Gina K Fuse foiling machine

I already have a Minc so I have no need for it but I’m not surprised it sold out so quickly, it is a GinaK product after all.  What surprises me is it took so long for someone to finally come out with a knockoff of the Minc.  

I got one. I had a mini mincs, but got a laminating pouch stuck in it and had to take the thing apart to get it out and unstuck and now I just don't trust it.

If you use a minc as a laminator, be sure to use a carrier folder!!!

I like the look of the fuse - not just the color, but the curved lines. The price on the fuse is really good as well, especially with the extras that come with it. But I expect it's going to take a while to ship!

The price is great! Even with exchange to Canadian, it is less than I paid for the mini Minc a few months ago (with a large discount!).

It make sense that she brought one out with her foils and other products.

Well, the Fuse apparently uses 4 rollers like the full-size Minc, but the mini Minc supposedly only has 2? I have to say, I have a full-size Minc that I got on a really good deal back in the day and it is better for laminating than any laminator I've used. Accidentally bought some 10mil laminating pouches, and most consumer-grade laminators don't get hot enough for that thickness. The Minc does a beautiful job on them.

Can't speak for the Fuse since I don't have it yet, but the Minc machines do a much better job on foiling than laminators. They have more temperature options and heat up a lot faster. The introductory price of the Fuse compared to the price of the mini Minc is pretty good - the Mini Minc tends to run around $80-$90 ish (although right now on Amazon, they have it for like $66.97) and the Fuse comes with a lot more extras. That could change when the introductory special is gone, but for now it's a good value.

Gina K ran a poll on her facebook page yesterday - she is going to try to get more of the machines in the amethyst color and offer the intro deal one more time; she's trying to get a feel for how many of them she needs. I thought it was nice that the poll had options for 1)I want the purple; 2)I prefer the white ore 3)Don't care what color, I just want one.

Stay strong! It's a little pricey as just a decoration and once you start with the foil, you will want all the colors and all the preprinted toner designs (at least I do) and then you start to think, well - a Glimmer would be even more fun, wouldn't it - but that's a whole different type of foil which now you have to keep separate and all the hot plates to collect . . .

I keep saying that I'm buying things now while I'm working so I have them to play with when I retire. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

I have not watched all the videos on her new machine yet but two things came to mind.  1) looks like a knock off minc with the buttons and size (which is a good thing) and 2) I'm surprised it took her this long since she is focused on laser foiling not hot plate foiling.

I have a Royal Sovereign laminator.  I intended to print from my laser printer and foil it but never got around to it.  I purchased a bunch of Gina K Poly glaze sheets and tried it.  On the very first one I tried, the foil coverage was just OK but not great.  I decided right then to get a Minc.  I got a great deal on a full size Minc from Joanns online and it's pink!    I immediately foiled a poly glaze sheet and the difference between the Minc and laminator is ridiculous!  There's just no comparison to the coverage, it's so much better with the Minc.

For anyone wanting to foil, my suggestion is to not waste time and product with a laminator and get a Minc or Gina's new Fuse.

If anyone is thinking of getting the amethyst one, on the Gina K website you can pull up the Fuse (which is unavailable right now) and click "notify me". They will use the number of people asking for a notification to decide how many to order on their second run, and you will get an e-mail notification when they come back in stock. This doesn't obligate you to purchase one, and it doesn't guarantee that you will get one, but you'll get the email a day or so before they announce that they are back in stock.

Gina said in a youtube live today that the 2nd round will be the same price and include the same starter pack as the 1st round.

Isn’t there another product called the Fuse? I thought it was an odd name for her to pick.

I’m not into that style of foiling. But, good for her selling out so quickly.

The We R Memory Keepers Fuse tool is a hot iron that you can use to make custom page protectors and shaker pouches. I know a lot of people didn't like it, but I really like mine. Maybe that's what you're thinking of. I do remember the letterpress system too. I guess it's a catchy name.

Yes, it’s the WRMK tool that I was thinking of.

If I saw an amethyst that color, I'd throw it back. More of a lilac color. Phew!

Little late here - DO NOT use laminating pouches in your Fuse or your Minc without carrier pouches, no matter what the laminating pouches say!!!

Laminating pouches are two layers of plastic with some sort of adhesive between. (Not sure what type of adhesive, but if you run a laminating pouch thru a laminator inside out, it won't stick to itself.)  When you run the pouch thru the laminator, a very small amount of the adhesive can ooze out . A laminator doesn't have quite as much pressure, so that might be why it doesn't seem to hurt the laminator, but when I ran a pouch thru my mini minc without a carrier, it got stuck to the rollers and jammed up like you would not believe. I disassembled my machine and seem to have gotten it out, but it was not just jammed, it was actually physically stuck to the rollers and very difficult to get loose. I don't entirely trust using that Minc anymore, because it still has a bad, hot melty smell when it runs. The Minc (and I'm guessing the Fuse) still get more than hot enough to seal the laminate pouch with the additional carrier. Not worth taking the chance of ruining a pricier tool.

I didn't realize I was the person upthread   But on another discussion board, there was another poster who ruined her large Minc with a laminating pouch with no carrier. When she disassembled hers to unstick the pouch, she broke the heating element. It's really not worth the risk.