Laminating something is like holding onto it forever. Be it a precious photo, a picture, a drawing, or even something you made, it can all be saved up when laminated. You do not have to worry about smudges, or it getting ruined in any other way.
While you have probably heard of this regular laminating, foil laminating is something not everyone is aware of.
This is where thin foils are used to strengthen the lamination. This is more used in the case of sensitive documents and papers which you would not want to ruin.
Since foil laminators are not an everyday purchase, new buyers usually need a little guidance. And that is exactly what you get here. The best laminator for foiling is not far ahead.
Look at some key points like the speed, size compatibility, heat adjustability, and a few others, and you will be able to buy one in no time.
Contents
| IMAGE | Product | Max Input Width (Inches) | Warm up time | Pouch Compatibility | price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Crenova | 9 | 3-5 minutes | 2 x 2.5mil~ 2 x 4mil | |
| | Blusmart | 13 | 3-5 minutes | 3 to 5 mil | |
| | Scotch Pro | 9 | 3-5 minutes | 3 to 5 mil | |
| | ABOX Pixseal Ⅱ | 13 | 3 minutes | 6(2×3) - 10(2×5)mil ＜0.5mm | |
 | Swingline | 12 | 3-5 minutes | 3 to 5 mil | |
 | UALAU | 9 | 3 minutes | 3 to 5 mil | |
 | ANNI STAR | 9 | 3 minutes | 3 to 5 mil | |
 | Bonsaii | 9 | 3-5 minutes | 3 to 5 mil |
This is a thermal laminator from Scotch that has a two-roller system to provide you with the professional finish that you desire. Having two rollers simply ensures that the final finish is smooth, wrinkle-free, and overall has no complications whatsoever.
It is simple to use, so you do not have to be a professional to operate this. But the laminations that you get are definitely high-quality. It can be used to laminate recipe cards, documents, artwork, photographs, or any other paper that you like.
The thicknesses that it can accommodate are a 3 mil or a 5 mil thick pouch. And the maximum width this machine can laminate is 9 inches. The size is pretty great for both professionals as well as users looking to get this for their homes.
Before starting the laminating process, you have to wait for it to warm up. This warm-up time can be anything between 5 and 8 minutes. Once is ready and you see the green light indicating it, you can start.
It is recommended that you do not pull on the lamination when it is coming out which can create an obstruction, and that you leave the laminated document for a while since it will be hot when it comes out.
This is the Scotch Pro, which is a little more advanced than the Scotch laminator. It too comes with a double roller design, which helps to create a clean and smooth lamination. You will not experience bubbles or wrinkles, and the process becomes fast as well.
Speaking of fast, the laminating speed of this machine is 15 inches per minute. This is a great speed, regardless of whether you using this at home or at work. It will get the job done and it will do so fast.
Coming to the size or compatibility, the maximum width on this is 9 inches. Which means you can use this to laminate an A4 sized paper. As for the thickness, anything between 3 to 5 mil pouches will work on this machine.
This machine also possesses the Never Jam technology. This means that the paper will not get stuck or it will not be interrupted when you are laminating it. Since this problem can occur when you are laminating at home, having this feature built-in is a great help.
We really love that it comes with an auto-shutoff feature too. After one hour of inactivity, the laminator will shut itself off. This helps to save and preserve energy, so it does not increase your electricity bills either.
It comes with a pouch tray that lets you insert the papers inside the pouches in a proper manner. Having this also means that the process is being done correctly, and this reduces the chances of jamming as well.
This is a 4-in-1 thermal laminator by Crenova. Besides having the laminating feature, it also has a paper trimmer and a corner rounder built into it to make the final piece more professional.
Commonly used for school projects and home offices, this laminator has a low heat up time of 3 to 5 minutes. Once ready you can get this to perform at 250 mm per minute. You can use this for efficient production, not to mention it is very fast for school children.
The maximum width that this laminator supports is 9 inches. While the thickness supported is between 2×2.5 mil and 2×4 mil.
With the ABS lever, the laminator makes sure that it does not experience any form of a paper jam. The lever releases any papers or pouches that get stuck and removes them with ease. Since this is a common and recurring problem with laminators in general, having this feature simply betters your overall work efficiency.
You get 20 laminating pouches with this as well so you can start practice with these before you you get the hang of it and then move to other work.
The Amazon basics laminator machine comes in various sizes. This one is a 9-inch laminator, which means you can put in papers with a maximum of 9 inches. From legal papers to business cards, everything can be laminated using this machine.
It comes with two heat settings. It simply gives you more control so you do not end up overheating a paper which requires lower heat. There is the 3 mil setting that is used for regular documents, photos, and card stock. And the 5 mil setting is used for thinner papers.
As for the thickness, this is compatible with any 3 or 5 mil laminating pouches.
Warmup time is four minutes only. After this, you will see the indicator light which tells you that the device is ready to start laminating.
It also has a jam release lever that easily clears out any papers that get stuck while in the process
This is a 4-in-1 laminator by UALAU. The machine has a trimmer and a corner rounder besides the laminating feature.
Alongside that, it also comes with 20 laminating pouches so you can get a head start with these if you do not have pouches already. Thanks to all these extra features this device is perfectly suitable for both work and for the home.
The maximum width of this laminator is 9 inches that let you work with an A4 sized paper. Thickness wise you can have 3 mils to 5 mil pouches. These let you work with multiple types of paper and cards, making it highly versatile.
Warm-up time for this device is between 3 and 5 minutes, which is pretty low. Following that comes the laminating speed, which is a real fast 250 mm per minute.
Moreover, it can be used for 30 minutes straight before needing a break. So whether you are at it all day as a professional or simply looking for foiling for some projects, this will be efficient enough.
To prevent paper jams as you use there is the ABS button. You just have to pull on this and it will release the jams instantly.
Since the lamination process requires a heated device, you usually have to give the machine a few minutes to heat up before it can do its job. But this time differs from machine to machine and is preferred that you get one with a low warm up time.
For professional use, you should look for laminators that have between 1 and 2-minute warm-up times. otherwise, it will delay work. If speed is not a high concern, then up to 5 minutes can be considered. However, any over that would just be too slow.
The best laminator for foil is one that has the correct foil thickness as per your requirement. With pouch laminators, you will find there is a maximum thickness provided. This is the maximum thickness the said device can support and anything below.
In most cases, this range is 80-100 microns. The least you will find is 50 microns, while one of the largest is 250 microns. If you are looking to laminate something thick, like for example passes or badges, in that case, go with one that supports a maximum of 200 microns.
Foil lamination is a complex process, and with any such process, there will be complications every now and then. But if the laminator you get does not come with anti-jam technology, then these issues will arise too often for you to work properly.
Papers will get stuck, and you will have to wait, over and over again. So look for this feature, or levers which are sometimes found with the devices, which release the papers upon lamination.
This obviously depends on what you want to laminate. Everyone has a different requirement. While a poster maker will have to look into large sizes like the A2, businesses or students will look into smaller and less wide sizes, most commonly the A4.
However, if you are unsure, it is a good decision to go with a laminator that can accommodate a larger size than what you currently need. This way you can laminate bigger pages if they ever come up in the future. And they always do!
Laminators usually come with electrical or mechanical thermostats. While they work just fine with various designs and materials of various thicknesses, having control over the heat is a good feature to have, not to mention it makes the machine more flexible. It also helps to save energy since you can use lower heat when needed.
A regular laminator can indeed be used for foiling. Just put a paper cover over your project and get laminating as usual in order to obtain beautifully foiled outputs.
Choose the type and size of foil you want to use based on the thickness of media your laminator can handle and the size of projects it can accommodate. Most models support around 80-100 microns of foil thickness.
You'd find more enhanced models with around 250 micron-capacities as well. Settle for around 200 microns when you need to frequently print thicker materials like badges and passes, etc.
There are around 28 shades of foil you can choose from. Then take a pick from the type of finishing you desire of the foil. Options include metallic, glitter, matte metallic, pigment, satin-matte, and holographic laminating foil.
Since your project that you intend to foil needs a carrier or paper cover, the best foiling machine would be a pouch laminator device that possesses adjustable speed and heat settings for maximum convenience.
The adjustable heat function is a flexible option as due to the extra cover over your project, extra heat is needed to reach the foil effectively. When laminating foils, a slower speed gets the job done more flawlessly, which is why an adjustable speed will result in better foil lamination.
The Blusmart Multiple Function Laminator, Amazon Basics Thermal Laminator, Scotch Thermal Laminator (TL901X), etc. are some of the finest foiling machines you could go for.
Amazon Basics 12-Inch Thermal Laminator Machine - Walmart Link
Laminator Machine, BONSEN 13 Inches Laminator with 50 Laminating Pouches, 4 in 1 Thermal - Walmart Link
Royal Sovereign 12" Desktop Laminating Machine with Jam Release Lever (CL-1223) , White - Walmart Link
Xyron Glaminator Foil Laminator, 9" Lamination Machine, Includes Gold Foil (628120) - Walmart Link
Amazon Basics 9-Inch Thermal Laminator Machine - Walmart Link
Zoomyo laminator Machine, with Short Warm-up time, incl. 30 Laminating Pouches in A4, A5, - Walmart Link
Laminator Machine for A3/A4/A6, YE381 Thermal Laminating Machine for Home Office School - Walmart Link
Blusmart Multiple Function Laminator - Walmart Link
Amazon Basics Thermal Laminator - Walmart Link
Scotch Thermal Laminator (TL901X), - Walmart Link
Amazon Basics 12-Inch Thermal Laminator Machine - eBay Link
Laminator Machine, BONSEN 13 Inches Laminator with 50 Laminating Pouches, 4 in 1 Thermal - eBay Link
Royal Sovereign 12" Desktop Laminating Machine with Jam Release Lever (CL-1223) , White - eBay Link
Xyron Glaminator Foil Laminator, 9" Lamination Machine, Includes Gold Foil (628120) - eBay Link
Amazon Basics 9-Inch Thermal Laminator Machine - eBay Link
Zoomyo laminator Machine, with Short Warm-up time, incl. 30 Laminating Pouches in A4, A5, - eBay Link
Laminator Machine for A3/A4/A6, YE381 Thermal Laminating Machine for Home Office School - eBay Link
Blusmart Multiple Function Laminator - eBay Link
Amazon Basics Thermal Laminator - eBay Link
Scotch Thermal Laminator (TL901X), - eBay Link
While buying a laminator, always look for one that can laminate bigger papers than what you currently need. Because trust us, that time too will come. Having a laminator in the house lets you see all the papers you would rather have protected.
When buying the best laminator for foiling, you should go through a handful of models and dig up on how each factor contributes to the result. This way you can get your hands on a really good piece that you can use for long times to come.
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About Dror Wettenstein
Dror Wettenstein is a software engineer and entrepreneur with more than 15 years of experience in the industry. He is the founder of TechTreeRepeat, a company that enables technical writers to publish their work faster and share it with readers across the globe. Dror has a master’s degree in computer science from San Diego State University and a bachelor’s degree in physics from UC Irvine.
When he’s not working on software projects, Dror enjoys writing articles and essays on various topics. He also likes playing guitar and spending time with his wife and two young children.
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