Laminator Poll

[MrSalumi]

What kind of laminator do you all use? I am vacillating between a budget chinese laminator that I know will cause problems, an older used GBC/Seal/Royal, or bucking up for a new quality unit (unlikely).

I wanted to get an idea of what kind of laminators everyone is using so please answer these questions.

1.)What brand and size of laminator do you have/use
2.)How much did you pay for it?
3.)Was the cost worth it to you (either high or low)

 

[Intense01]

I had a chinese laminator and always battled with it. I ended up selling it yesterday and bought a new heat assist 65" Royal Sovereign. It hasn't been delivered yet but I can't wait to get that and my new printer up and running. I think I paid like $6k for it but it was part of a package with the l26500.

Good luck with your decision

 

[ChicagoGraphics]

65" GBC Titan 165, bought it at one of my supplier's open houses, got 2k off the original price I paid $6200.00 7 years ago.

 

[401Graphics]

1.)What brand and size of laminator do you have/use
Very used GBC Talon (64")
2.)How much did you pay for it?
$995.00 (delivered free)
3.)Was the cost worth it to you (either high or low)
Definitely worth it. It works great, and cant beat the price!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=orUzAoh-OyE

 

[jmcnicoll]

At my last job we had a AGL 64i that I purchased and ran for 3 years. Price was about $27,000 at the time and worth every penny. We did a lot of hot lam for trade show graphics and banner stands with it. Also was great for doing full rolls of 180C with 8519, took about 20-25 minutes for a full roll without any issues. If not doing hot lams and thick backers you can get a nice machine for a lot less. Once you use such a nice laminator it really sucks to go back to the smaller ones.

 

[MrSalumi]

Great replies! So far its looking like I should save the hassle and steer clear of the budget chinese lams.

401- you stole that! Nice one!

 

[MichaelAlmand]

401
where did you purchase that?

 

[401Graphics]

401
where did you purchase that?

eBay.
But it was only about 15 miles away from me at another sign shop at http://www.jmassesign.com

 

[LenR]

1.)What brand and size of laminator do you have/use
AGL Maxim dual heat 62"
2.)How much did you pay for it?
@23k
3.)Was the cost worth it to you (either high or low)
Yes, it's an extremely well thought out and robust machine.

 

[Ditchmiester]

1.)What brand and size of laminator do you have/use
Ledco Digital 38" and a Seal 62 Pro
2.)How much did you pay for it?
7k for both
3.)Was the cost worth it to you (either high or low)
So far I really like both of these laminators. I like the heat shoe on the Ledco it heats the lam up nice. And the Seal is built like a tank and is super easy to use.

 

[fmg]

Use a Seal Base 54" All round its an excellent machine.
$7k
cost was well worth it
A good laminator is equally as important as a good printer is

 

[MrSalumi]

Cool. Well. I thnk that I am leaning toward buying a Laminator off a member here 'Vinylman'. His laminator is listed here http://www.signs101.com/forums/showthread.php?t=102213
and is a Royal Sovereign RSC-1650c with a top heated element and feeder roll fore and take up roll aft.

Have any of you done business with Bob aka Vinylman? What are your impressions on the Royal Sovereign 65 inch top heated model?

Cheers!
Sal

 

[401Graphics]

do you really need a 65" with heat? You could buy a new Seal EL 54 for around that price.

 

[MrSalumi]

401 - Do I really need a 65 with heat... No.

Seems like a good deal for a machine I can grow into. The seal is tempting though..

 

[Bly]

Seal Base 62
$15k or so
Worth every cent.

It replaced an old Seal Image62 Plus which was also an awesome machine but was just too slow.

 

[401Graphics]

401 - Do I really need a 65 with heat... No.

Seems like a good deal for a machine I can grow into. The seal is tempting though..

It is a good deal for a RS that size with heat.
But do you see yourself using a 64" printer in the future?

 

[Sign Works]

Used GBC Titan 110, 2K, accomodates my 30" Versacamm just fine.

 

[Salmoneye]

Chinese Master, 63" I think. No heat. Maybe $2,500. Just laminates roll after roll and we have yet to loose a print. I do wish that I had opted for the roll to roll version with the automated take up roller for the completed prints in the back. If something were to happen to mine I would order another the same day.

 

[SightLine]

Same machine as us. Bought ours used probably 7 years ago. Do not regret that purchase at all. Cold only with no heat assist - that has never been an issue for us. Still running it daily.

65" GBC Titan 165, bought it at one of my supplier's open houses, got 2k off the original price I paid $6200.00 7 years ago.

 

[The Big Squeegee]

Laminator size

It is a good deal for a RS that size with heat.
But do you see yourself using a 64" printer in the future?

Good point 401. Is it also wasteful to have a larger unit than you use most of the time? I know that 401 is not too fond of the Big Squeegee because he could not figure it out or for what ever reason he has for why it was a failure for him. I asked him and offered help but he did not answer so I'm clueless.

The Big Squeegee is a good laminator and should not be overlooked. Especially, for the small jobs or smaller sizes. A roll laminator can be very wasteful in expensive materials on small jobs.

Most people have better success then 401Graphics did.

 

[rjssigns]

Mr. Salumi,

One thing you have to realize is that laminating is art and science combined. If you do not have a clue as to proper set-up and function the best laminator in the world will cause you grief and cost you money.

That being said there are a number of people at Signs 101 that have the Chinese laminators and are very happy with them.

I have a RS-1650C(65")
Paid around 4K(package deal)
Seems to be a solid unit. Although it is the only one I have run. It will be getting the infeed set-up this year. Should I need a new laminator I will most likely get a US Tech.