People tend to have a lot of questions about
pouch laminators, especially if they have never used one before. However,
one question that's asked by users of varying experience levels is this:
"Why should I use a laminating carrier?" There are three main reasons,
so let's look at them in some depth.
People tend to have a lot of questions about
pouch laminators, especially if they've never used one before. However,
one question that's asked by users of varying experience levels is this:
"Why should I use a laminating carrier?" There are three main reasons,
so let's look at them in some depth.
To avoid a sticky situation. The first reason
why you should use a carrier is a sticky one - literally. When you run a
pouch through your laminator, the heat in the machine causes the
pouch's adhesive to melt so that your document or photo will be
encapsulated. Needless to say, this glue is extremely sticky and it can
create a real mess if it oozes out of the pouch. In fact, the adhesive
can cause some real damage to your laminator and gum up the rollers,
etc. This may not happen from the get-go, but the more you let the glue
pile up, the more likely you are to experience problems.
For a smooth experience.
Another reason to use a carrier is so that the laminating goes as
smoothly as possible. Laminating your documents without a carrier
increases the chances of the item becoming wrapped around the machine's
rollers. Undoing a pouch jam is inconvenient at best and a total
annoyance at worst. Also, if the jam is bad enough, it can also damage
the rollers, especially if there's leaked adhesive present. (It can also
ruin your document too if it becomes glued to the rollers.) Unless you
want to deal with a defective - or even dead - laminator, be sure to use
a carrier. It will save you a lot of time and could even wind up saving
you money in the long run.
For results you can take pride in.
One of the main reasons for laminating your documents and photographs
is so that you can be proud of your work. After all, laminating your
materials not only protects them from tears, spills, and so on, it makes
everything look better. Thus, you can imagine how frustrating it would
be to process an item and have it come out of the machine marred by
adhesive deposits, burns, wrinkles, bubbles, etc. You can prevent this
from happening by using a carrier. No only will it prevent glue from
marring your item, the pouch will help your work make it through the
machine without incident. Also, the carrier will keep the item from
becoming marked with fingerprints once it's removed from the device.
(You should let it cool off before handling it to any extent.)
After reading this article, it's clear why you should use a
carrier every time you work with your pouch laminator. Doing so will
help keep your machine in running order, it makes for a trouble-free
laminating experience, and help your materials look terrific. All of
these are very good reasons. So use a carrier the next time you laminate
and into the future - you're going to glad you did.
Jeff McRitchie is the Director of Marketing for MyBinding.com.
He regularly writes articles, reviews, and blog posts on topics related
to book binding, laminating, paper shredding, and office equipment.
More than 2,500 of his articles have been published in thousands of
locations on the Internet. If you're looking for information about laminators his articles are a great place to start.