Looking for a cheap laminator just to mount film on rigid board

[bigben]

I already have a kala mistral laminator but the ''clean'' part of my shop is not on the same level of my ''fabrication'' part shop. So I'm looking for a cheap laminator to just mount film on rigid substrat. I would love to have an application table but the budget is not there. I was looking the cheap manual one on ebay (51in) but did not find any real work reviews about them.

I'm open to all suggestions. Thanks.

 

[garyroy]

What do you think of this one?

GFP FT48 60" Finishing Table for Laminating and Mounting

Transform any roll laminator into a versatile flatbed applicator with the FT48 60” Finishing Table. The table creates a perfect work surface for pre-coating boards, photo mounting, laminating to rigid surfaces, laminating to vinyl prints, pre-masking vinyl letters, trimming images, weeding vinyl...

www.mybinding.com

 

[bigben]

What do you think of this one?

GFP FT48 60" Finishing Table for Laminating and Mounting

Transform any roll laminator into a versatile flatbed applicator with the FT48 60” Finishing Table. The table creates a perfect work surface for pre-coating boards, photo mounting, laminating to rigid surfaces, laminating to vinyl prints, pre-masking vinyl letters, trimming images, weeding vinyl...

www.mybinding.com

It's nice, but a bit too expensive. I could built the table very easily with a cheaper laminator. I was thinking of something like that. Quite a price difference. I like it's manual.

VEVOR 25.5"/29.5"/39"/51" Manual Cold Roll Laminator Mounting Laminating Machine | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for VEVOR 25.5"/29.5"/39"/51" Manual Cold Roll Laminator Mounting Laminating Machine at the best online prices at eBay! Free shipping for many products!

www.ebay.com

 

[garyroy]

I've had one of these for years, works great for what it is.

1 Pc Desktop Manual Roll Laminating Machine Cold All Metal Laminator 51In 1300mm | eBay

One Set New 51In(1300mm) Cold Laminating Machine (120381). Maximum Laminating Width: 51"(1300mm). Adjustable roller position suitable for various material thickness. Manual, no electricity required, safer laminating experience.

www.ebay.com

 

[White Haus]

It's nice, but a bit too expensive. I could built the table very easily with a cheaper laminator. I was thinking of something like that. Quite a price difference. I like it's manual.

VEVOR 25.5"/29.5"/39"/51" Manual Cold Roll Laminator Mounting Laminating Machine | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for VEVOR 25.5"/29.5"/39"/51" Manual Cold Roll Laminator Mounting Laminating Machine at the best online prices at eBay! Free shipping for many products!

www.ebay.com

Man those are cheap! Would love to see how well it mounts/how true the rollers are. We've mounted hundreds of small signs/plaques this week and running through big laminator isn't super efficient.

 

[bigben]

Man those are cheap! Would love to see how well it mounts/how true the rollers are. We've mounted hundreds of small signs/plaques this week and running through big laminator isn't super efficient.

I would not trust them for lamination but mounting film on board it could work great. When I use my kala to mount films on rigid board, I'm always scared the edges could nick the roller. With a cheap one like this, I could just buy another one. And like you've said, mounting a bunch of small signs would maybe be faster with those manual one.

 

[Notarealsignguy]

They work fine for laminating too as long as you get the pressure equal on both sides. We used to use a cheap chinese laminator from Ebay for mounting and keep the better laminator in the office where it is cleaner.
Here is one, I'd get one that had a single control to drop the roller for simplicity but this would still work: https://www.ebay.com/itm/3734025153...CdAuTTL+qlIXSuw3gL0mEzRsOc|tkp:Bk9SR87115D-YA
Id go this route: https://www.ebay.com/itm/1154234741...PBN8R/VuYqhlgxdvDBR18CjFNb|tkp:Bk9SR87115D-YA

 

[BVG]

They work fine for laminating too as long as you get the pressure equal on both sides. We used to use a cheap chinese laminator from Ebay for mounting and keep the better laminator in the office where it is cleaner.
Here is one, I'd get one that had a single control to drop the roller for simplicity but this would still work: https://www.ebay.com/itm/373402515356?hash=item56f086379c:g:hycAAOSwhadf4qqT&amdata=enc:AQAHAAAA4FvYzIE43/9J0LSMO5+WVvU6VFTm+BwZ8iVbjEU8NRQJ3GlHGVlXKfGbU+igf3ThNHSFAY0LUSsUw8QZJDisnu2s3NdhIlEwD2Dh+l3PDHXQiISams4v/33UGkyheTOkb3lMSiVt1fybUQwQS77UL19pgnGvPjDisYQNKsGxXOT+yvydEbyjZsjEBXjJ8OkS2k3/BENlcsxf2LNISNVVIt5AxOKWAiBe0YQNg/WW3OB2DULq7UmBcXjlXf3SIFR8uZ72PIPz/Ho4JnBFnMCdAuTTL+qlIXSuw3gL0mEzRsOc|tkp:Bk9SR87115D-YA
Id go this route: https://www.ebay.com/itm/115423474181?hash=item1adfc67205:g:R1YAAOSwNjFipwYn&amdata=enc:AQAHAAAA4Lbx2yYSgHWZsQjnDRAtkOvdVaCwI1/rDzLJYkqV2b9EYHz7BRAwxsa/aCkAdmRV67oHHECcvJy2xaRA4xPM9EYNaos6qVovMHHenvYlz7223GrYDH+9HbURWIEKOFnHN0Jd9fHI0OBVnzFcR9KOvxaweX69QBI8dxrW1z9qUeGXxMbpmKABCC75NWEw3SU+CbAyXB3497ObhmY7CrA9D0J4T4x2sHrtLP8zW3W6VmG7S1/kglojhNjesv8iAZt3csJYMTd8YpG42skQr1PBN8R/VuYqhlgxdvDBR18CjFNb|tkp:Bk9SR87115D-YA

Those Qomolangma laminators punch above their weight for the price.

 

[Jester]

Have you considered a Big Squeegee, or is manual application too slow for your operation?

 

[bigben]

Have you considered a Big Squeegee, or is manual application too slow for your operation?

I have several big squeegee. But to mount a 4x8 film on a rigid sheet is a PITA. I use it daily for smaller stuff and applying premask tho.

 

[ikarasu]

The biggest downfall is the up/ down on those things. If you have 50 signs to mount... Manually turning the handles to raise the bar is a pain.


Have you looked into highway handyman's? Still a bit expensive. I believe I paid 1.5k for the 36" one.

Highway Handyman - leading manufacturer of squeeze roll applicators

Highway Handyman is a leading supplier and manufacturer of squeeze roll applicators and traffic sign lamination systems to thousands of organizations worldwide since 1963.

highwayhandyman.com

The pneumatic up and down is a time saver...especially over such a big distance, 48" adjusting would suck on those Chinese ones.

 

[bigben]

The biggest downfall is the up/ down on those things. If you have 50 signs to mount... Manually turning the handles to raise the bar is a pain.


Have you looked into highway handyman's? Still a bit expensive. I believe I paid 1.5k for the 36" one.

Highway Handyman - leading manufacturer of squeeze roll applicators

Highway Handyman is a leading supplier and manufacturer of squeeze roll applicators and traffic sign lamination systems to thousands of organizations worldwide since 1963.

highwayhandyman.com

The pneumatic up and down is a time saver...especially over such a big distance, 48" adjusting would suck on those Chinese ones.

I've sent them an email to have a quote. I really like the idea.

 

[ikarasu]

They're great. One step below a rolls roller, but we found out we could buy 20 for the price of a rolls roller... Ended up buying 3 of them, now whenever were behind on applicating we can throw an extra employee on it... Capability to have 4 people applying vs one.


We tried the cheap eBay way, it works... But you end up spending 20-30 seconds per print raising the rollers, aligning the Print, lowering the roller... 10 seconds to sheet... Then you're back to twisting it, and the one we had wasn't the easiest to turn..after an hour of applying my wrist hurt.

 

[brdesign]

I just recently got the 39 Vevor manual laminator, and it surprisingly well for mounting small jobs, like 18x24 coro signs. It does not work well for magnets, too much steel for the magnet to stick to. I tried using some cast laminate for some license plate prints, and got a few bubbles but I think with a bit of practice I may be able to laminate small jobs. I built a roll holder to go with it and it works great for applying transfer tape. I taped over 100 feet of cut vinyl with no problems. My only complaint is lifting the top roller. When you unscrew the tension screws it only takes the pressure off the roller, it does not raise the roller. You have the hold the roller up with one hand while loading some ith the other hand on some materials.

 

[bigben]

I just recently got the 39 Vevor manual laminator, and it surprisingly well for mounting small jobs, like 18x24 coro signs. It does not work well for magnets, too much steel for the magnet to stick to. I tried using some cast laminate for some license plate prints, and got a few bubbles but I think with a bit of practice I may be able to laminate small jobs. I built a roll holder to go with it and it works great for applying transfer tape. I taped over 100 feet of cut vinyl with no problems. My only complaint is lifting the top roller. When you unscrew the tension screws it only takes the pressure off the roller, it does not raise the roller. You have the hold the roller up with one hand while loading some ith the other hand on some materials. View attachment 162208

Thanks for the details. Did you tried to mount film on a 4x8? If yes, how it went?

 

[brdesign]

Thanks for the details. Did you tried to mount film on a 4x8? If yes, how it went?

I haven't tried anything bigger than 18x24 inch yet, but I only have the 39" wide model

 

[Stacey K]

I have the same laminator as Notareal and it works really well for mounting 4'x8' signs - much faster and easier than the Big Squeegee. I also use it for laminating.

 

[bigben]

I have the same laminator as Notareal and it works really well for mounting 4'x8' signs - much faster and easier than the Big Squeegee. I also use it for laminating.

Do you have any ''challenge'' with it like the pressure because it's with two numbs, feeding it, etc.? I really like it, but if it take 15min every time to setup, I will look into another model.

 

[Stacey K]

Do you have any ''challenge'' with it like the pressure because it's with two numbs, feeding it, etc.? I really like it, but if it take 15min every time to setup, I will look into another model.

No, I don't have any issues with pressure. I start with no pressure then up it once the board is in and I roll the board through a few feet to make sure it's not buckling or anything. The worst that has happened is you get some bubbles, I never had any wrinkles or anything like that.

 

[Stacey K]

Do you have any ''challenge'' with it like the pressure because it's with two numbs, feeding it, etc.? I really like it, but if it take 15min every time to setup, I will look into another model.

I can try and make a video over the weekend