I
started out ordering a Swingline laminator, and the results were not
great. Anything that is worth showing for this test was laminated after I
let the thing heat up for at least an hour. It still definitely worked,
I just wanted it to be perfect, the black spots sticking out really
bugged me.
Why aren't you solid???
It seemed like there was a lot of room for error, and I
couldn't help obsessing over pinterest pictures where the gold foil was
perfect. Running it through the laminator 3-4 times, waiting that long
for it to heat up all for mediocre results just wasn't good enough, and
it looked like all laminators pretty much worked the same, unless they
were expensive. After watching lots of Youtube videos, I decided to run
out and buy a Minc machine, and after seeing that there were a couple at
my local Joanns. And guess what, it was on clearance for $89.99!
Since the Minc
came with some sample foil, I was able to test my results with both the
Minc foil, and the art deco foil. Overall I think both foils are pretty
much the same in terms of quality. It seems like the red has better
coverage than the blue for some reason, the red was able to adhere much
more while the blue had a good amount of problems.
Using the Swingline, after letting it heat up for an hour. 
The red looks all right, but...
The trouble with the blue really stood out for me.
They're still cute, just not perfect.
Another using Kraft paper and the Laminator. I just can't stand the spots.
And here is the first attempt with the Minc! Not bad fpr a first try.
Results with Minc, same foil and paper.
Still one tiny flaw, not sure why, but looks way smoother! This was on setting 3, I think if you're using card stock, just go ahead and go up to 5.
After
only spending 10 minutes with the Minc, it was clear who the winner
was. The Minc had results that were infinitely superior to what the
laminator could do. I tried making a few pages for my planner (planner
accessories coming soon!), and wanted to try a bunch of different papers
besides plain white. I was most excited to try to foil kraft paper, in
my head it looked so neat.
Success!! It came out perfectly, with minimal effort! No waiting for it to heat up for hours, no sending it through multiple times.
Look how pretty the red is!
From my coral collection :)
So pretty!
I am just amazed at how different the results are from the laminator, the pictures really don't do it justice.
Considering
the Laminator was around $30 (which is getting returned), I feel like the Minc is worth the extra
money. The time and foil that will be saved from eliminating errors with
the Minc is definitely worth it, especially if you want to make high
volumes of prints, like I want to do. It was also nice that some foil
came with the Minc so that I could test it out without buying more
products.
Tips/Verdict:
Use the smoothest paper you can find
Make sure your settings on your printer output the most toner possible (highest dpi/quality)
Minc: Worth it"Cheap" Laminator: Worth it if you're not a perfectionist
Art Deco Foil: just as good as Heidi Swapp foil
Minc Foil: Wonderful!
Here is my list of materials:
and the winner: MINC
If you want to make any of my posters with foil, you can buy them from my shop in high resolution:
Peacock Feather Poster
My peacock Feather design came from my Silhouette store
The Wild & Free Poster Peacock Feather Poster
My peacock Feather design came from my Silhouette store
The Coral print design was used from my coral collection here
But since I'm sure y'all would like to try this without buying MORE stuff, I'm posting my designs that I used for the coral print and the Wild & Free print, the size of the artwork is about 2 x 2', perfect for a small print, and you can get 2 on one 8.5 x 11 page.
Print them out in black, and foil them up! Have fun! Hope this helps with some decision making. :)
