A laminator in the classroom can go a long way in making the teacher’s job easier. This article provides all you need to know about the best laminating machine for teachers and educators as we picked our 9 best laminators for teachers. It also includes the most common and valuable hot and cold lamination options. Follow along now!
9 Best Laminators for Teachers – Our Picks
#1. Amazon Basics 9-Inch Thermal Laminator Machine
This laminating machine is available in a variety of sizes. It can laminate letters, business cards, photos, legal-size documents, and more. And it features two 3-mil-thick laminating pouches with an 8.9×11.4-inch dimension and a weight of 2.64 pounds. Also, this type of laminator is easy to use and can warm up within four minutes. The Amazon Basics 9-Inch Thermal Laminator Machine laminates at a speed of 270 mm per minute. Besides, it comes with LED lights that indicate “on” and “ready.”
Pros:
- It doesn’t require cardstock to print your items. A regular-weight copy paper will do just fine.
- It’s a real time-saver.
- It features a jam-release lever for easy clearing.
- It’s compatible with a letter, business cards, and photo-size papers.
- It laminates documents up to 9 inches wide.
- It can accommodate three mils to 5 mil pouches.
Cons:
- It doesn’t have an auto turn off
- It jams with a 10 mil butterfly pouch.
#2. Scotch TL901X Thermal Laminator
The Scotch TL901X Thermal Laminator provides an easy solution for a school or home project. This type of laminator comes with a two-temperature setting and a two-roller system. Additionally, it can laminate items up to 9 inches wide and about five mil thickness pouches. The gadget utilizes a four-step lamination process, which enables it to laminate premium-quality documents. The product weighs 1 pound and has dimensions of approximately 6.75 x 15.5 x 3.75 inches.
Pros:
- The laminating machine is ideal for use with photos.
- It’s suitable for use in the classroom, office, or home.
- The Scotch TL901X Thermal Laminator has an updated finish and color.
- It can laminate pouches with a 5-millimeter thickness.
Cons:
- It generates a lot of heat.
#3. MaxDone A3 Laminating Machine
The MaxDone A3 comes with a corner rounder, a paper trimmer, and twelve top-quality pouches. It’s also double-purpose since it has both cold and heat options.
The MaxDone A3 laminator can heat up within 90 seconds and works with a speed of 250mm per minute. Jamming issues are handled with a state-of-the-art ABS button, making it one of its many great features. The MaxDone A3 is portable and easy to handle.
Pros:
- It has a fast warm-up time.
- It has both cold and heat laminating options, which are great for photographs.
- Portable and lightweight
Cons:
- It can’t handle massive projects.
#4. Swingline Thermal Plus Laminator
The Swingline Laminator is a state-of-the-art lamination machine that has both cold and hot laminating options. The cold laminating feature requires a sensitive adhesive pouch, which you buy separately. The Swingline Laminator weighs about 2.5 pounds and is 11 x 11.7 x 13.2″ in dimension. This machine warms up after 4 minutes and works at a 9mm speed per minute. It has an indicator light that shows that the device is on and ready for operation. The Swingline Laminator, just like many other modern laminators, has an ABS button for preventing paper jams.
Pros:
- It can perform back-to-back laminations for standard papers.
- It has both cold and hot laminating options.
- You can quickly alternate between different pouch thicknesses.
- It can perform up to 50 laminations in the space of 2 hours.
Cons:
- Can perform back-to-back laminations for two sheets of cardstock.
- It’s not suitable for heavy-duty usage.
#5. GBC Foton 30 Automated Pouch-Free Laminator
The machine is an automatic laminator that offers hands-off work. Also, it features automatic film thickness detection and auto-shutoff. The GBC Foton 30 Automated Pouch-Free Laminator can laminate about 230 documents per film. Besides, it laminates odd-sized craft items and oversized documents. And it comes with a sensor to minimize the wastage of film. The gadget has a dimension of 15.3 x 22.4 x 27.8 inches and a weight of 32.1 pounds. This topline laminator is well-suited for teachers who do much laminating.
Pros:
- It’s an entirely automatic machine. No more hand trimming or hand feeding
- The gadget can detect automatically if it’s a three or five mil cartridge.
- It features a manual mode for odd-shaped items like craft pieces or stars.
- It has a 50′ starter cartridge. And the cartridges require no hook-up or attachment to lift in and out.
Cons:
- This laminating machine is heavy and big. Hence it’s not portable.
#6. Sinchi Heavy Duty Commercial Laminator
The Sinchi Heavy Duty Lamination Machine is one of the best laminators for classroom use. The jam-free design of the rollers makes a jam nearly impossible, most misfed pouches will go through and complete the lamination. It is ideal for school, and office use.
The combination of a 48-second warm-up & maximum 40 inches/minute speed saves you valuable time on lamination projects. It takes only four minutes to laminate ten 3-mil letter-size pouches.
Pros:
- The gadget is sturdy and portable.
- Versatile, no waiting when switching from thinner to thicker pouches
- The laminating machine is user-friendly.
Cons:
- Not as quiet as entry-level laminators
Types of Laminators
Laminators generally come in various sizes or shapes, suitable for home, office, and industrial uses. They are all structured with different filming processes. The three main types of laminators include:
1. Pouch Laminators
Pouch laminators are the smallest and most common types of laminators. You find them in homes, schools, and office environments. Pouch laminators can be placed comfortably on a small desk, table, or shelf. This type of laminator is straightforward to operate. To use a pouch laminator, you insert the paper inside the gadget. Besides, the pouch has a seal at one end. However, you need to toggle the paper against the pouch’s sealed end since it’s the part that goes into the machine. Furthermore, you use the film to seal up the back and front of the paper. Pouch laminators are the cheapest types of laminators available in the market.
2. Heated-Roller Laminators
Heated-roller laminators come with lamination rolls. The hot rollers apply melted glue to the film. Besides, you can place the laminated paper in between the rollers. This glue solidifies as it cools off, and as the paper passes between the rollers, this glue seals both sides of the paper. Heated-roller laminators are super fast and are most suitable for laminating items in large amounts, like pages of a book. The great thing about heated roll laminators is you set thickness levels for films at different levels. The downside yet to this machine is not all types of materials can pass through a heated-roller laminator, e.g., metal, plastic, leaves, and certain kinds of paper.
3. Cold-Roll Laminators
Cold-roll laminators are most suitable for paper types that are sensitive to heat. The film envelops the page and sticks to it without the use of heat. This kind of laminator is more dynamic than the heated roll because it can fit many different situations and purposes. Cold-roll laminators can also work without electricity. They function without any real heat or speed setting. Another upside is that since they don’t use heat, they can’t damage sensitive materials like photographs. Cold-Roll are useful for making labels and stickers.
9 Best Laminators for Teachers – Final Thoughts
You have seen it all. These are some of the best laminating machines for teachers and educators available in the market today. It’s always best to go for a laminator with cold and heat options to make the most of your purchase. This way, you can perform as many laminating tasks on any number or type of material.
The nine laminators mentioned above are also suitable for domestic and commercial use, making it a huge plus for small business owners. From all we’ve discussed in this article, it shouldn’t be too hard to come up with a great choice that fits your specific day-to-day needs as a teacher or an educator.