Friday, June 8, 2012

GBC Badgemates ID Badge Laminator Kit from MyBinding.com {Review & Giveaway}

It's time to admit a secret of mine: I have a thing for office machines.

I'm pretty sure the love affair started back in elementary school with the Ditto machine. The papers were rolled through and came out a little damp with their unique bluish purple ink and that particular smell that can't be forgotten... ahh, the joy that occurred when my teacher would allow me to go to the office to make the copies.

My office machine love has only increased from there, having been strengthened with Xerox machines, fax machines, scanners, and more. One personal favorite, however, was the laminating machine that I used when teaching as well as at my job in the public library system.. Being able to take a sign that would otherwise get crumbled and mangled and run it through, resulting in a crisp, plastic cover was a simple dream come true.

Weird? Maybe. Now you know why it's one of my secrets.

So while I have been able to capture much of my office machine obsession with an all-in-one machine that prints, scans, copies, faxes and more, I had yet to find a way to bring the ability to laminate into my home... until now. My life is complete since the arrival of the GBC Badgemates ID Badge Laminator Kit from MyBinding.com.

home laminator

An Oregon-based, family-owned company with over 30 years in the business, MyBinding.com specializes in binding machines and supplies, laminators and supplies, 3-ring binders, whiteboards, and so much more. Their large warehouse space is full of over 27,000 products ready for immediate shipment and they staff a stellar customer service department that is ready to answer questions, recommend products, take orders, and anything else you might need.

For me, when this great little laminator arrived, I was already drooling over the possibilities, projects, and large number of uses that it would provide. Being able to easily laminate photos, recipes, small scrapbooking items, flashcards, toy box labels, emergency phone numbers, medical cards, a small chore chart, crafts, and much more — I knew the possibilities were endless!

MyBinding laminator kit

Along with the GBC Badgemates ID Badge Laminator Kit, I looked over the 20-pack of 5mil GBC Longlife 4x6" Photo Size Laminating Pouches and couldn't wait to get started.

MyBinding laminator kit review

Including everything you need to create five professional laminated ID badges, the GBC ID Badge Laminator comes with a starter pack of horizontal ID badge pouches and five breakaway lanyards. In addition, the 20-pack of 4x6" photo size laminating pouches ensured that I was ready to laminate a wide variety of small items!

I was happy to find the the 4½" size of the laminator made it convenient, portable and that it could be used pretty much anywhere there was an electrical outlet. When it came time to get started, I simply had to plug it in and flip the power switch. From there, I waited a few minutes as it warmed up as I got my photograph and laminating supplies ready.

When the green Ready light was illuminated, I knew it was time to laminate!

power switch

The easy-to-follow directions that came along with this Laminator Kit eased any concerns that I may have had and the steps to complete my project were extremely easy.

First, I placed my photo in the corresponding plastic pouch, ensuring that it was centered within the edges:

laminating pouch

Second, I placed the pouch into the provided paper sleeve to keep the plastic from bunching or melting onto the laminator:

laminating protection

Third, I fed the pouch and protector into the front of the laminator, where it "grabbed" hold and automatically slowly fed the entire thing through.

personal laminator

Voila! The whole thing came out the other side a bit warm, so I was careful to remove it and lay it out on the counter to open. As I lifted the paper sleeve, I held my breath (in hopes that I hadn't somehow ruined this treasured photograph) and found...

laminated photograph

...perfection! I received this photo from Big Sister E's preschool teachers in honor of her graduation, so I'm thrilled knowing that it will now be able to be treasured for years to come (as I don't have a digital copy for a replacement).

I have since gone on to laminate other photos, small pieces of art, and more, and have found that the GBC Badgemates ID Badge Laminator Kit has performed just as well. It is just so easy to pull this out that I know that we can quickly use it for things like bookmarks, magnets, small activity mats, whiteboards, luggage tags, games, recipes, emergency contact cards, and much, much more (and what an essential item to have if you homeschool)!

Retailing for only $29.99, I'm excited to continue to use this Laminator Kit for years to come. Even better? A 20-pack of 4x6" laminating pouches costs a whopping 89¢ from MyBinding.com! Knowing that, I don't have to hesitate or wonder if I should laminate an item and "use up" one of my pouches - for that price, I can order enough to laminate nearly everything in sight!

No matter what sort of binding, laminating, shredding (or more) projects you take part in, MyBinding.com will have the supplies that you need to get them done quickly, easily and inexpensively. And, thanks to their generosity, one person will soon be joining me in laminating and protecting their small possessions, because...

One lucky person will win a GBC Badgemates ID Badge Laminator Kit and a 20-pack of 4x6" Photo Laminating Pouches from MyBinding.com!


(Enter with the Rafflecopter form below. If you have any questions or problems entering, there is a video tutorial found here that can help.)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

A big thank you to MyBinding.com for providing a GBC Badgemates ID Badge Laminator Kit and a 20-pack of 4x6" photo laminating pouches for me to review as well as for one lucky giveaway winner. The opinions shared are my own and honest and if you really need to see more, click here to see how I roll.

171 comments:

Unknown said... 1

Gift tags & business cards.
Sherry Conrad
discriminating_diva at yahoo dot com

Ladies in Navy said... 2

oh my goodness! this is nerdy but i adore laminating. it's sincerely the best fun - no crinkled edges, perfect every single time. would love to win this one!
kw, ladiesinnavy or ladiesinnavy@gmail.com

Sylvia said... 3

Certificates from school
sylviawhit@gmail.com

Pauline MIlner said... 4

I would like to laminate some of our Son's schoolwork in order to preserve it.

Thanks for the great giveaway opportunity. ~Pauline

dod@rogers.com

jmajor4870 said... 5

i would do alot of things. photos, drawings, business cards, awards

d schmidt said... 6

Can I say everything? Badges, kids drawings, gift tags, cards, fridge magnets ...

debijackson said... 7

all sorts of craft projects and for school

Cathy C said... 8

labels and projects for my students

catherine0807 at hotmail dot com

JJ said... 9

I would laminate everything! lol I could laminate special pictures of children, their artwork & school projects, bookmarks, and so much more.

Teigh said... 10

Homemade ID cards for my kids while travelling.

tranch said... 11

love to laminate some pictures and scriptures i have for my sons room

skbaron said... 12

I would love to laminate some pictures of family because my 2yr old LOVES to see pictures of her aunts & uncles & cousins, etc but it drives me crazy to have her fingerprints all over them & sometimes so rips them

tbabichuk said... 13

I would use it for laminating items to help organize my help. also for items i use in my small business.

SueZH said... 14

recipe cards

blue65829 said... 15

I would laminate important documents and art work

Mrs. Brown said... 16

I would use it to laminate things for my classroom!

kellybrown28021@gmail.com

KayeDean said... 17

They would call me the crazy laminator! Seriously,I have so many things I would use this for.
recipes, important cards, etc...

ginette4 said... 18

I would love to laminate certificates and school diplomas

Peggy said... 19

I want to laminate some of the kids drawings.

Lori Thomas said... 20

pictures, art work & lots of other things

ctymice at gmail dot com

willdebbie said... 21

I would like to laminate my girls awards and report cards
christal c

Belly Charms said... 22

Everything!! I would love one of these for the things my kids make and for my boot camp workouts ( I put them in page protectors now for the outside moisture at 6 am classes:)

s said... 23

alphabet/picture cards for my little one

Debi H. said... 24

I like the idea of laminating the kids' drawings.
pizzanumber2 at yahoo dot com

Tanya M said... 25

I would laminate cards and other school work for my daughter.
Thank you for the giveaway.

Some Lucky Dog said... 26

This would be awesome for name tags on school field trips!

CINDY B on rafflecopter

Serendipity Stitcher said... 27

some home school stuff.

Wild N Mild $$$ said... 28

Some of my sons favorite photos.
Jennifer Rote
wildnmild4u at yahoo dot com

DC said... 29

education tools to use with my kids

Sarah Coulsey said... 30

My son is graduating from Kindergarten on Thursday. It would be nice to laminate some of his school work from the year to save!!

kellyr78 said... 31

I would laminate pictures and my kids drawings, writing projects, diplomas, etc.
kellywcuATyahooDOTcom

Mikki said... 32

I'm excited by the laminated chore cards!

Juana said... 33

I would love to laminate some very old pictures.

Anonymous said... 34

I want to laminate a template for meals, chores and can't wait to start laminating my kid's art : )

Stacey said... 35

I would laminate pictures, and my a sheet to remind me to take my med.

sherylssg said... 36

I would like to laminate recipes and certificates.

sflickinger at rocketmail dot com

llinda29 said... 37

I have a picture

Unknown said... 38

A million things!! I want to make my kids Homeschool ID cards and I want to make my husband a laminated book marker with his grandma's picture and eulogy on it like I have for grandmother and, and, and..
valerie at its-the-simple-things dot com

lana said... 39

pictures!!

Laura Lynch said... 40

i'd probably use it for photos, reinforcing patterns for my handmade tea bag tea-shirts, important records, making signs to label drawers and such for organizing my room, etc. lmlynch2 at gmail dot com on rafflecopter

Sarah Oswald said... 41

i have some old pictures of my mom and dad and i would laminate them to protect them.

Carrie Phelps said... 42

I'm a childcare provider so we would use it for pictures, leaves, drawings ...

Jennifer Van Dahm said... 43

My recipe cards!
Jennifer (at) jennifervandahm.com

Aubrey said... 44

I would laminate ID cards for our home school CO-OP.

Daisy said... 45

my daughter school awards

Ashley Hughes said... 46

I'd like to Laminate learning paper's for my daughter so we can wipe them off and re-use them.

slehan said... 47

I want to make badges for all the women in my chorus.
(machine geek here, too.) I wonder what happened to all the old ditto machines?
Thanks for the contest.

Anonymous said... 48

I would laminate my son's baby pictures.

Penniless Teacher said... 49

I would donate to the school.

Anonymous said... 50

I would love to have it to make copies of certain KM inserts,

Melissa said... 51

i wouold usse it to help with laminating andf organizing

Jorge Granda said... 52

Cool prize, I could use one of these.

Connie Bolick Lee said... 53

I would laminate important insurance cards, and various photos

jessica said... 54

I'd laminate important papers

jek9880 at gmail dot com

mverno said... 55

important family documents
mverno@roadrunner.com

jbmthill said... 56

I have a diner coupon that is getting tattered that I would love to laminate. Also, business cards that I need to keep.
like2sweep@gmail.com
jbmthill

Tammy S said... 57

I would use it for some of my kids school work, pictures, and some items for work that I use.

Mps5732 said... 58

Pictures and sheet music

Jaime Nicole said... 59

I would laminate my kids' keepsake papers!

Tabathia B said... 60

my kids birth certificates
tbarrettno1 at gmail dot com

Karla said... 61

Calendars

Wendy ArtsyChaos said... 62

We recently had to get some game cards laminated, this would have been very handy for that!

Retta69 said... 63

birth and marrage records, my granparents pics

Christina said... 64

I would laminate everything...lol. I love making magnets from laminated pics...and the kids fave art pieces.

moonsword said... 65

I'd laminated luggage tags. Thanks!

S Carter said... 66

I would laminate gift tags, magnets, luggage tags, etc

scarter305 at aol dot com

Brandi Elam said... 67

I'd laminate some homemade flash cards for the kids.

toughturtles said... 68

lots of old signature cards that i have

Liz said... 69

I'd laminate pictures of the kids!

Romina said... 70

Educational flashcards for the kids.

Crystal said... 71

I'd use it for little mementos from vacations!
CrystalW07 at aol.com

polly said... 72

my name tag for work and business cards
pkeintz@gmail.com

Miss Sarah said... 73

I'd use this for bookmarks and other similar gifts for the children I teach at church.

Thanks for the giveaway!

Elaine said... 74

I would like to laminate certificates of achievment

STF said... 75

It's hurricane season. This would be great to laminate important documents.

SHEILATF52 AT YAHOO DOT COM

mommyisshopping said... 76

Things for my daughters school, camp, and birthdays. I would so love this as I do it by hand at the moment.

Rose @ NetWorkingWitches said... 77

I too have a love of office machines. Mine began in school with what else? The giant laminating machine in the library! I adored that thing!

I would probably laminate everything I got my hands on if I won. For sure would laminate my son's Graduation pictures.

Laurel said... 78

Would like to laminate my boys artwork.
alwaysneedhim4evr@yahoo.com

Sippy Cup Mom said... 79

My son's artwork!

Salleefur/Jesselyn/Jesster said... 80

O boy! Where to begin? We would use this wonderful constantly!

Let's see, IDs, business cards, art, certificates and documents, soubenirs & momentos - so many things what need protection and preservation!

Thanks - Great Giveaway!

Jesselyn A/Jesstinger
jessterlyn(at)aol(dot)com

lgothard said... 81

I would laminate pictures, ids, cards and everything I can

Anonymous said... 82

would love this for Scrapbooking and Paper crafts

Tatum said... 83

I do homeschooling so I have a ton of stuff I could use this on

Terra Heck said... 84

I'd like to laminate my kids artwork and awards. I'd also like to laminate pictures for scrapbooking. Thanks.
partymix25(at)hotmail(dot)com

Sandy VanHoey said... 85

I would give to my daughter for her job and also their new business for their new business cards

Johnny said... 86

business cards for our church

carlaboo11 said... 87

photos for my son to carry around. he loves pictures, but they tend to get messed up quickly

Unknown said... 88

I owuld laminate arts and crafts and the kids projects they finish at school!

adamsfam2004@gmail.com

Sunnymay said... 89

Luggage tags and Auto Insurance ID

Linda W. said... 90

Important documents, pictures, the kids art projects!

deallieb said... 91

I would laminate some of my sons artwork and his pool pass

Daniel M said... 92

important documents and fun stuff for the kids - regnod(at)yahoo(d0t)com

stracey2010 said... 93

i would use it to make labels for around the house
stracey2010@live.com

GpTpRiNcEsS said... 94

Name tags, gift tags, pictures, labels for various things....the list is endless!!

Donna said... 95

photos and a chore chart for my kids

Kelley F said... 96

My kids photos and some of their art work.

Francofamily4@aol.com

Erin Coughlan said... 97

I would like to laminate sticker charts for my children.

nancy said... 98

Would love to laminate my lilpricess ballets pictures and my sons karate pics:)TY

Jay said... 99

I would use to make photo bookmarks.

Steph said... 100

I work in a school, there's always something to laminate!

Miriam said... 101

Would laminate photos to put on my fridge. They keep falling off and the good ones get ruined.

Unknown said... 102

My children's artwork and certificates.

Leslie Galloway (LesGalloway //at// hotmail //dot// com) www.facebook.com/GallowayLeslie

MommaMary said... 103

I would do my favorite recipe cards including the ones written by my mom and grandmother. They are gone but their cooking legacy continues and it would be wonderful to pass these on to my granddaughters!

Anonymous said... 104

homemade ID cards

The Studio said... 105

my parents medical cards that I created to help them make sure they have a list if they get hurt of all the meds they are on. the meds change every six months it seems and this would help.
rendancechick at yahoo dot com

garygreen said... 106

I would love to win this prize.

Kimbuckjr said... 107

'IF' I win, I will laminate the book marks I make for my students.
kimbuckjr at yahoo dot com

brich2222 said... 108

would like to laminate some things the kids have done in school and some important documents we have


brich22 at earthlink dot net

RJ said... 109

Artist Trading Cards

rjwhiggins@aol.com

savvygirl65 said... 110

Sherri J.
I would laminate the art that both my kids make.
savvyblog@yahoo.com

Ruth said... 111

We have some craft projects that I would love to laminate!

ExitsAngel said... 112

I would laminate my favorite photos.

LesleyfromWI said... 113

Craft projects that I am working on!

Amy Dalrymple said... 114

I'd love to laminate old photos that are falling apart!

Kristi D said... 115

Some of my son's art

cubbieduke@gmail.com said... 116

This would be great to use in my Sunday School class.

AndreaH said... 117

I'd love to laminate our voter cards and a few wedding photos.

AndreaH
davandihamilton (at) gmail (dot) com

Katie R. said... 118

I would like to laminate certificates my daughter has received.

Flowerg said... 119

I would laminate photos and awards. Thanks!

romapup at gmail dot com

MizVickik said... 120

I'd laminate some photos for the fridge, so that they could be up there without curling at the edges.
Miz Vickik

john said... 121

medical records

Amy V said... 122

photos of my children-and make magnets from them!

annae07 at aol dot com

SueZH said... 123

I am a crafter & would like to laminate seed packages for one of my projects.

Unknown said... 124

I have recipes on cards that I would love to laminate.

jessicabanks1721@yahoo.com

carole said... 125

pictures from my grandaughters graduation and all my recipes

weety said... 126

I'm a teacher--I'd laminate all my math games.

Unknown said... 127

i would love to use this for certain things i am scrapbooking

christinejessamine at hotmail dot com

Jana said... 128

I would love to laminate my daughter's art and photos to give family as gifts!

dropcqueen at yahoo dot com

Ashlee said... 129

I'm working on memorizing more scripture & would love to be able to laminate them and post them in various places.

Anonymous said... 130

If i win id like to laminate beautiful memories stored in photographs so that its kept safe and clean. and even important certificates and documents.

Hoa said... 131

I would like to laminate our family photos.

alittlepieceofheaven777(at)yahoo(dot)com

Teresa Thompson said... 132

student id for my grandaughter and pictures.
marine.mom42@hotmail.com

dmoniz1980 said... 133

make some personalized photo bookmarks

yanktheese@yahoo.com

Jana said... 134

tweet https://twitter.com/dropcqueen/status/217990626870960128

dropcqueen at yahoo dot com

john said... 135

Medical RX List

Yolanda said... 136

I would laminate my kids artwork.

skyrobinson@yahoo.com

bettycd said... 137

I would laminate items for my volunteer efforts. The various clubs that the kids are associated with have a number of items that could use laminating to make it thru the year.

Harold D said... 138

Our Work ID's at our office...

tannerboyle12@hotmail.com

Kendal said... 139

I would like to laminate learning activities for my 3 year old son!

Unknown said... 140

I am always updating my daughters' medical information card (about every 2 months) and for durability in her purse, I get it laminated.

Alexis B said... 141

I would love to laminate labels for everything in my pantry, linen closets, drawers, and such (because I am OCD like that) as well as business cards and gift tags.

Tamar said... 142

My son's drawings and soon my daughter's ;)
Tam Sweeps RC/FB

Unknown said... 143

Pictures, labels and tags ect.
schueler.jessica@yahoo.com

Carolyn Daley said... 144

I would use it for photos with my boyfriend. We have been together for nearly three years and we have so many photos together from the last seven years. It would be nice to laminate and scrapbook our memories together.

darkmysticnight(at)hotmail(dot)com

lilyk said... 145

I would like to laminate my friend's picture with this kit.

Unknown said... 146

recipe cards. im a messy cook.

dani marie

ferriza2(at)yahoo(dot)com

sparkedcat said... 147

I would laminate business cards.

Terri Patillo said... 148

I would laminate all of my cross-stitch info cards to my finished pieces!

Terri P
pr4gatheringroses AT gmail DOT com

Candie L said... 149

I would hope to laminate some of my lesson plans for school. Thank you

candieluster(at)gmail(dot)com

corey1971 said... 150

My kids drawings and other art work (Corey Olomon)(CoreyOlomon at gmail dot com)

Anonymous said... 151

i would like to laminate the Kardashians.

theyyyguy@yahoo.com

Anonymous said... 152

I would like to laminate some of the kids school stuff to save

A Roach said... 153

I'm starting an "identification" business. Just kidding! I would use it to laminate photos from my family reunion as well as college graduation!

Unknown said... 154

I would laminate ICE cards with who to call in case of emergency, allergies and our medications for each family member to carry. Rafflecopter: happi shopr

Anonymous said... 155

recipes and photos

klynwest@hotmail.com

Donna said... 156

I have labels I would like to laminate

something frugal at yahoo dot com

Trevor C. said... 157

all my business cards stocked full of information
trevor_clinger@yahoo.com

Denise Donaldson (MistySunrise) said... 158

School pics

Anonymous said... 159

I would like to laminate school IDs with this tool.
repose4jr at gmail dot com

CAJUNMAN12 said... 160

I would like to laminate some work charts

Marissa said... 161

I would like to laminate my important school papers and schedules

lovefreestuff17(at)gmail(dot)com

micheal dale grim said... 162

i could use it for all my recipe cards i have!!

susansmoaks said... 163

i would use this for so many things, i really want to use this for flash cards right now and i will have so many other uses that i think of.

susansmoaks at gmail dot com

freddie said... 164

I would mostly like to laminate pictures of my family and my grandchildren artwork. dwelchert@yahoo.com

Savannah said... 165

I would like to do my kids photos

Derek Timm said... 166

I would laminate a bunch of family photos!

Lisa Fonseca said... 167

I would laminate EVERYTHING lol, but probably pictures more than anything else.

Ms Penny Pincher said... 168

I would like to laminate my kid's awards!

PDWinner523 at gmail.com

Kathy P said... 169

id laminate pictures,special papers and newspaper clippings of my sons basketball games

daveshir2005 said... 170

A few drawings my niece did for me when she was little.

email/ daveshir2005@yahoo.com
fb/ shirley greenawalt zolenski

Unknown said... 171

I would love to use this for pictures and some artwork my kids did!
(toocaringforyou22@yahoo.com on rafllecopter)