6 Best Laminator Machines to Buy to Safeguard Your Documents, Photos, and More [GUIDE]
Kelly Brook
Updated:
Apr 8th, 2024
Got some documents, photos, menus, or kid’s artworks that need laminating for better preservation yet can’t decide which laminator machine to buy? Don’t worry. When we first looked for the Best Laminator for our office, it took us a while to find the one that fits our needs. It took us about 10 websites, countless hours on Amazon, reading tons of reviews, and multiple testing before concluding that the APLY-PAPER x TOPELEX was the overall best. It offered the full-end features suitable for our daily production, including tools that make laminating artworks, cards, and markers trouble-free.
We know that the market is full of options, and knowing which one works best for your everyday hustle can be hard to find. So, to spare you the stress of going through the same struggle we had in finding the PERFECT LAMINATOR that fits your needs, we’ll share our Top 6 Recommendations for the Best Laminator Machine for 2022. Check out our guide to know what to look for in a laminator machine for better value.
Read along!
If you’re constantly dealing with multiple batches of documents and photos that need laminating, and you want speed and convenience to be on your side, our best recommendation is the LamixZeal.
The LamixZeal comes with a fast-heating technology that heats up the laminating slot in 3 minutes seconds. The machine also comes with a 320mm/min laminating speed that can help you make 75 laminated pieces in just one hour.
We love how the LamixZeal comes with an anti-jam lever that makes fixing jams easier.
One of the best features of the LamixZeal is its professional sealing technology. The machine features just the right temperature that seals the sheets tight. The result was always a smooth seal without bubbles, folding, or flimsy edges.
Another thing that really made us love the LamixZeal is its safety features. You won’t risk burning, or you won’t get laminated sheets melted from overheating. The overheating controls make this machine a win.
The overall size of LamixZeal plus its design allow users to laminate A4 sheets, small receipts, photos, notes, and many more.
Portable but versatile, the LamixZeal is great for home, office, and school use.
Recommended Features
- Our#1 Popular Choice
- Fast-heating laminating machine
- Heats up in 3 minutes and sustains heat all throughout
- Includes anti-jam lever
- Professional seal technology
- Constant temperature of 115-145 degrees C
- Plastic thickness is 600-100 mic
- Laminating size range is A4 and below
- Includes laminating inlet of 230mm
- Smooth seal with no folds and bubbles
- Exclusive 50% Off Deal
Editor's Pick
If you’ve had an experience where a laminating machine has ruined your photos and color-filled documents, we recommend a better alternative: the LarexStar.
The LarexStar comes with two laminating modes: hot and cool. The hot setting is for typical paper documents that don’t come with films or coloring. The cold lamination option is for items that are more sensitive to losing colors and ink.
Among the machines we reviewed, the LarexStar stands out as the fastest when it comes to getting the heat of the laminator up. You only need a 2-minute warm-up for this machine.
This laminator comes with a constant heating temperature of 115-145 degrees C.
The LarexStar also features an impressive laminating speed at 320mm/minute.
You will love the anti-jam lever included in the laminating machine’s design. With just one press of the lever, you can deal with accidental folds ASAP.
The LamixStar package also comes with all the items you will be needing to laminate documents and photos. You will have 30 thermal pouches, a fixed paper cutter, a corner rounder, and a puncher.
A 230mm inlet is also included to help reduce paper jams and laminating errors.
We love that it includes a corner rounder for a more professional looking finish on your laminated products.
The thermal pouches come in A4, A5, and A6 sizes.
Key Features
- With 2 laminating modes - hot and cool
- Warms up in 2 minutes
- Has a constant temperature of 115-145 degrees C
- Laminating speed at 320mm/minute
- Comes with an anti-jam lever
- Hot setting makes strong seal for documents
- Cold setting great for photos and documents prone to color transfer
- Includes a corner rounder, paper cutter, puncher, 30 thermal pouches
- Caters to A4, A5, and A6 sizes.
If a laminating machine with backward compatibility is what is on your radar, we recommend the JaxLaminate.
The JaxLaminate’s backward-compatible design allows you to run the laminating seal one more time for that ultra-efficient seal.
This laminating machine warms up in 3 minutes, and can sustain a 115-145 degrees C temperature.
What impressed us about the JaxLaminate is its intelligent temperature control that automatically matches the heat with the type of document you’re printing. No need to manually adjust.
The sizes that the JaxLaminate can make range from below A4 to A5, and A6.
The JaxLaminate comes with a fast-sealing capacity of 320mm/second. In an hour, you can make up to 70 seals.
We also love that it has a corner rounder – a perfect feature for anyone who hates pointy edges for their laminated items.
The JaxLaminate comes with the basic must-haves of a laminating package including 5 thermal laminator sheets (5 A4/A5/A6), 1 corner rounder, and 1 hole puncher.
Key Features
- Warms up in 3 minutes
- Comes in a constant heat temperature of 115-145 degrees C.
- Machine determines the best heat setting for your document
- Caters to sizes ranging from A4 to A6.
- Sealing speed is at 320mm/second.
- Comes with a corner rounder.
- Includes 15 thermal sheets, 1 corner rounder, 1 hole puncher
Does your project require you to laminate more than standard A4 document sizes? If so, you want your laminator machine to support wider widths to get everything done in just one device. And for such requirements, our best bet is the CARTINEER Laminator Machine.
This one supports up to 13″ or A3-sized documents so that you can laminate not just regular documents or photos but also charts, frameworks, and more which are often printed on A3-sized papers. With its excellent width support and 250mm/min lamination speed, all your office or business lamination needs are handled in just one simple, easy-to-use device.
We appreciate that the CARTINEER is also flexible in laminating different paper types. It’s also equipped with a hot and cold lamination system and a 3-in-1 paper trimmer that can cut straight, perforated, and wave patterns. A corner rounder is also included to cut those pointy edges for safety, especially if you’re planning to use this at home.
What’s more? You can also expect smooth and efficient lamination since it’s equipped with a double-rail heating system that ensures no bubbles, wrinkling, or curling edges finish. There’s a jam release button on the device to easily reset lamination in case of errors or off-centered placement so that your document stays in good condition.
No doubt, the CARTINEER is an excellent option if you’re looking for a laminator that does more than just the regular A4 lamination. It’s quick and takes only 3 to 4 minutes to warm up, which is decent for a device that supports big files. It can even work continuously regardless of how many documents you wish to laminate in one go.
Key Features
- Best for A3-sized documents
- Supports hot and cold lamination
- Fast and efficient lamination with 250mm/min speed
- Equipped with a 3-in-1 paper trimmer and corner rounder
- Built with a double-rail heating system and jam release button
- Designed with overheating protection system
- Low electricity consumption
- Suitable for all types of papers and pouches
- Perfect for office and at-home office setups
The APLY-PAPER is our absolute favorite because it supports a variety of lamination styles suitable for your art, office documents, and even home use. Whether you want a basic, glossy, or matte finish, this device can handle all of it — you just have to use the required laminating pouch for each particular style. Its lamination system comes with hot and cold methods, so working with various paper types or pouches is possible. And it’ll only take one press of a button to switch between systems, which is highly appreciated if you’re laminating different documents, cards, or markers with heat-sensitive inks.
Of course, the APLY-PAPER’s operation is also one of its best assets. Unlike other devices that take time to warm up, this one only requires you to wait for about 2 minutes to work. Even more impressive is that once the device is thoroughly warmed up, you don’t have to continuously cool it down to laminate documents and photos one after the other to avoid overheating.
Further, the APLY-PAPER is designed with a two-roller setup to ensure smooth and fast laminating without bubbles, wrinkles, and curling edges. And with its 5-in-1 set of tools, getting that perfect finish — whether trimming down the size or corner rounding the edges — is made 100% easy for you. You can even press the jam release button in case of an error, and your document will stay in good condition.
Overall, the APLY-PAPER is built to make lamination convenient regardless of your purpose. Its efficient lamination gets the job done with minimal error.
Key Features
- Designed with a two-roller setup to ensure fast, smooth, and long-lasting lamination
- Supports hot and cold lamination to cover all your needs
- 2 minutes warm-up time only
- Continuously operates without overheating
- Built-in jam release button in case of error
- Complete Package: Includes paper trimmer, corner rounder, photo frameset, and 30 lamination pouch
- Built-in jam release button in case of error
- Supports 3 mil-5 mil or 75 mic-125 mic pouch thickness
- Fast and efficient lamination of 400mm/min
- Light, portable, and 100% easy to use
If your goal is to laminate those cards, bookmarkers, and delicate photos, there’s no better machine for the job than the Deux-Prints Laminator Machine. This one is highly recommended by designers and artists, especially in delivering that perfect finish for all things inkjet paper printed.
The Deux-Prints laminator offers you the best system for laminating heat-sensitive documents and photos. It also comes in a two-roller setup, but it can work up to 250 microns or 10 mils of pouch thickness, which is recommended for heat-sensitive laminating photos or documents.
What’s impressive about the Deux-Prints is that you can laminate both photos or regular office documents all in one go, as switching between hot and cold systems is as easy as one press of a button. And yes, you can do this simultaneously and expect results as good as professionally laminated finishes. It even comes with built-in tools like a paper trimmer and corner rounder to precisely cut your documents to the perfect size or cut off those pointed edges for safety.
All in all, the Deux-Prints Laminator Machine if you’re looking for a device that’s flexible enough to handle all your varying needs. It’s perfect for photos, postcards, markers, and even paper as small as a credit card.
Key Features
- Best for laminating photos and heat-sensitive documents
- Easy to use and fast lamination; takes 2-4 minutes to warm up only
- Supports up to 250 microns of pouch thickness
- Includes built-in tools, such as a paper trimmer and corner rounder (+20 pouches)
- Supports hot and cold lamination
- Designed with a two-roller setup for smooth lamination without bubbles or wrinkles
- Laminating speed is 28cm/min
- Supports width of credit card size to A4 document size
- Portable and built with quality in mind
How to Know What Laminator is For You?
Although laminators are pretty straightforward equipment, not all devices are made equally. Some aren’t as flexible to handle your varying needs, while others are particular to a specific lamination style. So whether you’re goal is to preserve your kids’ artworks or something that everyone in the office can use, here are a few considerations you must know before buying a laminator machine to ensure the best value for your money.
Roller System
Hot or cold? That’s always been the dilemma of people buying a laminator machine. We recommend having a two-roller system so that you can have the best of both worlds. With this design, you’re not limited to heat-activated adhesive pouches only but also cold seal pouches to laminate heat-sensitive documents or inkjet-printed papers. All products we highlighted above run in a two-roller system so that you can enjoy both hot and cold lamination for all your files, cards, bookmarks, etc.
Width Matters
If your project requires you to laminate big-sized documents like charts, or A3 files, going with laminators like the CARTINEER is a smart choice. You can laminate files up to 13” in width and A4 documents in just one device. There’s no need to get multiple devices to handle your varying lamination needs.
Warm-Up Time
You might think this isn’t a factor, but having a laminator that takes time to warm up is typically a waste of time. We suggest going with devices that take less than 5 minutes to run smoothly. Also, consider if they support continuous lamination since it could get annoying to keep waiting for the device to cool down when laminating many files.
Lamination Speed
Speed is power, and you must be mindful of whether your laminator is fast enough to handle all your needs. If the device takes too long to laminate one file, it could damage your essential documents since it’s working with heat. A good 250mm/min speed is ideal for laminating with accuracy and efficiency.
Conclusion
Out of all the considerations in buying a laminator machine, the products we highlighted in this review offer top-notch quality. Whether you want speed and accuracy or delicate lamination, these products will deliver the best service possible. So go ahead and give them a try. We offer them at discounted prices to get more value from your purchase.
