Finding the perfect laminating machine can be a difficult task in today’s modern market.
It’s important to navigate your way through the pros and cons of certain makes and models to get the one that suits your needs and for the right price.
Although we are all familiar with what we want from a standard laminator, there has been such innovation and development in these sort of devices over the recent decades, that keeping up with technology can often be hard.
Our guide will take you through the many layers and aspects of laminators, helping you come to the right decision.
First of all, it is important to understand what you need the laminator for, how often you will use it and to what specifications.
Only when you have reached this conclusion will you be prepared to make your choice.
See Our Best Home & Office Laminators
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Best For Higher Budgets
1GBC A3 Fusion 3000L Home and Office Laminator
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| 5
Best Overall
5Leitz iLam A4 Home Office Laminator
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Best For Low Budgets
6Blusmart 7 in 1 Deluxe Laminator Set
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1. GBC A3 Fusion 3000L Home and Office Laminator
- Laminates documents in 30 seconds.
- Quick one-minute warm-up.
- Audible tones so you the device is ready.
- Optional cold sealing feature.
Combining some of the best features a modern laminator can offer, the GBC A3 Fusion 3000L is one of the best on the modern market for its price.
The speedy process of laminating your item takes no more than 30 seconds to complete the entire process.
Like all laminators, this model must be set to warm before it can be functional. This model takes less than a minute to warm up and lets the user know by its audible tones.
For those who wish to use a cold setting, this model allows you to choose to use either the traditional heated setting or the cold sealing feature.
Specifications
Pros
- Adjustable pouch guide.
- Compact design.
- Laminated multiple sizes, from small to A3.
- Two-year warranty.
Cons
- Higher price tag.
2. Fellowes L80 A4 Home Laminator
- Automatic shut off feature.
- 100% jam-free guarantee.
- Small and sleek design.
- Manual lever on the side of the device.
It is very rare to find a laminator that comes with a 100% jam-free guarantee, yet this is exactly what you get with the Fellowes L80.
Coming with a set of free laminating pouches, the low price tag doesn’t seem enough for all the free extras. This, along with its small and sleek design, makes the Fellows L80 a perfect addition to the office or at home.
With patented pouches made especially for this laminator, with guided arrows printed on the side, creating accurate lamination is so easy, even a beginner can do it.
One of this laminator’s best features is the automatic shut off, saving you energy whenever the laminating is finished.
Specifications
Pros
- Comes equipped with laminating pouches.
- Great value for money.
- Speedy lamination process.
- Directional arrows help make lamination precise.
Cons
- Can only use their branded pouches.
3. Rexel Home and Office Laminator
- Heats up in four minutes.
- Laminates a range of sizes from passport photos to A4.
- Easy release lever to remove jams.
- Cold setting included.
Perfect for the keen home crafter or organiser, this compact laminator from Rexel is the perfect addition for any home.
At just 1.5kg, this model is easy to store out of sight and can be moved with no trouble when you’re ready to use it.
The machine is good to go in just four minutes – the time it takes to reach optimum laminating temperature.
Perfect for protecting everything from smaller ID-sized photos to larger A4 posters, this can come in handy for a number of different jobs.
If you do encounter a problem whilst laminating, the handy release level will help you to remove any jams, so that you can get back to that all-important laminating. For any other problems, you’re covered for at least a year with the manufacturer’s warranty.
Specifications
Pros
- The compact design makes it easy to store.
- Quickly heats up for instant use.
- One-year warranty included.
- Laminates up to 125 microns in thickness.
Cons
- No laminating pouches included.
- End of the page can ripple if left unattended.
4. Texet LMA4-V A4 Laminator
- Heavy-duty, making it robust.
- Only takes a minute to warm up and ready to use.
- Thin in size, allowing it to sit on tabletops.
- Great price tag.
The Texet LMA4-V laminator combines a slick mobile design with a heavy-duty material that makes it very robust.
This sturdiness makes this laminator perfect for continuous use over and over again. Taking only a few short minutes to warm up, you will be laminating your favourite pictures and documents in no time.
Its thin design makes it ideal for sitting on tabletops or storing without much trouble.
Taking a lot of different sized pouches, you are able to laminate a huge variety of different items with ease.
The ultra-quiet motor also means this laminator can be used in the office time and time again without disturbing colleagues.
Specifications
Pros
- Can use a number of different pouches.
- One year warranty.
- Very quiet motor.
- Lighting indicators to tell you when it’s ready.
Cons
- Can’t laminate smaller objects.
5. Leitz iLam A4 Home Office Laminator
- The audible feature lets you know it’s ready to go.
- Automatic temperature setting.
- Cold and hot laminating techniques.
- Creates water and airtight laminations.
One of the top laminators on the market, the Leitz iLam A4 offers everything you could wish for in a modern laminator.
Offering both heated and cold laminating, the device means you are free from possible burn-related accidents and don’t even need power to get the perfect laminated documents.
Alongside this universality, the Leitz iLam A4 provides users with audible signals to let you know when the laminator is ready to be used. As well as the audible signal, there are a series of lights that will turn green, again signalling when the time is ready.
Once the laminator begins the process, it is completed in just under a few seconds – making the whole process super quick.
To save users electricity, the Leitz iLam A4 also has a shutoff feature that kicks in when the device is no longer in use.
Specifications
Pros
- Super quick lamination time.
- Easy to use on-off switches.
- Great value for money.
- Automatic shut off.
Cons
- Special pouches needed for cold lamination.
6. Blusmart 7 in 1 Deluxe Laminator Set
- Include corner rounder.
- Added hole puncher.
- Paper cutter attachment.
- Adjustable to laminate different sizes of documents
Considered to be one of the best laminators on the market and rightly so, the Blusmart 7 in 1 does exactly as it is named and offers more than just your average laminating needs.
Combining the technology of both thermal and cold laminating, this laminator provides users with many ways of laminating their documents.
As well as lamination, the Blusmart 7 in 1 has a built-in paper cutter and hole puncher, allowing a much more refinement to your laminated documents.
There’s also no limit to the sizes of documents you can laminate, as you ae able to adjust the device as you go.
To complete the overall value you for money, the Blusmart 7 in 1 comes with 20 free pouches, allowing you to begin your laminating straight away.
Specifications
Pros
- Supports thermal and cold laminating techniques.
- Comes equipped with 20 free pouches.
- Photo frames and book rings also thrown in.
Cons
- Large device.
Laminator Buying Guide
Laminator Types
As is the case with many modern devices, laminators come in a verity of different types and forms, often making it difficult to choose the right one for you.
Main laminators can be divided into two main types: pouches laminators and roll laminators.
We’ll take you through the advantages and disadvantages of both the main types of laminator, allowing you to come to the right decision. Also, be sure to check our inkjet printer reviews!
Pouches Laminator
A pouches laminator is a laminator that uses pouches which open up similar to a folder, the piece you wish to be laminated is placed inside the pouch before it goes through the machine.
Using the heat from the machine, the two sides of the pouch melt and a fuse together, sealing the piece inside.
The pouches that are used by a pouches laminator come in a variety of different shapes and sizes and are often the more affordable option.
Advantages of using a pouches type laminator are the universality of the design, its affordability and numerous shapes, thicknesses and sizes.
Pouches laminators are ideal for producing small scale laminations and are mostly used as a home laminator for this reason.
Roll Laminator
The other main type of laminator on the market is the roll laminator.
Roll laminators are ideal and perfect for people who laminate in large quantities.
As they are the more economical laminator and are ideal for large numbers of laminating, roll laminators are the best choice when looking for an office laminator.
A roll laminator works by using two separate rolls of lamination film on either side and as the lamination and item passes through the rolls, and the adhesive seals the item inside.
Alongside using them for a large number of laminated pieces, roll laminators are great for laminating large objects such as posters or signs. And hey, if you don’t like the results, you can always use a paper shredder!
Cold Or Warm Prints
Although we associate laminators with high temperatures and melting heat, there is more than one kind of laminating technique, using both cold and warm approaches.
Laminators that use heat do so by passing two layers of plastic film through hot rollers and fusing the plastic together.
The advantage of using heated laminators is the fact that the parts are generally cheaper and more accessible than any other type of laminator.
The other kind of laminating technique is known as cold laminating and is far rarer but has its one set of advantages and disadvantages.
Cold laminators rely more on pressure than heat so this makes them perfect for maintaining items that are sensitive to the heat of traditional laminators.
Although the cold laminating machines are not too expensive to buy, the laminating pouches can be.
If you are opting to laminate things such as precious family photos, carbon copy documents and items that already have adhesive on them.
Without the need for heat, cold laminators do not amount anything toxic; they are also less likely to result in accidents such as burns.
Size
Laminators come in a variety of different shapes and sizes. From the smallest home laminators to the biggest industrial-sized models, there is a lot to choose from.
Knowing which size laminator to go for depends on what you are using the laminator for and what size items you’re choosing to laminate with the machine.
Two of the most common sizes of laminating machines are A3 and A4 laminators and knowing which is the right one for your task can depend on a number of different things. The best A3 laminator on the market is best used for posters or large scale media items.
This size of laminators is usually reserved for schools, large offices or media outlets.
Unless you want to feed numerous pieces through your laminator and create bigger pieces of media, an A3 laminator is not a great option for the home and is best left for the workplace or for industrial use.
Those looking for a home laminator are often looking for the best A4 laminator. A4 laminators are usually smaller in size and often use the pouch or cold technique to seal the lamination on the items.
A4 sized laminators are great for home use, for laminating smaller items such as ID cards, certificates and all manner of routine laminating tasks.
If you are looking for an affordable laminator and one you can use comfortably at home, then it is advisable to go for an A4 sized laminator, for which there are many on the modern market.
Laminating Volume
When buying a laminator, it is important to understand the volume of laminating you are planning to do.
Certain makes and brands of laminators will simply not be able to take a high volume of laminating on a continuous basis, without compromising the quality of the item or the integrity of the laminator.
Laminators can be broken down into three different categories, all depending on their laminating volume ability. Choosing the right one of the categories depends on the volume of laminating you are planning on doing.
Laminators that are to be used occasionally and have a low volume of production are ideal for the home or office and are often only used a couple of times a month, any more than this and the quality is sure to drop.
The second volume level is usually classed as a moderate use volume and is a device you will usually use a few times of a week.
Those users looking for a laminator with a high volume output should opt for a device that comes into the frequent category.
These types of laminators are designed to be used on a daily basis and in medium to large offices.
It is important to think about the volume of laminating that you are doing; this way, you are able to weigh up the type of laminator you need with ease.
Pricing Range
The pricing range of laminators can vary hugely depending on the make, type, amount of volume of production and quality.
Starting from around £14, a cheap laminator will not set you back too much but may leave you a lot to be desired.
Laminators at the lower end of the pricing range may be affordable, but they can be temperamental and have a low laminating volume.
The lower end of the spectrum will also be home to devices that have limited capabilities and next to no features.
This being said, if you need a laminator that you are only going to use infrequently and for small, simple tasks, a cheap laminator is fine.
At the high end of the pricing range, the best laminator machine can reach into the hundred and even the many hundreds mark.
These high-end laminators are able to deal with high volumes of lamination and will provide top quality results every time.
Frequently Asked Questions
Although the laminators can vary from model to model and type to type, there is a general method to using the common type of laminator, the pouches type.
First, you must turn the device on and wait for the laminator to heat up. You must then determine the size of the item and choose the right sized pouch accordingly.
Place the time you want laminating into the pouch and place the pouch into the protective carrier.
Finally, turn on the motorised feature and run the whole thing through the laminator, this should complete the whole process with a laminated item and the finish.
Our Verdict
As is the case with a lot of modern office devices, it is important to determine what you are going to use the laminator for before you decide on purchasing one for yourself.
As we can see from the review, laminators come in all shapes and sizes, specialising in all manner of different techniques and types of lamination.
By figuring out how often you wish to use your laminator, and at what volume you wish to get from the device, you will be able to narrow down your choice considerably.
There are devices on the market that would not look out of place in the industrial and professional printing trade; these may be simply too much for you.
On the other hand, there are simple, almost insignificant devices that the regular user would part within an instant.
Put simply, understanding your requirements will help you on your way to choosing the right laminator for you.
