Loydene
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 2,639 
Location: Albuquerque, New Mexico
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Post by Loydene on Sept 16, 2015 14:26:43 GMT
I think that I am not one to want "the THING" -- I think that I can usually make do with a lesser "thing" that does the same thing .... I have a hot laminator from Wally for foiling. It works ... but takes a long time to heat up and leaves a rather wrinkly finish.
It is that wrinkly finish that bothers me --- a bit.
So -- does anyone have experience with the MINC v. a (lesser) hot laminating machine. Jennifer McGuire - whom I consider to be pretty sensible - after showing a bunch of ways to get the foil look without a Minc machine, after testing the Minc, said she liked the Minc better than her Scotch laminating machine.
Any opinions from you all as to the Minc v. a plain old hot laminating machine?
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Post by papersilly on Sept 16, 2015 15:43:16 GMT
I am not one to buy a scrapbook specific item if I can get the same results with something similar (and cheaper). scrapbook trends come and go and i don't want to get stuck with a machine that isn't useful somewhere else.
I tried the foil technique on a heat laminator we have at home. it worked perfectly. no wrinkling. I don't think I will be doing enough foiling to justify buying the minc when my laminator works just fine.
does your laminator wrinkle regular laminating paper? if it does, maybe the machine is defective. if it does not, you might want to play around with the way the foil is inserted to see why the wrinkling is happening.
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Post by mom on Sept 16, 2015 15:47:03 GMT
I am not one to buy a scrapbook specific item if I can get the same results with something similar (and cheaper). scrapbook trends come and go and i don't want to get stuck with a machine that isn't useful somewhere else. I tried the foil technique on a heat laminator we have at home. it worked perfectly. no wrinkling. I don't think I will be doing enough foiling to justify buying the minc when my laminator works just fine. does your laminator wrinkle regular laminating paper? if it does, maybe the machine is defective. if it does not, you might want to play around with the way the foil is inserted to see why the wrinkling is happening. I am of this mindset as well. Foiling is cool. Foiling is fun. But is it something I will want to be investing $ on so I can have the 'it' machine? Nope. My $20 laminator works great. |
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Post by papersilly on Sept 16, 2015 17:16:01 GMT
I am not one to buy a scrapbook specific item if I can get the same results with something similar (and cheaper). scrapbook trends come and go and i don't want to get stuck with a machine that isn't useful somewhere else. I tried the foil technique on a heat laminator we have at home. it worked perfectly. no wrinkling. I don't think I will be doing enough foiling to justify buying the minc when my laminator works just fine. does your laminator wrinkle regular laminating paper? if it does, maybe the machine is defective. if it does not, you might want to play around with the way the foil is inserted to see why the wrinkling is happening. I am of this mindset as well. Foiling is cool. Foiling is fun. But is it something I will want to be investing $ on so I can have the 'it' machine? Nope. My $20 laminator works great. exactly. one annoying thing about the scrapbook industry is that they often repackage everyday items and market it as "scrapbooking" so they can jack up the prices. regular hammer $8. PINK hammer $20. office binding machine $100. Pink, Teal, Gold Binding machine $189. now its the foiling machines. laminator $20. Minc $75-$100. you would be surprised how much stuff I find at Home Depot and Office Depot/Staples that you also find at scrapbooks. the only difference is that the ones at the SB stores are repackaged to appeal to women/crafters and have higher prices. |
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customscrap
Junior Member
Posts: 99
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Post by customscrap on Sept 16, 2015 17:32:05 GMT
I bought the scotch laminator at Walmart for 15.00 and it works great. I didn't want to invest all that money into a minc machine. Maybe you just need a new machine.
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Deleted
Posts: 0
May 18, 2024 22:11:30 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Sept 16, 2015 18:20:16 GMT
So, you can foil with a regular old laminator? I have one I've never used ... bought it for $5 on a Black Friday special. Score!
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Post by anniefb on Sept 16, 2015 18:33:29 GMT
So, you can foil with a regular old laminator? I have one I've never used ... bought it for $5 on a Black Friday special. Score! Absolutely - that's what I use because I couldn't justify another expensive machine that I don't necessarily see as a long term investment. I mean foiling is in now, but who knows for how long. Jennifer McGuire has some videos showing how she used her laminator and other techniques: www.jennifermcguireink.com/2015/02/video-easy-gold-foil.html |
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Post by anniefb on Sept 16, 2015 18:35:52 GMT
Loydene I also use my laminator and find it works great - no wrinkling as far as I've noticed. There's no way I can justify the purchase of a Minc - the retail price is NZ$250 here!
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Loydene
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 2,639
Location: Albuquerque, New Mexico
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Post by Loydene on Sept 16, 2015 20:14:06 GMT
I understand that argument -- no sense in getting the pink thing if the grey thing works fine. I also wouldn't be wondering if the difference in price was as it appears in New Zealand! Here, the difference in price is about $30.00 -- yes, double the price of the Scotch hot laminator from WalMart .. but not unreasonable since I've always liked the look even in the "gold leaf" days. It is the wrinkling All of you -- are your foiled projects shiny and SMOOTH  And .. we might be having a crisis of language -- I don't mean a pleat, I don't mean a big missed streak, I mean the end product looks "textured" "dimpled" .. NOT smooth. But it is something that I think More heat and more pressure might fix -- both of which, I understand, the Minc provides. (I also understand I might be trying to talk myself into the product -- and out of the product at the same time!.... no schizophrenia about new supplies here!) Does anyone have the Minc and is willing to speak to the underlying questions -- do you see a difference in the products? |
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kitbop
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 4,395
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Post by kitbop on Sept 16, 2015 21:16:26 GMT
I too only have a cheap laminator and wont be putting out for anything more expensive.
Loydene, I think Jennifer McGuire uses a folded piece of copy paper to carry her foiling projects through her machine. Were you doing this? I wonder if adding a cardstock "shim" under the item to be foiled (so that the heat still hits the foil more directly) would benefit it?
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Post by camanddanismom on Sept 16, 2015 21:39:33 GMT
O/T a bit, but if you buy minc items and don't have a foil machine, do those items still look good? I saw some pieces in the Crate Paper After Dark collection and wondered if they needed to be "Minced"? Ty!
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Loydene
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 2,639
Location: Albuquerque, New Mexico
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Post by Loydene on Sept 17, 2015 0:29:40 GMT
camanddanismom -- If you don't foil the pre-made items, they have a LOT of black on them -- it is the black places that adhere to the foil
Yes -- I've been using parchment as a carrier for the pieces I've played with.
I think this is, by far, the least enabling thread I've seen!
Thanks for all the input!
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Post by megs78 on Sept 17, 2015 0:54:48 GMT
I have a laminator but it never occurred to me that I could use it for foiling till I read this thread - thanks so much! I'm off to Spotlight at lunch to buy some foil and have a go.  |
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Post by camanddanismom on Sept 17, 2015 2:24:47 GMT
camanddanismom -- If you don't foil the pre-made items, they have a LOT of black on them -- it is the black places that adhere to the foil Yes -- I've been using parchment as a carrier for the pieces I've played with. I think this is, by far, the least enabling thread I've seen! Thanks for all the input! Thank you!! I guess I will avoid those |
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Post by lorieann13 on Sept 17, 2015 2:40:51 GMT
camanddanismom -- If you don't foil the pre-made items, they have a LOT of black on them -- it is the black places that adhere to the foil Yes -- I've been using parchment as a carrier for the pieces I've played with. I think this is, by far, the least enabling thread I've seen! Thanks for all the input! Do NOT get the CP After Dark Minc embellishments!!! They are super super thin, not cut right, and onpy a few can be used without foil. I did not k ow I was buying a foil empherma pack. I gave them to dd to use. |
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Post by lorieann13 on Sept 17, 2015 2:41:55 GMT
O/T a bit, but if you buy minc items and don't have a foil machine, do those items still look good? I saw some pieces in the Crate Paper After Dark collection and wondered if they needed to be "Minced"? Ty! The above post from.me was for you. Tagged the wrong person |
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Post by megs78 on Sept 17, 2015 9:03:43 GMT
So I trundled out at lunch to buy some foil and give this a try with my laminator...I wasn't very happy with the results, though. There are a few possibilities - I didn't use a pattern with enough black in it, the photocopier I used was low on toner, my laminator didn't get hot enough. I'm going to try tomorrow with a REALLY black shape and see what happens.
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Post by marg on Sept 17, 2015 11:17:47 GMT
So, I'll be the lone dissenter. I bought the 12" Minc because I didn't have a laminator already, I had watched some YouTube videos and read some blogs where they found that the laminator didn't work very well every time (I had also done the same with people who thought their laminators worked very well), and I got a really good price on the Minc because the box had been damaged in shipping and the store wanted to clear it out (the store I bought it from is primarily a wholesaler).
Also, laminators in Canada aren't necessarily as cheap as in the U.S. - the cheapest I found was $40. So, I figured I might as well get the Minc instead of investing in a laminator and being disappointed.
So far I am very pleased with the Minc and I have used it a lot. My foiling attempts have come out flawless - it looks professional to me. The pressure is very evenly applied. There are 5 heat settings which is great - I've had to use several different settings depending on the materials I'm using.
The ironic thing is that I've used the Minc to laminate cardstock sheets in order to set up the Avery Elle pocket system for storing my cling stamps. I've laminated about 200 sheets so far, LOL.
So, for me, it's been an investment I've been really happy with.
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Post by penny on Sept 17, 2015 14:02:07 GMT
I too only have a cheap laminator and wont be putting out for anything more expensive. Loydene, I think Jennifer McGuire uses a folded piece of copy paper to carry her foiling projects through her machine. Were you doing this? I wonder if adding a cardstock "shim" under the item to be foiled (so that the heat still hits the foil more directly) would benefit it? This... To get the effect of more pressure, add a piece of paper as a shim... Jennifer McGuire has also run through items twice in a row, so try that as well... As for heat, every brand has a different temperature... It's possible that yours takes extra long to heat up (most take 15-20 minutes to heat up to full temp), or that it runs on the lower end of what's needed to laminate something... You could always try a different cheap brand to see if it's temperature is more what you need... I'm not sure if I missed it, but what were you foiling on? Purchased products (like HS die cuts or paper), or something you photocopied/printed yourself? |
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Post by cbet on Sept 17, 2015 14:12:50 GMT
Over on Splitcoast, someone tried using their regular household iron, set on a high heat with no steam, and said it worked just fine. I actually think that the toner on the photocopies is as important as the heat source. I know on our copier at work, we have to tell it that we are printing on cardstock so that it uses more heat to set the toner, otherwise the toner isn't as even and sometimes even rubs off a bit. I'm not sure if it increases the actual temperature of the fuser, or if it just sends the copy thru more slowly so that it's exposed to the heat for a longer time, but if you have a copy on cardstock where that adjustment wasn't made, you probably don't have as even a layer of toner for the foil to stick to.
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naby64
Drama Llama
Posts: 5,932
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Post by naby64 on Sept 17, 2015 18:00:02 GMT
The toner is very important. MUST be a laser toner and not an ink jet toner. I have just printed off some big black blocks on CS and use those with die cuts. I have the Scotch toner and there are 2 settings. One that is marked 3 mil and one is 5 mil. I set it on the 5 mil. It gets warmer. I let it warm up til the light turns blue and then I got another 10-15 minutes before running it through. I have been using parchment paper(that I got at the $Tree) and it all has worked out great. The only time I had a problem was when the image I was trying to print was a fuzzy image and I don't think, dark enough. It didn't look right after foiling. Everything else has been smooth and completely covered. I will save my money and get more foil and not get the Minc.
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Loydene
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 2,639
Location: Albuquerque, New Mexico
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Post by Loydene on Sept 17, 2015 18:31:58 GMT
I too only have a cheap laminator and wont be putting out for anything more expensive. Loydene, I think Jennifer McGuire uses a folded piece of copy paper to carry her foiling projects through her machine. Were you doing this? I wonder if adding a cardstock "shim" under the item to be foiled (so that the heat still hits the foil more directly) would benefit it? This... To get the effect of more pressure, add a piece of paper as a shim... Jennifer McGuire has also run through items twice in a row, so try that as well... As for heat, every brand has a different temperature... It's possible that yours takes extra long to heat up (most take 15-20 minutes to heat up to full temp), or that it runs on the lower end of what's needed to laminate something... You could always try a different cheap brand to see if it's temperature is more what you need... I'm not sure if I missed it, but what were you foiling on? Purchased products (like HS die cuts or paper), or something you photocopied/printed yourself? 1) -- I used a carrier I made from parchment -- like what I use in cooking. I may try to put another piece of paper under the project as a shim. I've run most projects through two times. I have the machine set for the thickest paper (the machine I have has a 3 ml and a 5 ml setting -- I've used both). I let it heat until the indicator light says it is ready -- usually 15 - 20 minutes -- when playing with foiling, the machine is left on so the heat should eventually be pretty steady and well heated. 2) I've foiled on pre-made items ... and those we've made from home-made toner paper (dark cardstock through a laser printer). The pre-made seem wrinkly; the homemade toner paper projects have teeny "speckles" all over them (as if the toner is missing in places -- it looks sufficient from a distance .. speckled up close) |
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Post by anonrefugee on Sept 18, 2015 18:31:28 GMT
This might be the best enabling tempering thread I've ever read! I'm late to the foil idea and didn't want a machine. But one that costs less than a tank of gas? Maybe!
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Deleted
Posts: 0
May 18, 2024 22:11:30 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Sept 18, 2015 19:42:46 GMT
I understand that argument -- no sense in getting the pink thing if the grey thing works fine. I also wouldn't be wondering if the difference in price was as it appears in New Zealand! Here, the difference in price is about $30.00 -- yes, double the price of the Scotch hot laminator from WalMart .. but not unreasonable since I've always liked the look even in the "gold leaf" days. It is the wrinkling All of you -- are your foiled projects shiny and SMOOTH And .. we might be having a crisis of language -- I don't mean a pleat, I don't mean a big missed streak, I mean the end product looks "textured" "dimpled" .. NOT smooth. But it is something that I think More heat and more pressure might fix -- both of which, I understand, the Minc provides. (I also understand I might be trying to talk myself into the product -- and out of the product at the same time!.... no schizophrenia about new supplies here!) Does anyone have the Minc and is willing to speak to the underlying questions -- do you see a difference in the products? Just my personal experience and opinion. The minc is far superior to my inexpensive laminator. I love it and my daughter wants to foil the world! |
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Loydene
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 2,639
Location: Albuquerque, New Mexico
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Post by Loydene on Sept 18, 2015 20:51:03 GMT
Just my personal experience and opinion. The minc is far superior to my inexpensive laminator. I love it and my daughter wants to foil the world! AHHH -- thank you ihavetoomuchstuff --- whether or not I get the machine, this is what I want to hear. But, can you speak to why you so much prefer the Minc v. the other laminating machine? |
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Post by alissa103 on Sept 18, 2015 21:09:57 GMT
I already had a nice laminator that I got for a great price during a Black Friday sale a few years ago. It has 5 heat and width settings and I think it does a perfect job foiling. So for me, after experimenting with it, also buying a Minc was dumb. I too use a piece of parchment with mine and that is the key.
But if you're having poor results and really think you'd use the machine, it might not be a bad idea to watch the sales and get one.
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Post by anniefb on Sept 18, 2015 23:13:51 GMT
So I trundled out at lunch to buy some foil and give this a try with my laminator...I wasn't very happy with the results, though. There are a few possibilities - I didn't use a pattern with enough black in it, the photocopier I used was low on toner, my laminator didn't get hot enough. I'm going to try tomorrow with a REALLY black shape and see what happens. There are other techniques to use with the laminator as well - I don't have easy access to a laser printer so often use my stamps with versamark and clear embossing powder. |
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Post by marg on Sept 19, 2015 0:15:34 GMT
Another thing I really like about the Minc is that it heats up in about a minute. For someone impatient like me, that is definitely a bonus.
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Post by megs78 on Sept 19, 2015 7:58:47 GMT
I didn't realise that you could use embossing powder with a laminator - what a great way to ensure you get even heat applied. Thanks for the tip anniefb. |
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Deleted
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May 18, 2024 22:11:30 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Sept 21, 2015 14:42:53 GMT
Just my personal experience and opinion. The minc is far superior to my inexpensive laminator. I love it and my daughter wants to foil the world! AHHH -- thank you ihavetoomuchstuff --- whether or not I get the machine, this is what I want to hear. But, can you speak to why you so much prefer the Minc v. the other laminating machine? I minc hands down is tremendously better.....and I have "blind tested" this with friends and they always pick the MinC! |
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And .. we might be having a crisis of language -- I don't mean a pleat, I don't mean a big missed streak, I mean the end product looks "textured" "dimpled" .. NOT smooth. But it is something that I think More heat and more pressure might fix -- both of which, I understand, the Minc provides.
