I am VERY happy with this laminator! I was debating between the AmazonBasics one and the Scotch Thermal TL901. I figured if I got the Amazon laminator & it didn't work properly, I'd just return it and buy the Scotch one. The main reason I chose the AmazonBasics one is it was $10 cheaper AND I liked the clean/sleek appearance of it. That may sound like a dumb reason to choose something, but the Scotch one is slightly larger and cheap looking.
I have been using the laminator on projects and lessons for my toddler. She loves to do puzzles and color and we were wasting a ton of paper. One of my biggest concerns or questions was if I could laminate a whole piece of computer paper and then cut it up without the layers separating. You can, in fact, do this and it works wonderfully! I DO send each sheet through the laminator twice if I know I'll be cutting it up, but it works!!! You can see the attached photo for puzzles I have made her.
I also uploaded a photo so you can see how sleek and small the laminator is. It sets on the edge of my desk when I'm using it and doesn't take up much room at all. Very happy with this purchase and with Amazon (:
How long does it take to laminate a sheet? Well, it takes about a minute per sheet. It can laminated card stock paper as well.
I have included pictures and a video of the machine so that you can see it in action and see the quality of the sheets.
I also included pictures of some crumbled pages.
I am torn 2 ways on this review. I ordered one of these last year, needed to have it for the occasional cards/documents I want to laminate. I really only used it a handful of times, and then months later, it broke. Just plain stopped working. I couldn't believe it. I thought for sure, I should surely get more than a year out of it, especially with only rare usage. But no, it didn't even last a year. I would pretty angry. It actually stopped working right in the middle of me laminating my new CPR card, it almost destroyed the card because the laminating sleeve was only half-melted onto it. I promptly sent a message to Amazon customer service and to my great surprise, they offered to immediately ship me a new one, at no cost! I was surprised, I know they have had great service in the past, but this actually FAR exceeded my expectations.
Within 2 days, I had my new laminator at my doorstep and it is working as flawlessly as the first one did on the first day. I was also able to print a return label at no cost to send the defective unit back, and I did so, gladly. So far so good. The new unit is still working. I just hope that it keeps it up, and that I can get a few years out of it, since I really don't use it all that much. I have yet to see any problems with using either 3ml or 5ml pouches, as I do have both. I also have not had any problem with the un-jam feature. So, only time will tell if this holds up. But nonetheless, I am definitely 100% pleased with Amazon's amazing customer service, even if I am still a little weary over this product. If this one breaks also, I will certainly be looking to invest in a new brand.
If you found my review at all helpful, it'd be wicked cool if you'd tap the "yes" button below. Thanks!
I bought this machine because I read an excellent review from someone who use it for foils projects. I just try my first foil card and the result is amazing. Not yet perfect but for the first time trying is super fine!.
I was looking for an affordable and reliable laminator since I was going to be using it quite often to add squares and pages to my son's PECS binder. I attached some pictures of it before I cut the sheet up and after.
The things I was most concerned about was if the laminate would stick to the paper if I cut it all up..and IT DID! I did feed it through the laminator twice for my peace of mind. It was probably unnecessary.
There was a burning smell the first couple of times I used it but it eventually went away. My sister thought I burned the pizza I had in the oven, lol.
It doesn't take the machine too long to recharge after feeding something through and was very easy.
As far as problems with the paper and pouch being crooked and crinkling when feeding it through? Set some books on either side, problem solved!
Feature Product
- Laminate documents up to 9 inches wide; compatible with letter-size, legal-size, business-card-size, and photo-size papers
- Two heat settings: for best results, use '3mil' heat setting for normal documents, photos, and card stock; use '5mil' setting for thinner papers (note: mil refers to thickness of lamination film)
- Works with any 3 mil or 5 mil laminating pouch; includes two 3-mil-thick, 8.9-by-11.4-inch laminating pouches
- Compact design - ideal for any home office or classroom
- Quick 4-minute warm up with ready indicator light; jam release lever for easy clearing
- Note: Reading the full user manual is recommended prior to the first use of this product
- NOTE:Try release button when get stuck
- Ships in Certified Frustration-Free Packaging
Description
An Amazon Brand.
Edit April 2014: After 6 months of use and hundreds of sheets laminated, it still works perfectly.
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Pretty straight forward laminator that works as you expect.
I use a pro grade one at my office, heavy duty, heats fast and the rollers run quickly to laminate a lot of sheets fast. Bought this one for the home office.
I'm using 5mil sheets with it, the results are perfect, no complaints. Unlike a pro grade heat laminator, you do not use a protective sheet/ pouch with this one. I tried it and the lamination did not melt together sufficiently. Re-read the instructions (RTFM!!) and it did not mention using one, so I re-ran the sheet without it and it came out perfect- sealed, glossy, flat, firm.
Here's what you give up with this fantastic price- it is really slow. The feed rollers turn very slowly. If you are occasionally laminating a few sheets for home or school use, or occasional office use, get it, it'll work great. If you have to have dozens of sheets laminated for work tomorrow or use it regularly, get a pro laminator because you'll be up all night waiting for this thing to process all of those sheets. Considering that we paid a few hundred for the one at the office, that this one gives the same finished results for less than 1/10 the cost is incredible. Add to that that 3mil and 5mil sheets in hundred packs here at Amazon are dirt cheap, you have a winning combo.
Overall, I like it and the price can not be beat. Compact, does the job, etc. Fits in a drawer until I need it. We'll see if it lasts.
Everything that I've bought with the Amazon Basics label has worked well.
Overall this laminator is fine, but not great. It works well for most of what I have used it for so far. I have noticed on smaller items like luggage tags/business cards they well stop feeding near the end and they'll have to be pulled out from the back side (and they're still hot). The other day I actually had one get jammed inside that required disassembling it to remove the item from the rollers (fairly easy though). It certainly looks cheaply made, but for the money it works fine.
Easy to open, setup, and start using. From the moment it was delivered, it took me about 3 minutes to open, setup, and read the directions. (I didn't really need to do this, but having never used a laminator before, it seemed like a good idea.)
I turned it on and it warmed up in a couple minutes. I ran each sheet through once, and they looked great.
This was all I needed to complete my Pinterest project of "sending kisses". Each piece was small and I cut them out after. No issues and the plastic sealed well around the edges, even after I cut them.
I had seen other reviews that said the page could pull one way or the other and become crooked. I ran several sheets through, and didn't experience this at all.
Easy to use. Good quality. Small footprint. Highly recommend.
I can't tell you how much I love this laminator! I am a first grade teacher and I do a lot of lamination, which is actually an understatement. In fact I laminate everything I put on my classroom walls -- and my walls are covered with word walls, center information, behavior charts, "I can" statements, learning targets, DOIL's, and data. This little gem has saved me an immeasurable amount of time and frustration. I no longer have to wait for the school laminator to heat or be re-filled with laminating film. I am able to laminate right in my classroom when I have an extra minute and hang items immediately. What a time saver -- and any elementary school teacher knows that every second we can save during our work day is worth our weight in gold! And it even has settings for 3mm and 5mm weights of paper.
Be sure to purchase the Amazon brand laminating pouches. I'm sure other brands might work in this laminator but the Amazon pouches are very economical -- $12.00 and change for 100 pouches. But the best part is that your finished laminated sheet will be sturdier than the product your school laminator produces. A real money saver since you will not need to print your items on card stock -- regular weight copy paper will be just fine.
At the price point Amazon is asking for this laminator and pouch bundle you can't go wrong! Teachers, you NEED this! Believe me!
So I bought this laminator because I have a small part time machine shop and I wanted to laminate some of my sketches, order pages and reference sheets to keep them clean and safe. It dose 3mil and 5mil laminating. I only really use 5mil stuff because it is much tougher for the environment I want to use it in. I was considering a several hundred dollar unit that did 8mil when I noticed this one and figured for the price I would give it a try.
I held off on writing the review for a while to see how the unit did and now that I have well north of 100 sheets and I have no idea how many 3x5 cards threw this thing I am comfortable letting you know how it did.
So the good the bad and the ugly. It takes a little time to warm up but so what, all laminators do and this one seems to warm up faster than the industrial fossil that exists at my day job. The feed is smooth, and I have not had any problems with it. I put it on a desk so that the page is supported at table top level going in and out and have never had a wrinkle or any issue with in feed or outfeed. I found no need to put a book to make it level with the feed roles, but again I only use 5mil product. The speed is not bad and I am notorious for feeding this thing nonstop once it warms up. After the green light is on the first time I simply ignore if it goes out and feed page after page, I have had no problems and the pages come out great. The top of the unit gets hot, so don’t leave things on there or go touching it mid run. The only down side is I wish they made one that did 8mil, 5 mil is fine and durable but 8mil would be a little harder to kill in my shop. The ugly is it is tan, not bright white and not a cool grey or black. I remember thinking it looked white when I ordered it, I wish they made it in grey or black, when it arrived it was a mil tan color. On a positive the color has not changed with use so heat is not affecting it.
Not much more I can say, it’s a good product, I would recommend it over spending hundreds on an industrial model.
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