Fellowes Laminator Venus 2 125, Rapid 30-60 Second Warm-up Laminating Machine, with Laminating Pouches Kit (5734801), Black, Silver, 5.1" x 21.3" x 8.2"

Like the headline says, my laminator was used heavily by multiple teachers on my hall over the last 8 years. The heating element has finally gone out. I am going to see if my husband can fix it, but in the meantime, the department is purchasing another one of these!The reverse feature on these comes in really handy. So does the automatic sensor for the pouch thickness. It allows for even lamination of those construction paper creations. The little platform on the back is great for preventing curling.

We haven't had this item that long, but the laminating we've done has come out perfect. It heats up fast and pulls items through reasonably quickly.Cons: Every so often, when laminating in bulk, it will pull one of the projects through a little too quickly and that one will be completed with slightly lower quality than the others. However, that might be user error - maybe we're feeding one through before the previous is completely finished. Not sure.Also, I scoured the instructions and couldn't find anywhere a note on using a carrier for heated laminating - I wish it said whether you need one or not.Those two points aside, this laminator is quick and efficient.Update - 5/2/19:We've had this laminator almost a year, now, and have really put it through its paces. We send out 11" x 17" marketing materials and have made about 300 of them since we bought this laminator. Even the issue I mentioned earlier about it intermittently pulling an item through too quickly has stopped, so that must have been user error. Some people dislike the cool-down time, but it's not a con for us. We just switch the unit off and walk away. Also, we've been feeding items through on the hot setting without a carrier and have had no issues. Very pleased with this purchase.

My daughter and I are opening an Etsy shop, and I needed to be able to laminate with sheets thicker than 3ml (that's your standard lamination pouch thickness). I had a different brand of laminator, but it would only take up to 5ml, which just wasn't "stiff" enough for what we need. I did a TON of research, and this was the laminator of choice. It's not cheap, but believe me, it is well worth the money! It heats up incredibly fast and has an automatic sensor that controls the speed of the feed of the lamination sheet as it goes through. I also have a big-name laminator for applying foil to paper products, and was shocked to find that it would get over 170F on both the top and the bottom!! This Fellowes laminator ABSOLUTELY DOES NOT GET HOT on external surfaces like some other laminators. I highly recommend this product to anyone who needs to laminate up to 10ml.

This machine is supposed to hold up to my beginning of the year classroom setup. Not only did it not hold up, it ruins the products routinely. Two or three laminations in and it messes up by chewing up the top of your product. This purchase was a complete waste of money. It was too late to return it when I found this out. I would give it ZERO stars if I could. BUYER BEWARE!!!! 🗑

It works just fine so far.

Bought this to laminate 11x17 restaurant menus. It's much more expensive than your standard laminator, but it's essentially the only large format laminator that is capable of handling card stock in 10mil pouches, so we bit the bullet.What we weren't expecting was just how easy this thing is to use and how ridiculously quick it heats up. No buttons, settings, etc. Just plug it in, turn it on, wait a few seconds, and you're ready to feed product through. 10mil pouches, 3mil pouches, everything, paper width, it adjusts to everything automatically. It's simple enough for just about anybody to operate.The only real downsides are that it's got a relatively large footprint and it takes a good 15mins to completely cool down after use. But other than that, no complaints at all. Highly recommended.

We purchased this Fellowes Venus 2 approximately 6 years ago and had to replace it. We threw a lot of laminates at this machine and it finally gave out. Purchasing another one for hopefully 6 more years of trouble-free laminating.

The best laminator I have used, very nice