The GBC Heatseal H210 Pouch Laminator is designed for a home office or small office that occasionally needs to laminate documents, photos and promotional materials that are up to 8.5" wide.
The H210 has a 9.5 inch wide throat and is a popular option for organizations that are on a budget but need the ability to laminate letter or legal sized documents, signs or sheets.
This review will provide a quick overview of the strengths, features, weaknesses and limitations of the H210 pouch laminator.
Strengths / Features:
The GBC Heatseal H210 is designed specifically for small organizations that need to laminate documents on a budget. It is the lowest priced laminator from GBC that is capable of laminating letter and legal sized documents. With a market price of about $115, this makes the H210 a great choice for small offices and home offices that are on a budget.
The H210 has a 9.5" throat which is ideal for laminating small sized documents and documents that are as large as letter size (9" x 11.5" pouches) and legal size (9" x 14.5" pouches).
The Heatseal H210 has GBC's readyglo technology which means that the throat of the laminator will turn green when it is ready to laminate. It has a five minute warm up time which is fairly decent for a laminator of its size.
The H210 is designed for lamination with a carrier which is a strength. This prevents adhesive from accumulating on the rollers inside the machine. It also includes a jam release lever to help you quickly and easily remove the carrier from the laminator if it becomes jammed inside the machine.
Weaknesses / Limitations:
The GBC H210 can handle laminating pouches that are either 3mil or 5mil thick. However, it is not capable of handling thicker laminating pouches. For organizations that need to laminate documents with 7mil and 10mil laminating pouches, the GBC H210 is not a good option.
The Heatseal H210 has a 9.5" throat. This is fine for laminating most standard sized documents. However, it is not ideal for use with long side sealed letter laminating pouches since it is important to always feed pouches into the laminator with the sealed side first. The H210 is also not suitable for laminating large documents such as menus or 11" x 17" sheets. A laminator with a 12.5" or 13" throat is required for that application.
The GBC H210 has a small exit tray on the back of the laminator. However, the exit tray isn't really large enough to hold standard letter sized documents or almost any size of document. This makes the exit tray essentially useless on this laminator. It is actually easier to simply leave it folded up on the back of the machine.
Recommendation:
The GBC Heatseal H210 pouch laminator is and excellent machine for a small office or home office that is looking to laminate letter and legal sized documents.
The H210 can also be used to laminate photos, name badges and luggage tags with 5mil laminating pouches.
The limited width of the H210 and the inability to handle thicker laminating pouches does not lend it to larger volume applications. Still, it is an excellent laminating machine at an excellent price point for organizations on a budget.
Overview:
The GBC H110 pouch laminator is the new replacement model for the tried and true GBC H100 pouch laminator.
The H110 is a 4.5 inch pouch laminating machine that is designed for laminating small documents such as name badges, photos, ID's, luggage tags and business cards.
It is designed for the small office, home office user who laminates small numbers of documents but is looking for an easy to use photo quality laminator that won't take up much space.
Strengths / Features:
The New Heatseal H110 laminator now has the ability to accept either 5mil or 7mil laminating pouches. The old H100 only had the ability to use 3mil and 5mil pouches and since 3mil pouches aren't available in small sizes, this limited it to only laminating documents with 5mil pouches. This new machine can now handle 7mil pouches. However, GBC doesn't currently make 7mil laminating pouches so you will need to buy a generic brand if you want to use 7mil laminating pouches.
The Heatseal H110 is extremely simple to operate. You have two choices for this machine: Hot or Cold. It laminates at a fixed speed of 13" per minute and there are really no settings or adjustments to mess with. It doesn't even require a carrier for your laminating pouches (we will discuss this more in a minute).
The H110 comes with a one year warranty from GBC who is one of the best manufacturers in the industry to deal with. They will generally just replace the H110 if it fails within one year and won't hassle you in the process.
Weaknesses / Limitations:
The H110 specifically states on the box and on the machine that you should NOT use a carrier when laminating documents using this machine. This is definitely concerning. Over time there is a good chance that laminating adhesive will begin to build up on the rollers and eventually you may wrap a pouch around the rollers of this machine which would ruin it. For light volume use this won't realistically happen. However, if it does happen the laminator will be ruined and will need to be replaced.
The H110 does not come with a jam release lever or a reverse feature. This means that if a laminating pouch does get stuck in the machine that it may be essentially impossible to remove it (without major surgery). This is something to keep in mind.
The H110 does not have adjustments for heat and speed. Depending on the items that you are laminating this could be a problem. Thicker items may not receive enough heat to fully laminate and thinner items may become wavy if they receive too much heat. This machine does not allow you to adjust for these things. This means that you need to live with what you get which can be a little bit frustrating if a highly professional finished product is important to you.
Recommendation:
The H110 laminator is ideal for small offices and home offices that need to laminate a few documents at a time and are looking for a cost effective solution to do so. However, it does have a few limitations and potential problems that make it less than ideal for any type of volume applications. If you laminate small numbers of small items then the H110 is a laminator to consider. If you need to laminate a large number of items or need to laminate larger items then this machine isn't for you.
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