Almost every office supply store sells mouse pads. You can find them with pictures of tropical locations, magical characters and even the logo of your favorite sports team on them. Mouse pads are almost everywhere because every computer should have one. They help keep your mouse from getting gummed up and ensure that the mouse works properly and doesn't slip. With this being said, wouldn't it be nice to create your own mouse pads? Using your laminator it is possible. Here is how?

1. If you want to make your own mouse pads, you will need a pouch laminator. You don't need to buy the best one in the world. However, you will need a high quality laminator that is capable of doing a good job of laminating photos and different thicknesses of laminating films. If you don't already have a pouch laminator make sure that you get one that has multiple heated rollers and possibly even a heated plate. This will help to ensure that the heat is evenly distributed across your print and that you get the highest quality output possible.

2. Once you have the laminator you will need some mouse pad kits. Each mouse pad kit will include a special textured laminating pouch and a blank mouse pad that has an adhesive side (just peel and stick). Each mouse pad kit usually comes with ten mouse pads and ten special laminating pouches. The one major difference between these mouse pads and standard mouse pads is that they have a special peel of release liner on the front and the back that protects the textured surface of the pouch. After you have laminated your documents with these pouches you will need to peel off the release liner before you proceed.

3. Now that you have both the laminator and the mouse pad kits you will need something to put on your mouse pad. Photos tend to work very well for this. You can either take a professionally printed photo or use your laser or inkjet printer to print the photo yourself. Just make sure that the photo is the right size for the mouse pads that you want to create.

4. Once you have gathered all these supplies it is finally time to create the mouse pads. The first step is to put the photo or print inside the laminating pouch and use your laminator to laminate it. Make sure that you follow the instructions for the heat setting so that you don't end up ruining one of the pouches. After the item is laminated you will need to peel off the adhesive release liner from the mouse pad backer and stick the laminated photo to the top of the pad.

5. The final step that remains is to trim the mouse pad to the correct size. The best way to do this is using a large guillotine cutter. However, if you don't have access to a guillotine cutter you might consider simply using a razor blade knife and a straight edge to cut the finished mouse pad to the correct size. If you have a corner rounding device you can use that to round the corners of your mouse pad or you can leave them square.

Creating your own mouse pads is as simple as that. Small print shops and mailing stores across the country have been doing it for years. Now you can create your own mouse pads and give them to your friends, coworkers and family.