Advice on laminators?

[Circleville Signs]

Hey everyone! Brand new here, although I've been lurking for a few weeks. I'm a refuge from Signweb. The new site is terrible

In any event, we are wanting to get a laminator (FINALLY!) but we're having a hard time. Our Roland dealer is pushing the Daige Quickmount, but from what I can see, it is a piece of crap.

Here's the rub - it seems like there is no 'middle ground' when it comes to laminators. It's either the P.O.S. Daige, or a $10k+ Seal/Royal Sovereign.

Is there ANYTHING out there that anyone would recommend that is in the middle ground? I need at least a 54", ideally a 62".

Thanks!
Gary

 

[Baz]

Hi Gary ... Welcome from Québec, Canada.

What do plan on using it for? What size of shop are you, Big or small (meaning do you need to laminate allot or here and there)? What's your budget? You want heat or cold?

This will help others to suggest what would be best. I personnaly have a 54" Royal Sovereign cold laminator and i am very pleased with it.

 

[Circleville Signs]

Baz,

Thanks for the welcome. I apologize that my first post was a bit vague.

We are going to be laminating vinyl prints. We wouldn't be using it for any type of mounting applications. We will be laminating wraps, decals, etc. I'm sure a cold laminator is allwe need. We currently have a 36" hot/cold laminator. it is a dinosaur, but it does the trick. However, with the new printer we now have (54" SP-540i), we need a wider laminator.

Hope that helps. Ideally, we'd like to stay in the $4-6k range, and we need the laminator to be at least reasonably operable by a single user (another of trh drawbacks of the POS Daige - how can that EVER be run by one person???).


Gary

 

[ProWraps]

hey there. we have had good luck with the dingtec line (enduralam). it does walk on us a bit here and there, but its a great value and chances are its our fault that we havent set it up correctly.

do your research and home work and you will no doubt find the lam that is the best fit for you. just dont let it intimidate you. there is a learning curve but its nothing to worry about. you will do fine and you will suceed with whatever laminator you purchase.

 

[Baz]

Don't know first hand about the Daige but i have heard many bad reports from users and many others who have "figured" out the machine and get great results with it. My Royal Sovereign is in your budget and me and my employee use it alone whenever we need it without any trouble.

But i think GBC has somethign in that price range as well and allot of people like theirs also. Seals are a little more expensive but my opinion is they are greater production machines (that is my impression of them) and there are other good brands as well.

edited: I have used a Dingtec laminator before i bought mine. The brand was called "Master" in Canada. i think it is the same machine. It worked great and was cheaper than my RS but i found it needed more attention. Great machine for the price though and allot better than a Daige.

 

[roadrage]

We have a GBC 64" Artic Titan. We have had great luck with it and it's 4 years old with no problems. Also in your price range.

 

[h82loose]

You should be able to get a RS in that price range. I would reccomend RS. If you had $10-15K then we would talk about something else. I can lam a full 150' roll of cast from roll to roll. I would suggest the media take up if you want to opperate as a one man shop.

 

[Mason]

Two words:
Royal Sovereign

 

[jmcnicoll]

Had a Daige once for 2 days as it broke the day I opened it... Must have a take up for your finished product! You get what you pay for and I've learned that in most cases the laminator is a bigger investment than a solvent printer.

jim