Laminating machines are available in pouch or roll varieties and are perfect for preserving your most cherished documents, photos and posters.
Pouch laminators are more popular because they are easy to use and very mobile. They are often used in schools, restaurants and homes for laminating business cards, photographs, photo ID and menus. Home pouch laminators cost $45 to $220, on average, while professional models are $170 to $3,000.
Pouch laminators commonly come in 4" and 12" sizes and use small pouches of heat-sensitive film that sticks to a product as it runs through the laminator. Pouches are available in different films:
Standard clear film is the most common and inexpensive.
Select film is considered the best quality and costs more than standard.
Matte film is slightly granular with a frosted texture that reduces glare. The surface reduces smudging and can be written on with pencil, pen or marker.
Pressure-sensitive film has a sticky back that can be peeled off and stuck to a surface.
UV/UL film filters out harmful rays from the sun, which protects from fading outdoors.
Roll laminators are meant for larger, more professional projects such as signs, banners or mass lamination. They vary from 12" to 63" in width. Less-expensive roll laminators ($950 to $6,000) have two rollers while more professional models ($9,000 and up) have four. Photo-quality laminators can have six rollers and cost up to $23,000.
Products laminated on a machine with only two rollers may need two runs to be properly laminated, whereas a laminator with four will finish a product on the first run and provide flawless lamination.
