If I were to take a survey and ask consumers why they laminate, the most popular answers would be what we call the 3 P's of lamination:
Protection
Presentation
Preservation
The business world normally focuses on the first two - document protection and presentation. You may need to protect a document like a price list or a menu. Or you may want to laminate a document that you are giving out or displaying during a conference to enhance the colors. School teachers may want to laminate signs or flash cards being used in class. In the current rolling 12 month period, almost $138 MILLION dollars has been spent on laminators and lamination supplies.
The commercial customer is someone who laminates more than ten documents weekly and needs a multi-user machine that is fast and easy to use and will last up to 5 years. Plus Packs are the newest thing on the market for lamination supplies. (And even better yet, they're on sale until the end of April!)
Swingline™, a division of Acco Brands, is offering value bundles called Plus Packs that include the laminator, an extended warranty, and a pack of laminating pouches. The Fusion™ 5100XL and 5000XL models are perfect for the commercial consumer. They feature a 60-second warm up and can laminate 5 documents in just 1 minute. They offer auto pouch thickness detection, auto jam detection and removal, capacity from 1.5 mil to 10 mil thickness and a 12.5" lamination width. The 5100XL also allows for custom lamination settings for professional users. The 5000 series comes with a 50-pack of 3 mil letter size EZUse™ speed pouches.
The extended warranty is noteable. I'm sure you've all purchased, or at least priced out, an extended warranty on some kind of electronic device or appliance - you know how much they usually cost. The normal warranty on these laminators is a limited 1-year, but when you purchase the Plus Pack, you get a 3-year warranty. A lot of writers say to skip the warranties, but I feel they do have a place and a benefit in some situations. And with the current promotion, you can get the Plus Pack for less than the normal price of just the laminator. Let's not forget that a pack of laminating pouches normally costs upwards of $50 and you're getting those included as well.
Fusion 5000 series
If productivity is essential in your office, consider a Swingline™ laminator Plus Pack. I think you'll be glad you did.