Protect Your Prints

Not only does laminating protect your printed work, it gives it a professional look. Here's a glimpse of some of the latest laminators on the market.

Banner American's Entry 4500 laminating/mounting machine is an entry-level laminator for large-format imaging services. Featuring top- and bottom-heated rollers and a 45˝ width capacity, the Entry 4500 is capable of mounting, laminating and encapsulating ink-jet output up to 44˝. The Entry 4500 laminates with all film gauges and has mounting capability up to 1⁄4˝. An optional take-up roller for pressure-sensitive liners is available. www.banam.com

Graphic Laminating offers the heavy-duty Signmaster laminators in two sizes, 44˝ and 64˝. They can apply any pressure-sensitive material, laminate (one-side) with thermal or pressure-sensitive film, mount up to 61˝ wide and mount and laminate simultaneously. The laminators come complete with a stand, casters and bottom supply roll, and have a two-year parts and labor warranty. Also in 44˝ and 64˝ sizes, Graphic Laminating has the Dual Hot Roll Digitals, which can encapsulate, single-side laminate and mount and laminate simultaneously. www.graphiclaminating.com

The economical Cold-Mount tabletop laminators from Coda are available in widths from 14˝ to 54˝. These machines come in motorized and hand-operated versions and are designed for pressure-sensitive mounting and laminating. Coda's Cold-Mount motorized laminators perform mounting tasks from simple pressure-sensitive mounting to overlaminating. The motorized option, with a speed control, allows for volume mounting and greater control. The machine also has an infrared shutoff. Coda also sells high-production thermal CodaPro laminators, including the CP64-HE with double heated rollers. www.codamount.com

Pigna America offers the entry-level ACF/TC automatic laminators. They include a paper feeder, calender and a separator, all enclosed in one station, and are ideal for limited production volumes and small paper sizes. www.americanbindingco.com

D&K's Expression 42˝ professional laminator is designed for all-in-one laminating. It features variable speed, heated rollers and a pressure-sensitive rewind. In addition, the EXP Pro accepts low-melt, thermal and pressure-sensitive films and can accommodate substrates up to 1⁄4˝ thick, as well as rolls up to 1,000 feet (for 1.5 mil and 3 mil films). The EXP Pro is perfect when laminating floor graphics, POP displays, signs, mouse pads, calendars, menus, book covers and more. www.dkgroup.com

You can laminate and mount on your desktop with ProSeal foam board laminators, from Southwest Plastic Binding. They come in 12˝, 25˝ or 44˝ widths. The 25˝ and 44˝ units have digitally controlled heat with a cold option, a heated roller design and utilize silicone rollers. Place digital output into the appropriate pouch board and run it through the ProSeal. The machine offers three options: Mount and laminate, mount only or laminate only. A 40˝ cutter is also available, designed for cutting through foam board. www.swplastic.com

The GBC Discovery 80 laminator and cutter were designed to increase efficiency of in-plants requiring two-sided thermal lamination up to 31˝ wide. The laminator saves and recalls settings such as speed, which can run up to 20 feet per minute. The rolling stand, with locking casters, interfaces with the cutter to provide precision cutting that automatically adjusts to the laminator speed. Adjustable side slitters trim the edges of the laminate. Also from GBC, the Titan 110 and 165 handle maximum film widths of 43˝ and 64˝. They handle thermal and pressure-sensitive film for mounting and encapsulating. Key features include digital keypads with variable temperature and speed controls. www.gbcconnect.com

The 27˝ wide-format MightyLam 2700 from Spiral Binding offers a drop-down bottom idler for easy loading and has the capability to laminate from .0015˝ to .010˝ gauge film. Features include Teflon-coated heat shoes, adjustable slitters and forced air-cooling. With simplified, easy-to-set heat controls, including a digital LCD readout and a variable speed control of up to 10 feet per minute, the MightyLam 2700 is perfect for printers, copy shops, graphic departments, sign shops and more. www.spiralbinding.com

Unibind offers the Unilam 1050 for laminating posters, banners, signs, blueprints and architectural drawings up to 41.3˝ wide and up to 492 feet in length. Also, the Unilam 1650 laminator covers materials up to 64.9˝ wide and 492 feet long. www.unibind.com

The SEAL 62 Ultra from Seal Graphics Americas is a compact, affordable laminator that supports pressure-sensitive and heat-activated finishing to 61˝ wide. It features a heated top roller with a temperature monitor, three preset temperatures, auto-grip supply shafts and simple controls for substrate thickness to 3⁄8˝. Speeds reach 5 feet per minute. Other features include silicone-coated rollers, an integral film tension-brake, foot controls and full safety systems. www.sealbrands.com

USI offers ProMount and UltraMount pouch boards for professional-looking mounting and laminating at an economical price. Slide your wide-format print between the sheet of film and 3⁄16˝ foam board, feed it through a heated roller laminator and in less than a minute from start to finish you'll have a high-quality graphic laminated, mounted and ready for display. The pouch boards are available from 4-1⁄2x6-1⁄2˝ up to 41x61˝. UltraMount pouch boards use ultra-rigid UltraMount 3⁄16˝ foam boards. www.usi-laminate.com