How to Use a Laminator

I big puffy heart love my laminator and I get questions on their ease of use and what exactly to use them for so I made a step by step tutorial on how to use a laminator and share my tips and tricks for laminating solid sheets of paper vs cut-outs and all the things you can laminate! Let’s get started!

How to Use a Laminator

Home laminators are small in size. They are similar to an older inkjet printer. It is super lightweight and the controls are pretty basic.

Mine has an on/off switch then a switch to choose the thickness of your laminating pouches and then a power and ready light.

The power light illuminates when you turn the on/off switch to on and when the machine has warmed up, the ready light will come on.

While the machine is warming up, you can prepare your items to be laminated.

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Laminating Full Sheets

The laminating pouch is open on 3 ends. You will carefully slide in your item you would like laminated. I am laminating some chore charts I picked up at the dollar store here. Be sure to center it in your pouch.

Then you will feed the pouch and item into your laminator with the sealed side down. You feed from the top and it laminates and passes out the bottom of the machine.

When it completes you will have a completely laminated item.

Laminating Small Items Within a Smaller Pouch

You can laminate smaller items with the appropriate sized laminating pouches same as I demonstrated with the letter sized.

Example a business card using a business card sized laminating pouch.

You will just be sure to adjust the movable guides on the machine to make sure it feeds straight into the laminator

Laminating Multiple Small Items Within a Large Pouch

I decided to laminate some hearts I cut to put in my window for the quarantine heart hunters. They were all variable sizes and I only had my letter sized laminating pouches. No problem!

I laid out the hearts throughout the letter sized pouch making sure to leave at least 3/4″ area between each heart.

Carefully, I sent the pouch through the laminator the same as above with the sealed side of the pouch first to enter the laminator machine.

Notice there is a small seam around the hearts. This will be smaller or larger depending on the thickness of the item you are laminating. Thicker paper = larger seam.

Using scissors, you can now cut out your smaller objects. Be sure you do not cut that small seam area. That will cause your lamination to open. Cut just outside of it.

Now you have individually laminated items!

Popular Items to Laminate:

What would YOU laminate?

Tell me in the comments below! I love getting more ideas for myself!

MORE TIPS AND TRICKS:

Did you know I have a Creative Cut Files & Printables group over on Facebook? Come join us there for more awesome inspiration and crafty fun!