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The best laminator machines can help you preserve delicate documents and photos, create worksheets for classes or help you make signage and more for your business. When you laminate something you also keep it clean and crease-free, and if you do spill something on it, you can easily wipe it without damaging what’s inside.
To create this list of the best laminators (including the best table top laminators), I have examined factors such as ease of use, price, features, speed and size. Some of these laminators I’ve tested personally, putting them through their paces with a variety of business, home and arty projects. Where I haven’t tested the laminators myself, I’ve trawled user reviews to find the common pros and pain points of each machine. Below is my definitive best laminator list.
Fellowes Saturn 3i – Best Overall
Specifications:
- Laminate width: 12.5in
- Size: 14.6 x 53.2 x 10.5cm
- Weight: 2.31kg
The Fellowes Saturn 3i Laminator tops my list of the best laminators because it’s one of the fastest to warm up (from 30 seconds) but laminates quickly (under a minute for A4). As a bonus, it can handle A3 documents, making it ideal for creatives looking to keep art prints safe and clean. It also has a quite unique ‘jam free’ system and an auto reverse mechanism to reverse and realign any docs that have been misfed into it.
The downside is it works best with Fellowes’ own lamination pouches, but you get a pack of 10 to get started. The machine has an auto shut-off to save energy and comes with a two-year guarantee. Some reviewers found it a little bulky so make sure you check the dimensions before you buy.
Amazon Basics 9-Inch Thermal Laminator – A basic laminator that does the job
Specifications
- Laminate width: 9in
- Size: 13.94 x 4.41 x 2.64in
- Weight: 1.6kg
This no thrills machine can handle both three and five mil lamination, covering most items from photos to standard documents, but it can’t handle thicker 10 mil lamination. I found it takes three-to-five minutes to warm up, a little longer than some others on my list. If you don’t let it warm up, documents can come out with stripe marks. However, it offers excellent value, and if you’re patient, the results are excellent. It features a paper jam lever for removing any stuck paper.
Buyounger 4 in 1 Thermal Laminator – A very versatile, speedy laminator
Specifications
- Laminate width: 9in
- Size: 139.7 x 15.49 x 12.7cm
- Weight: 1.6kg
This is my pick as the best laminator for versatility and speed. It can laminate A4 and both 3 mil and 5 mil (though it lacks a manual switch to swap). It heats up under two minutes and can handle both hot and cold lamination for heat sensitive documents, although you’ll need separate cold pouches for cold lamination. I found it to be quiet, and with a speed of 340mm/min, it’s a fast device for those who need to get through lots of documents. There’s an ABS jam release button for quickly unsticking documents, which should extend life. It comes with a round-corner trimmer, which is nice for avoiding sharp edges, and a paper cutter for tidying the finish.
Crenova A4 Laminator (GS816) – Great value makes this a good all-rounder
Specifications
- Laminate width: 9in
- Size: 35 x 15 x 7cm
- Weight: 1.37kg
This nice all-round affordable laminator comes with all of the tools to get you up and running, including a paper cutter, round corner trimmer and hole punch, as well as 15 laminating pouches (A4, A5 and A6). I found that it takes a little longer to heat up (five minutes) and it’s slower than the Buyounger too, running at a 250mm/min laminating speed.
The Crenova has both a hot and cold setting and works with pouches between 120-200 micrometres in weight, which is ideal for laminating bookmarks, photos and recipes. Like the Buyounger, this laminator has a useful ABS unjammer for removing stuck documents.
Scotch Thermal Laminator Combo Pack – A good compact all-rounder for using on the go
Specifications
- Laminate width: 9in
- Size: 41.4 x 14.2 x 14.7cm
- Weight: 1.74kg
The Scotch Brand PRO Thermal Laminator is a neat little laminator that weighs less than most on this list. A real workhouse, it takes about three to five minutes to warm up and uses two heated rollers to laminate material up to 9in wide. The results are bubble and wrinkle free, and jams are pretty rare. I found it very easy to use, and it automatically shuts off after one hour of inactivity. This is the best compact laminator for arts and crafts projects, photos, recipe cards, and educational activities in the classroom or on the move, although some reviewers found that the build quality was on the flimsy side.
GBC Thermal Laminator Machine Fusion 7000L – The best laminator for teachers
Specifications
- Laminate width: 12in
- Size: 26 x 8.7 x 12.6in
- Weight: 9.9kg
If you need a laminator that’s suitable for business use, then you’re going to have to step up in price. In which case, we recommend the 7000L. It isn’t cheap, but it does deliver up to 45 documents in 10 minutes, the equivalent of 55 inches per minute, so is a great choice for heavy-duty use.
This laminator warms up in just one minute, and has six rollers for smooth, high-quality results. And there’s a clever feature called advanced auto pouch thickness detection, which identifies the thickness of your pouch and document and adjusts to the optimal settings for the perfect seal.
It comes with 50 letter size EZUse Premium Speed Pouches, which seal on the longer side to reduce processing time by 22%. In short, this is the Rolls Royce of laminators, both in terms of price and what it delivers.