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What advantage is there of having a laminator machine in my office?

A laminator is a versatile machine (manual or electrical) used to encase and wrap different materials and items such as documents, photos and maps with a plastic sleeve. Laminators use heat and pressure to seal a clear plastic film (polymer) onto paper or other documents.

Stationery R Us Express stock a range of the small (A4) and large (A3) desktop laminators available on the market.

Each style of laminator is designed for different use, and because the best laminator for your needs is the one that suits you, we recommend that you understand what the different types of office laminators do.

A basic laminator works by using two rollers made from rubber or silicone over two parts of sticky plastic film. The basic laminator only has rollers, knobs to vary the gap or pressure and a handle to turn the rollers. Because it doesn’t have a heating system this laminator depends on rollers alone to press two plastic sheets together. A thermal laminator uses heat to laminate as well as the pressure provided by the rollers. Some laminators have automatic temperature control which is sensor operated, auto shut off and surface cooling.

Different materials including paper, vinyl and even wood with (some laminators) can be laminated. The benefits are that it covers items entirely and -
Improves the overall appearance of your project and glossy lamination
improves the colours of prints and photos.
Cannot stain, scratch resistant, and will remain in good condition for a long time
Does not tear easily, easy to clean and can protect material from fading (UV resistant film)
The first and most important step for laminating is to put your document into the correct size pouch. You need to allow for clear margins around the document being laminated to allow for the pouch to work correctly.

Documents – probably the main use. Apart from protection from spills and abrasions a laminated document can be protected from forgery.

Cards – all sorts of cards can be laminated to increase the life of the card.

The key decisions you’ll need to make when choosing a suitable laminator for your requirements are how often you will be using it, and what size you will need. There are both A3 and A4 laminators available and these both come in a wide range of specifications and price. Your initial investment in either a top of the line or budget laminator will depend greatly on your requirements.

Whether you need a laminator for your school, shop, office or home use there is a laminator on the market to suit your needs. They are relatively economical to buy and provide a cost effective way of taking great care of your documents.

We stock laminators for home and office use on this page.