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Sunday, September 9, 2018

Mead Laminator Review and Giveaway

My laminator and I have been best friends for quite a few years and I definitely cannot live without it. Sadly, it stopped working a few weeks ago and I was just about to purchase a new one, when, out of the blue, Mead contacted me, asking me if I'd be interested in trying out one of their personal laminators. They just came out with a brand new line of affordable laminators for the back to school season. Well, of course, I jumped at the chance for three reasons:

1. I needed a new laminator.

2. I wanted a really good, durable laminator and Mead® is a name-brand I trust.

3. Mead® is allowing me to give away a brand new laminator to a lucky teacher!

So, needless to say, deciding to review the laminator was a no-brainer for me!


Disclosure: I received compensation and/or products in exchange for writing this review, however, all opinions are my own. 


My new laminator arrived recently, and I was very excited to start using it because I had just created a new game and it was waiting to be laminated. I received the Mead® 12.5" HeatSeal® Pro Thermal Laminator.

Mead® also makes a 9.5" HeatSeal® Thermal Laminator, and a 9.5" HeatSeal® Pro Thermal Laminator.



My first impression was that it was a well made, attractive looking, white and gray laminator. No need to put this one away when not in use! I love the size and the fact that it is very lightweight. 


Inside the box was an instruction manual and a few Mead® EZAlign™ 3 mil Thermal Lamination Pouches. You can also use 5 mil lamination pouches, but I find 3 mil is sturdy enough for even my youngest learners.

See the grid lines through the plastic? Those really come in handy when you're trying to laminate in a straight line. Once the sheet passes through the laminator, the lines disappear. Poof!


The laminator I chose has a maximum document width of 12 1/2", which is perfect for laminating letter sized documents.
 The laminator itself is 18 1/2" x 5 x 3".


It isn't very wide, so it doesn't take up a lot of desk space. 


The on/off switch is in the back, along with the switch for the 3 mil, 5 mil, and cold settings. The cold setting is for the cold adhesive or pressure-sensitive pouches (not included.) There is also a jam release lever to quickly clear jammed or misfed pouches.


So, let's see how well this baby works!

The laminator heated up in about three minutes, which is way faster than my old laminator. I once owned a laminator that took so long to heat up, I'd plug it in and do some chores around the house while it heated up. With this laminator, I don't have to do any chores! Woo-hoo!

The outside of the laminator didn't get very hot, so I was able to laminate on my table without worrying about damaging it. 

Once the green light came on, I was ready to start laminating some gameboards from my Spin-a-Word Family game.


The document passed through nicely...


and looked smooth and felt very sturdy, when it was finished laminating.
 No bubbles. No flaws.


Time to laminate some of the playing cards and the spinner!


See the grid lines below? It's so cool how they just disappear!


*Laminating Hint: Make sure that there is plenty of room behind the laminator for the newly laminated document to come out.
 Now that's a mistake you only make once! #guilty


Here are some of my laminated game pieces!




Have you ever laminated something and when you cut it out, the laminate peeled away? That is a laminating nightmare! Well, no worries here. Everything I cut out came out perfectly!


Who's ready to play Spin-a-Word Family?





I am incredibly pleased with my Mead® laminator and I'm sure we will be best friends for a long time!

Here's what I love best about it:

It's small and lightweight.
It's very attractive.
It heats up quickly.
The outside of the machine doesn't get very hot.
The sheets go through at a nice pace.
My laminated pieces are smooth and sturdy.
The laminate doesn't peel away when I cut out my pieces.

You can find the laminators on amazon.com or mead.com.

Mead® 9.5" HeatSeal® Thermal Laminator

Mead® 9.5" HeatSeal® Pro Thermal Laminator

Mead® 12.5" HeatSeal® Pro Thermal Laminator

You can also follow Mead® on facebook and instagram!

So, now that you've heard all about my new best friend, I'm sure you are ready to try and win a laminator of your very own. 

Actually, the lucky winner will also win a box of 50 Mead® EZAlign™ 3 mil Thermal Lamination Pouches. Not only do the pouches have the grid lines, but they can also be cut to size and the remaining laminate can be saved for future lamination needs!

Enter the giveaway using the rafflecopter below. There are lots of ways to enter. The more you choose, the greater your chances are of winning. Please enter with integrity. All entries will be verified before the winner is announced.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Good news! Mrs. Wheeler's First Grade is also giving away a Mead® laminator! Head on over to her blog to enter her giveaway and double your chances of winning this great prize!

27 comments:

  1. Thank you for doing this contest! I hope I win!

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  2. So excited for this opportunity! :)

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  3. I’d love to win a personal laminator. I feel like it would make things so much easier!

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  4. Sounds like a great product! I'd love to win!

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  5. I’d love to win! The laminators at my school seem to break often and it’s so frustrating! Would love to win and share with my team ��

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  6. This would be so awesome!

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  7. Thanks for doing this! My new assistant jammed my old machine on Friday and I was shopping for a new one!

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  8. Thank you for the chance to win and the great review!

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  9. Thanks for the chance to win this awesome laminator!

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  10. I love your products and enjoy reading your posts! If I were to win...that would be amazing! I am always borrowing personal laminators.

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  11. I am a retired homeschool teacher, children's author and tutor. I love this post. Thank you for doing the giveaway. Love your blog.

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  12. Thank you for sharing a really good idea - a laminator at home! I hope I win this as I can't afford to buy at this time. I love your FB page with all the neat ideas. I'm always tagging/sharing with my fellow friends.

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  13. Love your review! I would love to have a personal laminator at home. Thank you for the opportunity.

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  14. Would be tremendous to win a laminator. Thank you for the opportunity!

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  15. Would love to win this! Thank you!

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  16. Just put this laminator in my Amazon cart, but winning one would be so much better. Not to mention I don’t get paid my first check until the end of September.

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  17. I love the look of the laminator. I'm very interested in the gridlines on the pouches. Thank you for this opportunity!!

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  18. Funny that this contest should show up. I have 3 new team members and they all have personal laminators. I still use the school laminator, but now I am not satisfied with it because I see what my teammates have. My budget can't allow me to splurge, and I look longingly at theirs.

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  19. My school laminator broke this year and unfortunately we won’t be getting a new one, so it’d be amazing if I won my own personal laminator!

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  20. Thank you for sharing! I am a secondary teacher, but still find many opportunities for lamination. This was an excellent review as a decide what type of laminator I should consider purchasing!

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  21. I am so excited for the opportunity!

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  22. Crossing my fingers, and maybe buying one even if I don’t win!

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  23. Thank you so much for this opportunity to wish this amazing teacher tool!

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Thank you for taking the time to comment. I love to read them!

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