Ledco makes roll laminators that are great for
today's document finishing needs. Keep
reading to find out what they are.
Ledco makes roll laminators that are great for
today's document finishing needs. One of their devices is the Compass, a
machine that has many strengths and a couple of weaknesses. Keep
reading to find out what they are.
Strengths:
The Compass is able to laminate wide-format items.
The largest can be up to 27" wide so that means this device can process
posters, wall maps, class materials, and so on.
This laminator can handle materials that are up to
1/8" thick including mounting boards. Since the machine can do this, you
can process items printed on cardstock and other thicker supplies.
If you want to be able to use film of varying
thicknesses, then the Compass is the laminator to get. Film that's up to
10 mil thick can be used with this device so your work can have just
the right amount of protection. Note that when you're buying film, it
needs to have a 1-inch core and be no wider than 27" wide.
The Compass has silicone rollers so that your work
will look great and won't be wrinkled or cloudy. The rollers are
spring-loaded so they'll exert the right amount of pressure at all
times.
Operating the Compass is easy and you should be
able to figure out how to use it quickly. The controls are clearly
marked and there are threading aids that simplify the laminating
process. An LCD display shows the temperature setting for quick
reference.
This laminator has a safety shield to prevent
injuries from occurring. There's a reverse mode you can use if anything
get stuck in the device.
And last but not least, the Compass has a 2-year warranty just in case you have any problems with it.
Weaknesses:
The Compass has one major weakness: it takes 30
minutes to warm up. This will be definitely be a problem for some users
and you'll need to find a way to work around it. The good thing is that
once it's ready, it can laminate 15 feet of material in a minute.
Since this laminator can work with large items,
it's not exactly small. It measures 38" (width) x 16" (height) x 23"
(depth) and weighs 110 pounds, so a stand is recommended.
Overall, the Ledco Compass 27" roll laminator has a lot of going for it.
This machine has all of the features you'd expect such as the reverse
mode, safety shield, and easy-to-use controls. It's great that materials
up to 1/8" thick can be run through this device. (Not all roll
laminators can handle thicker items.) However, you'll really need to
consider if you can put up with the machine needing 30 minutes to warm
up. Once the machine is warmed up, it operates quickly, but half an hour
can be a long time to wait, especially on busy workdays. If you can
accept the long warm-up time, you'll like the Compass. If that's the
case, get it for your workplace now.
Jeff McRitchie is the Vice-President of Marketing for MyBinding.com.
He regularly writes articles, reviews, and blog posts on topics related
to bookbinding, 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 roll laminators, his articles are a great place to start.
