-
I want to thank all the members that have upgraded your accounts. I truly appreciate your support of the site monetarily. Supporting the site keeps this site up and running as a lot of work daily goes on behind the scenes. Click to Support Signs101 ...
best laminator on the market
- Thread starter gabagoo
- Start date
Malkin
New Member
We have a Ledco Econocraft 60" cold laminator. Took some fiddling to get it going originally, but has been trouble free for 7+ years now.
Note: It did have some roller damage upon arrival, but the dealer didn't want to hear about it, so we basically just dealt with it. (we can still laminate 54" stock without much issue)
Note: It did have some roller damage upon arrival, but the dealer didn't want to hear about it, so we basically just dealt with it. (we can still laminate 54" stock without much issue)
TheSellOut
New Member
I'm probably not one to be giving advice on laminators, as I have only been operating 1 for 10 months, but I bought a used Master Laminator "Wolf 63A Plus" (Made in China) from my Roland dealer along with the purchase of my 1st digital printer.
The first month about had me to tears thinking that I just wasted $2500 on a POS, which could still be the case, but after that month of a learning curve I got the hang of it and run it by myself with little to no problems. I am very happy with my purchase and the problems I might have are always operator errors, not skinning it correctly or not having the right finesse when initially feeding in a graphic.
Now, I am not sure what could be better about having a high end laminator, but someday I will own one and at that point I'm sure I will understand.
Funny thing is I saw the same model for $3000 brand new with heat assist which had me steaming at first...thinking that I spend $500 less on an old model, but it would have came in a box with assembly required and no training at all.
The first month about had me to tears thinking that I just wasted $2500 on a POS, which could still be the case, but after that month of a learning curve I got the hang of it and run it by myself with little to no problems. I am very happy with my purchase and the problems I might have are always operator errors, not skinning it correctly or not having the right finesse when initially feeding in a graphic.
Now, I am not sure what could be better about having a high end laminator, but someday I will own one and at that point I'm sure I will understand.
Funny thing is I saw the same model for $3000 brand new with heat assist which had me steaming at first...thinking that I spend $500 less on an old model, but it would have came in a box with assembly required and no training at all.
I used to be a die hard Seal supporter, I ran one, was a distributor, and apart from a couple quirks, they were by far one of the best out there. That was years ago, I got out of selling them, and just ran my 600D and my 600C, hundreds of thousands of feet of laminate later and I still stand by those units.
Lately I've been coming into contact with the Ultra series, and every single last person that I know of, has at least one major issue with them. Personally I wouldn't take one if it was given to me. Their "quirks" prevent them from running even remotely correctly.
That being said, I'm not a big fan of laminators with small rollers, but still the disadvantages far outweigh the advantages in my opinion. The 600 series is still a solid laminator, the frame alone let's you know it can handle serious business. GBC, AGL, and royal sovereign are all solid contenders.
From past experience, apart from having to get the tensioner arm replaced ( because I had #3 off the assembly line) I would take a 600 over most other laminators out there. ( I do like the way other laminators remove the need for an air compressor tho)
Lately I've been coming into contact with the Ultra series, and every single last person that I know of, has at least one major issue with them. Personally I wouldn't take one if it was given to me. Their "quirks" prevent them from running even remotely correctly.
That being said, I'm not a big fan of laminators with small rollers, but still the disadvantages far outweigh the advantages in my opinion. The 600 series is still a solid laminator, the frame alone let's you know it can handle serious business. GBC, AGL, and royal sovereign are all solid contenders.
From past experience, apart from having to get the tensioner arm replaced ( because I had #3 off the assembly line) I would take a 600 over most other laminators out there. ( I do like the way other laminators remove the need for an air compressor tho)
+1 for Seal 62 Pro C
I had a GBC Artic Titan, I tried using it several times with nothing more then OK results. Had several prints ruined. I always figured I just needed a better learning curve. I found a Seal 62 Pro C for sale used. I believe this sells for around $13,000 and I got it for $6,500.00. The laminator looks brand new. I have job where I needed about 40 full rolls of prints laminated. I tried this laminater and with-in 10 minutes I had the rolls laminating with never 1 problem. I have no experience prior. I can't say much about the oter brands but this thing is super easy to use and never messes up my prints.
I had a GBC Artic Titan, I tried using it several times with nothing more then OK results. Had several prints ruined. I always figured I just needed a better learning curve. I found a Seal 62 Pro C for sale used. I believe this sells for around $13,000 and I got it for $6,500.00. The laminator looks brand new. I have job where I needed about 40 full rolls of prints laminated. I tried this laminater and with-in 10 minutes I had the rolls laminating with never 1 problem. I have no experience prior. I can't say much about the oter brands but this thing is super easy to use and never messes up my prints.
rushworks graphics
New Member
got a diage solo laminater and had it replaced within 1 month due to the tension screw binding up....along with a few others around here to! its great for mounting stuff but laminating will have you tearing your hair out!! after just 2 months i was in my suppliers today asking for a refund and wanting to exchange it for a rs laminator. i wish i could afford to keep the diage just to mount my stuff and have a rs to laminate, but budget can't stretch that far! yeah, i wouldn't recommend a diage to anyone to be honest.
DRamm76
New Member
Honestly, we hear that more than anything else...for mounting it's great..for laminating it's a nightmare
mark galoob
New Member
i have a seal base 54" lam
i run it myself all the time...it takes a bit of getting used to but its totally dooable...it works excellent every time i use it...
mark galoob
i run it myself all the time...it takes a bit of getting used to but its totally dooable...it works excellent every time i use it...
mark galoob
Laminatorstress
New Member
Don't buy a Daige ever
I know this thread is old but it is never too late to stop someone else making the mistake that myself and every other Daige owner made.
i got the 55" Daige because it was cheap and I do low volume. I went through the learning curve so I know how to set it up correctly. It ruins prints at least 50% of the time. Anything over 5 feet and it starts to destroy prints 95% of the time. Any thin materials are destroyed 100% of the time as are any thick materials.
It is not even that good for mounting.
Anything you save on buying a Daige will be lost in destroyed materials. It is quicker to take your cash and throw it in the street that to try and use this machine. This machine can cause madness!
I know this thread is old but it is never too late to stop someone else making the mistake that myself and every other Daige owner made.
i got the 55" Daige because it was cheap and I do low volume. I went through the learning curve so I know how to set it up correctly. It ruins prints at least 50% of the time. Anything over 5 feet and it starts to destroy prints 95% of the time. Any thin materials are destroyed 100% of the time as are any thick materials.
It is not even that good for mounting.
Anything you save on buying a Daige will be lost in destroyed materials. It is quicker to take your cash and throw it in the street that to try and use this machine. This machine can cause madness!
paul luszcz
New Member
We bought our Seal D Series in 1997 (+/-) and are still happily using it to this day. Seventeen years without a problem is nothing to take for granted these days.
I "blame" it's longevity on the fact that it is entirely mechanical with no micro processors on board that I'm aware of.
You don't have to reboot, upgrade, diagnose or do any of the other things you have to do with digital products.
I would recommend it to anyone.
I "blame" it's longevity on the fact that it is entirely mechanical with no micro processors on board that I'm aware of.
You don't have to reboot, upgrade, diagnose or do any of the other things you have to do with digital products.
I would recommend it to anyone.
Clear Choice Laminating
New Member
I would say AGL. I do a little of laminating here and there.
mrugen
New Member
A Vote for SEAL Laminators
SEAL
Made in he USA
Support in USA
Solid Machine - Lasts decades
62 Base or 62 Pro for sign shops, 65 EL if on a budget
http://sealgraphics.com/websites/sealbrands/sealweb.nsf/htmlalias/wflaminators
Page also has a free download about choosing the right laminator.
http://www.thinkseal.com/What_to_consider_laminator_guide.pdf
SEAL
Made in he USA
Support in USA
Solid Machine - Lasts decades
62 Base or 62 Pro for sign shops, 65 EL if on a budget
http://sealgraphics.com/websites/sealbrands/sealweb.nsf/htmlalias/wflaminators
Page also has a free download about choosing the right laminator.
http://www.thinkseal.com/What_to_consider_laminator_guide.pdf
DirtyD
New Member
I actually purchased the USCutter Lightening Laminator 54" for my shop and am extremely pleased with it. Much better than the GFP that I was using at my previous employment.
Here is the link http://www.uscutter.com/USCutter-LightningLam-Heat-Assisted-Cold-Laminator.
I paid 5K for it and has take up and heat element.. It came fully crated and ready to rock right out of the crate except for the heat tube.. the crate and lam was like 400lbs.
I have not had any problems running print media through it, I have yet to to run thick substrates, I did run some magnetic through and it worked great... I think you can mount upto 1.5" of material though. My only gripe is that if I have a print that is not attached to a core but is long enough to go onto the floor, there is not a loose roll holder like the GFP had.. I can easily fix that with some brackets though. I have only used this and the GFp so there might be a better way with that..
Here is the link http://www.uscutter.com/USCutter-LightningLam-Heat-Assisted-Cold-Laminator.
I paid 5K for it and has take up and heat element.. It came fully crated and ready to rock right out of the crate except for the heat tube.. the crate and lam was like 400lbs.
I have not had any problems running print media through it, I have yet to to run thick substrates, I did run some magnetic through and it worked great... I think you can mount upto 1.5" of material though. My only gripe is that if I have a print that is not attached to a core but is long enough to go onto the floor, there is not a loose roll holder like the GFP had.. I can easily fix that with some brackets though. I have only used this and the GFp so there might be a better way with that..
I used to have a Seal 54El and ended up sending it back because of several issues. While I had it I do remember getting shocked a bunch. Was not a pleasant experience.
Ended up getting a Royal Sovereign 1401 and love it. No issues at all or shocks. Tracks perfect and no waves or creases in laminate.
AGL here. No static shocks either. We switch out material very often and love how quick and easy it is to load and web the machine. Ours runs on 110v so we can move it wherever we want in the shop. The heavy weight of the laminator helps when mounting on large substrates. A roller table would be a great compliment to it.