Pouch laminators are great tools to use when
you need to protect your favorite photographs and important documents.
They are also pretty easy to use, believe it or not. Here's how you can
use a pouch laminator in five easy steps.
Pouch laminators are great tools to use when
you need to protect your favorite photographs and important documents.
They're also pretty easy to use, believe it or not. Here's how you can
use a pouch laminator in five easy steps.
Let the device warm up. The first thing to
do is plug the machine in if you haven't already done so. Turn the
device on and let it heat up. Most pouch laminators are warmed up
within 5 minutes. The exact warm-up time will depend on the device you
have.
Select the temperature setting.
Once your device has heated up, select the right temperature setting
for the pouch you're using. Some laminators' temperature settings are
indicated by the various pouch thicknesses (i.e. 5 mil, 7 mil) while
others use a Celsius or Fahrenheit scale. If you're not sure which
setting is right for your materials, your user's manual should give you
some information. (Generally, thinner pouches need lower temperature
settings than thicker ones.)
Get your document ready to go.
Place your document inside a pouch. Make sure the there's an even
border around the entire document. This is so that the pouch will seal
properly. You can then insert it into a laminating carrier sealed edge
first to reduce the likelihood of air bubbles. When you've done that,
you can place the entire thing in the laminator.
Let your work cool off.
When your document has been laminated, it will come out of the back of
the machine. Move the pouch to a safe place and let it cool off for a
few minutes. You can then open the carrier to see how things turned
out. If the laminate looks hazy, that means that the temperature was
too low. You can run the item through the device again to fix it. If
there are wrinkles or heat marks, then the temperature was too high.
Turn off the machine when you're done.
If you have anything else you need to laminate, you can continue doing
so. However, if you encountered hazy or wrinkled pouches, you should
adjust the temperature settings before you go any further. This will
save you time, keep you from becoming frustrated, and give you the
results you're looking for. When you're done laminating for the day,
give your machine enough time to cool down before shutting it off
completely. This will keep the motor in good condition so it won't burn
out and leave you without a laminator.
That's all you need to do to successfully operate your
laminator. It just takes five easy steps to produce a laminated
document that you'll be able to use for a long time to come. These
directions can be used with just about any pouch laminator from any
manufacturer (GBC, Fellowes, Akiles, etc.) but if you have any
questions, your user's manual should provide you with the answers you
need. Try this five-step approach today to see just how easy it is to
use your laminator.
Jeff McRitchie is the Director of Marketing for MyBinding.com.
He regularly writes articles, review 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
location on the Internet. If you're looking for information about pouch laminator, his articles are a great place to start.
