Laminating Pouches are sold in various mil thickness, dimensions and styles. It is important to choose the proper pouch for your project and laminator machine. Use the following information as a guideline for selecting the proper pouch.
Choosing the proper dimensions will depend on the size of item you are laminating and the size of your laminator. You want to be sure your pouches are larger that the document you are laminating so that there is space to create a seal around the entire document.
Measure your document precisely.
Smaller Card size documents only require an 1/8" - 1/4" sealing edge, while larger documents you will want to have a complete 1/4" seal around all edges.
After measuring your document add 1/4 to 1/2 inch to cards and 1/2 to 1 inch to larger documents.
You can print this document to easily identify which size pouch to buy. After printing, lay your document onto the sheet to see which pouch meets your needs.
People often want to say millimeter when they see the label "mil", however those are two different measurements all together. 1 mil is equal to .001 inch while 1 mm is equal to .039 inch. Plastic films of all sorts are measured in MILS, including laminating film.
1.5 mil Laminating Pouches. 1.5 mil is the thinnest laminating film. While this thickness of pouch is produced, most laminating machines won't support it and we do not carry pouches of this thickness. We do carry a roll laminating film in 1.5 mil. This thickness is going to provide minimal protection at a budget price. Great for school laminating.
3 mil Laminating Pouches. 3 mil pouches are often the size used for larger documents that need protected but still will be flexible and able to roll. We carry all of our larger document size laminating pouches in 3 Mil but smaller card pouches are not available in this thickness.
5 mil Laminating Pouches. 5 mil pouches are thin but work very well for laminating smaller documents and card sizes. 5 mil thickness creates a sturdy feeling document that will be protected from bending and tearing without paying the higher price of the thicker pouches. 5 Mil Letter Pouches and 5 Mil Legal Size Pouches are one of our most popular products. We also carry all of our card size laminating pouches in 5 mil.
7 mil Laminating Pouches. 7 mil pouches provide a better level of protection for your documents from folding and bending. A lot of times this thickness is used to laminate business cards and name badges.
10 mil Laminating Pouches. 10 mil pouches are the thickest size available. This size offers a very rigid feel to your laminated document. 10 mil is often used for presentation material, dry erase materials and signs as well as office id cards / passes that need last.
NOTE: It is very important to choose a pouch thickness that fits your laminator machine! Choosing the wrong size of laminating pouch can damage both your laminated document and your equipment. Many personal or home office type of laminators will only laminate up to 5 Mil, while higher quality machines will laminate up to 10 Mil.
The style of card you choose may depend on the end use of the laminated item. You can choose slotted pouches for badges and id tags, adhesive back pouches for sticking laminated products to another surface, colored pouches for adding pizzaz to your item, matte pouches for a writable surface, or clear gloss laminating pouches for standard everyday laminating. We carry them ALL right here at Buy Lamination.
We can add a slot (oval) or hole (round) punch to any pouch. Great for creating ID cards to use on lanyards or hang tags for equipment.