and visuals. However, if you are
looking for more ridgitity or your document is going to be handled a
lot you might consider choosing a heavier guage of film. Remember to
check your laminator to make sure that it can handle the thickness of
film that you choose. A lot of school-laminators are only capable of
using 1.5, 1.7 and 3.0mil films.
What core size do you need? The next question to answer
deals with the cardboard roll that the laminate is wrapped around. Some
laminators use 1" cores, some use 2-1/4" cores and some use 3" cores.
More than likely your machine will use a 1" or 2-1/4" core unless you
have a wide format commercial machine. However, the easiest way to
check is to measure the core size of the film that is already on your
machine (or check your users manual).
What texture of film do you want? The two most common
textures for laminates are gloss and matte. Most users choose gloss
since it is less expensive. However, matte film is great for
applications where there is a lot of glare or where the finished
document needs to be written on. If you have a machine that has either
a 2-1/4" or a 3" core you will have lots of other choices in films and
textures. Most of these other textures will be suited to specific
commercial laminating applications.
What length of film do you need? The reason why this
question is left to last is that depending on your answers to the
previous questions there is a good chance that you won't get a choice
in the length. Most of the time by the time that you choose all of the
other options, the film that you need will only be available in one
length. However, if there are multiple lengths available it is
important not to choose a roll that is too long for your machine. If a
roll is too long, the outside diameter of the roll will be too big to
fit on your machine and you won't be able to use it.
Jeff McRitchie is the designer and Director of Marketing for MyBinding.com. He has written over 100 articles on laminators, binding machines, laminating supplies,binding supplies,binding covers,paper handling equipments,binders,index tabs, and shredders.
