About Wide Format Laminators

A wide format laminator is a two roller press that feeds a printed sheet or roll through a nip while unwinding film onto it. Everything that determines quality happens at that nip: even pressure, no trapped air, no wrinkles, and consistent tension on the film. Machines in this class use pneumatic pressure rather than manual screws because a sign shop cannot afford to re-run a 60 inch banner that silvered halfway down. These are the machines a print, sign, or graphics shop buys when volume outgrows a hand roller.

Pneumatic Cold Laminators

Our 63 inch cold laminators, the 1600-C2 and the 1600-C3Pro, apply pressure sensitive film without heat. Cold lamination is the safe default for anything heat sensitive, and it is standard practice for solvent and eco-solvent prints, self adhesive vinyl, and mounting work onto boards. Both models ship with a stand, so the machine arrives at working height rather than needing a bench built for it.

Full Auto Heat Assist Laminators

The 1700 series models, available in 65 inch and 67 inch widths, add heat assist and built in trimmers to the pneumatic system. Heat assist softens the adhesive as the film goes down, which improves lay flat on textured media and lets you run thermal films that cold machines cannot. The trimmers cut the web at the end of a run so the finished piece comes off ready, instead of going to a separate table for a hand cut. On a shop running jobs back to back, that is the feature that changes throughput.

Sizing on Width

Working width is the first specification to settle, and the rule is simple: the laminator must be wider than the widest thing your printer produces. We stock 63, 65, and 67 inch machines, which covers the common 54 inch and 60 inch wide format printers with margin to spare. Buying a laminator that only just clears your print width leaves no room for handling error and no headroom if you upgrade the printer later.

What Shops Use Them For

Vehicle wraps and decals, outdoor banners and building signage, floor graphics, point of sale displays, mounted posters and prints, and laminated maps and drawings. Anywhere a print has to survive weather, handling, cleaning, or UV exposure, lamination is what gets it there. Cold film for heat sensitive and pressure sensitive work, heat assisted film where you want maximum adhesion and clarity.

Related Categories

See the full MechMaxx equipment range for other shop machinery from the same manufacturer. For the bench and storage side of a production area, look at our industrial workbenches, steel storage cabinets for keeping film rolls and supplies secure, and service carts for moving finished work and heavy media rolls around the shop.