As the most popular school and church
laminating machine on the market, the GBC Ultima 65 enjoys a pretty
high profile. In order to help you decide if it's the right laminator
for you, however, we took a closer look at this machine. Here are some
of the strengths and weaknesses of this machine.
As the most popular school and church
laminating machine on the market, the GBC Ultima 65 enjoys a pretty
high profile. In order to help you decide if it is the right laminator
for you, however, we took a closer look at this machine. Here are some
of the strengths and weaknesses of this machine.
Strengths:
The chief feature of the Ultima 65 is its ability to
use laminating rolls that are up to twenty seven inches wide, and as
narrow as nine inches. Historically, most users have chosen a roll
width of twenty five inches, as this is the most commonly available on
the market. However, depending on the type of laminating project you
are looking to complete, it is nice to have the option to use any one
of the several different roll sizes that are available.
The Ultima 65 is capable of running laminating films that are from
1.2mil to 3 mil in thickness. Though most projects will use 1.5, it is
nice here also to have the option to use 3mil film as well. Again, the
most common roll size is twenty five inches by five hundred feet of
1.5mil, and as such it is the least expensive of the supplies out
there. If, however you have a project that needs a little bit of a
higher quality look and feel, you can step up to 3mil without any
problems at all.
For a high volume machine that
will likely see use by people with all different levels of experience,
it is very nice that the Ultima 65 includes a reverse function to
assist with any film jams that may occur.
There
is a handy trimmer on the back of the machine that allows the user to
cut the just -laminated document away. This is not a finalizing
trimmer, however, as you will still need to use a pair of scissors to
trim the materials after they have been removed from the machine.
It must be stated that the Ultima 65 does not dominate the marketplace
because it is especially rich in features. The reason for its
popularity is that it is a very simple machine to operate. The keypad
is intuitive without a lot of bells and whistles to confuse, and the
user need not adjust heat or speed in order to accommodate different
materials. This is, in other words, the perfect machine for setting in
which a lot of different people will be using the machine because it is
a very easy machine to learn.
Weaknesses:
Though the Ultima 65 is a great machine for laminating
signs, visual aids, and banners, there are a few projects that it is
not cut out for. For one thing, it won't work with films thicker than
3mil. That means that if you believe that you are regularly going to
want to laminate using 5 or 10mil thicknesses. You will also be limited
to a core size of one inch with the Ultima 65. These are reasonable
limitations for this type of laminator, however, and professional users
such as print shops will probably purchase more capable machines.
The warm up time is fairly long, coming in at about fifteen to twenty minutes.
You will want to be extra careful to load this machine correctly, or
you could end up with at best a huge mess, and at worst a service call.
One of the most common problems that users have with this machine is
that an inexperienced user will load the film onto the machine with the
adhesive facing towards the rollers. What a mess...
If you are interested in more information about the GBC HeatSeal Ultima65 Laminator, you should really check out MyBinding.com.
They offer a great price on this laminator and even offer free shipping
on all orders over $75. Plus, they carry a huge selection of School Laminating Film, and other roll laminating film for use with the Ultima 65 laminator. Check it out today!
