Heat Seal vs Heat Free Laminators

Laminators make a great addition to any office, college, classroom or home environment, allowing you to enhance and protect professional documents, photographs, proposals and photographs.

However, when it comes to purchasing a laminator, you will quickly discover that there are a whole host of options available to you, meaning finding a product that meets your requirements can often be a minefield!

One of the biggest decisions you will face when it comes to choosing a laminator is whether to opt for a heat seal or heat free laminator. So, we’ve created a helpful guide outlining the difference between heat seal and heat free laminators.

What is a Heat Seal Laminator?

Heat Seal Laminators use heat to activate an adhesive that successfully seals the laminate. Highly durable and functional, this type of laminator is perfect for documents that need protecting from everyday wear and tear, such as business cards, style guides, menus, calendars and other frequently used documents that are handled on a day to day basis.

Of course, you should not use heat sensitive materials with this type of laminator, so it’s important that you check beforehand that the laminator has a cold setting.

At Perfect Colours, we supply a variety of heat seal laminators, including the Seal 80 Pro and the Seal Image 600md Wide Format Laminator with bi-directional capacity.

What is a Heat Free Laminator?

There is also a great range of heat free laminators to choose from too, which are ideal for laminating heat sensitive document such as photographs and badges.

As they do not use heat, this type of laminator is also ideal for use in the classroom.

Lamidesk Manual and Motor Driven Flatbed Applicators, for example, allow you to achieve high quality laminating results, without the need for heat. Both motorised and manual models are available.

Both options will allow you to enjoy exceptional results quickly and easily, especially when it comes to preserving the life of documents and other items that you use on a day-to-day basis.

Is there other laminating options?

Another option that might be worth considering is roll laminators. These are a great solution for accommodating the demands that come hand in hand with laminating different sized documents, including those with various lengths and widths.

Boasting a continuous feed of laminating paper, you will also be able to complete every laminating task quickly and efficiently, with minimum hassle, making roll laminators perfect for high volume projects in printing shops, schools or colleges.

And when looking for the perfect laminator, look out for high performance features such as Jam-Free functionality, Fast Warm up, Auto Shut Off and Heatguard.

As a general rule of thumb, when searching for the perfect laminator, you should ask yourself, what you are planning on using your laminator for? How often will you use it? What size documents will it need to accommodate and what kind of wear and tear will it go through on a daily basis?

This should help you to find the perfect laminator for your office, classroom, or even home!

Explore our full range of laminators today! If you require any further information about heat seal or heat free laminators, or to discuss your specific requirements, please get in touch.

Note* - Post updated and corrected August 2022