Lamination of documents will be impossible without laminating pouches. When it comes to laminating with a machine, pouches are so much essential. In fact, laminating pouches can be used outside of a laminating machine if they are self-sealing.
They make lamination very easy and straightforward. Before the introduction of laminating pouches, people protected their documents with transparent packing tape; this did not do enough justice when it came to making paper waterproof, but it was significant to some extent.
To date, some people still make use of clear packing tape to protect paper from damage. It is pretty economical compared to using laminating pouches. However, using packing tape is much more stressful. You could spend minutes laminating an A4 paper when you do that with a laminator in a few seconds.
So you can also see that laminating pouches make lamination so much easier. To laminate documents in a pouch, all you have to do is place the document inside the pouch and run it through a pouch laminator. It is as simple as that.
Pouches work best for individual documents; however, you can laminate multiple smaller documents in a single pouch. You can choose to laminate all together at the same time before cutting or cutting the pouches before laminating. You should pick whichever option suits you best.
Pouches are pretty different from laminating sheets. They are made of two thin separate layers of plastic, sealed together on one side. It looks like a transparent plastic book that can open and give you a pouch/pocket to put in your documents.
Pouches have a unique adhesive inside them. This adhesive can either be laminated by heat or by pressure. In some cases, however, it requires both factors to activate it. In the following subheading, I will discuss the different types of laminating pouches, depending on how the adhesive is activated.
Using a pouch laminator is very easy, though. As soon as you are ready to laminate, place your document in the laminating pouch and load the pouch into the laminator. Ensure the sealed side of the pouch goes in first. The laminator will do the remaining work for you and produce a long-lasting laminated document.
Types of Laminating Pouches
Before purchasing Laminating pouches, you need to know the different types and which will work with your laminator. In the subsequent subheading, I will discuss the types of Laminating pouches that work with GBC Laminators, but for now, let’s get to know the various styles.
Basically, Laminating pouches come in different sizes, finishes, and thicknesses, and trust me, they are vast that you can not know them all. However, these subcategories fall under two major categories, namely, cold pouches and thermal pouches.
Thermal pouches are very common and so much involved with laminating machines. These thermal pouches will require heat from a pouch laminator in order to activate the adhesive necessary for sealing documents. As I mentioned earlier, thermal pouches are more common and provide better and more professional laminates.
Cold pouches, on the other hand, do not require the help of a laminating machine. To seal a document with a cold laminating pouch, all you need to do is apply pressure to it. In essence, you are allowed to close the pouch by hand, as opposed to using a machine for thermal pouches.
So, before you can purchase a laminating pouch, you need to consider if you own a pouch laminator or not. If you are using a pouch laminator, you can buy thermal pouches; however, if you don’t own a laminator, you can get the self-sealing cold laminating pouches.
It would help if you considered this before other things like the size, finishes, thickness, etc., of the laminating pouches. Do you own a GBC laminator? If yes, the following paragraph is definitely for you.
What Pouches Work With GBC Laminators?
Just like Scotch, GBC is quite popular among manufacturers of laminating machines. GBC Laminators are great when it comes to lamination quality and are also known for their affordable prices. GBC Laminators also come in different types like Roll and Pouch Laminators.
If you are using the GBC Roll Laminator, then you have no business with these pouches. You can use laminating sheets that come in rolls with your Roll Laminators. However, if you are using a GBC Pouch Laminator, you will need to know the type of pouches that will work with it.
Since you will be using the pouches with a laminator, what you will need only are thermal pouches. You can get thermal pouches from stores around you or easily order online from Amazon. However, GBC also manufacturers some sets of thermal pouches that might interest you.
EZThermal Pouches
With this set of thermal pouches, you no longer have to make mistakes while aligning your documents in laminating pouches. The EZThermal Pouches come with alignment guides and mil thickness indicators directly on the pouch.
The guides help you keep your documents even while arranging them in the pouch, making them very easy to use. If you are not so good or new to laminating with pouches, you might go for this set of pouches to help develop your skill and reduce errors.
UltraClear Thermal Pouches
With the GBC UltraClear Thermal Pouches, you can create clear and crisp documents with the best professional look and touch. You can now say bye to rough lamination due to bad laminating pouches.
The UltraClear Thermal Laminating pouches are available in different formats, including standard and speed formats. One unique feature about the GBC UltraClear Thermal Pouches is that they are designed for a wide range of jobs.
You don’t own a GBC Laminator? Check this.
Even if you do not have a GBC Laminator yet, you are not left out from using some of the GBC SelfSeal Cold Pouches. You do not require a pouch laminator to seal your documents with these laminating pouches.
All you have to do is peel the backing that comes with the cold pouches and seal it with your hands. If you need a quick laminating job that involves only a few documents, you can opt for the GBC SelfSeal Cold Pouches. They are also effortless to use.
Conclusion
The GBC Laminating pouches are also quite affordable compared to other laminating pouches around. However, the price depends on the size you are buying and the quantity that comes with a particular set. For example, the GBC UltraClear Laminating Pouch, Letter Size, can be gotten for as low as $15.
The GBC Crystal Thermal Laminating Pouches, and Menu Size cost around $40 on Amazon; The Legal size of the same products costs as high as $100. Once you know the size you need, you can select which one you want. Remember that it is not mandatory that you only use GBC Laminating pouches in GBC Laminators.