For resellers, peripherals can be an important revenue generator, and laminators can be a good upsell opportunity as businesses increasingly seek to keep physical documents well preserved.
When printing, some documents are meant to last – be they certificates, signs, menus or a myriad of other uses – and one of the best ways to ensure this is by laminating them. And this presents opportunities for resellers.
“Lamination serves a wide range of purposes from enhancing and preserving, to protecting important documents and materials,” says Martina Alexander, regional marketing director UK & Ireland and Derwent at ACCO. “In recent years, demand has grown significantly, particularly in signage that expanded during and after the pandemic.
“This momentum continues today, driven by increased use across homes, healthcare, retail and hospitality. Greater awareness of laminating benefits, along with its versatility, has further fuelled category growth. Laminators are used for everything from shop and safety signs to menus, posters, certificates, craft projects, and instructional materials – the list keeps growing.”
Annaliese Curtis, trade marketing manager – UK & Ireland at Fellowes, agrees that domestic demand is increasing, as well as across schools, offices and warehouses. “As a print reseller, we’re seeing more customers wanting to protect and extend the life of printed materials, especially signage, teaching tools, instructions, reusable displays and important documents,” she adds.
“Lamination keeps materials looking like new by protecting against fingerprints, smudges and tears while enhancing colour and contrast. With more communication now produced in house, laminated materials offer durability and a professional finish across many environments.”
Upsell potential
There are many reasons for businesses to consider investing in laminators, Martina adds. “Laminators are a smart investment for anyone looking to protect and preserve printed documents and can potentially reduce reprinting costs,” she says. “For example, unlaminated signage quickly deteriorates when exposed to the environment, whereas laminated signs last much longer, maintaining their quality and minimising replacement costs.”
Annaliese says that laminators can be a strong upsell for print resellers. “Laminators complement standard and wide format printers, enabling customers to finish documents internally with better speed, flexibility and cost control,” she says. “They also create repeat business through consumables, especially now with Fellowes launching laminating pouches with 50% recycled content, the first sustainable solution of its kind. This opens additional upsell opportunities around environmentally responsible supplies.”
Current trends
While demand remains strong for laminators, what customers demand of them is changing. “Our 2023 consumer research confirmed that customers continue to prioritise products that are easy to use and free from issues such as jamming,” notes Martina.
“We’ve found that the main cause of jams is often the use of low-quality pouches, so we always recommend using the best quality you can afford to achieve optimal performance. With our GBC and Leitz brands, we’ve developed an integrated ecosystem of machines and pouches that work seamlessly together, delivering reliable results and a good long-term investment.”
Annaliese agrees customers want laminators that are jam-free, but that also start quickly – ready in 30–60 seconds – are safer to use (auto shut off after inactivity), and complete jobs faster with consistent, high quality results. “Sustainability is increasingly important too, which is why the new Fellowes recycled content pouches resonate strongly as they offer perfect lamination with significantly reduced environmental impact,” she adds.
Reseller conversations
When talking about laminators to customers, there are certain benefits that resellers should be highlighting. Annaliese says resellers should talk up the features of laminators. “Things like fast warm up and rapid throughput, anti-jam technology for frustration free use and auto shut off for energy efficiency and safety.
“Also highlight the high clarity results that make documents more durable and long lasting,” she adds. “And the wide range of applications: presentations, signage, reusable classroom materials, warehouse instructions, ID cards, training content and frequently handled documents. Also, sustainable consumables options, especially Fellowes’ new 50% recycled pouches.”
Martina agrees that high quality and ease-of-use is a big area to focus on. “At ACCO, we promote and sell premium products that are designed to last, rather than needing to replace a laminator that may fail,” she adds. “Our latest GBC laminators not only look great but have improved features with quick warm up times, fast speeds and intuitive user interfaces. All our models have built-in sensors which after 15 minutes of inactivity products go into standby, pro-actively reducing power consumption.
“Resellers can also take advantage of dual brand cross-sell and upsell opportunities with ACCO UK’s range of laminators, binders, shredders, trimmers and guillotines, all working together as a system.”
Future
It is expected that demand for laminators will remain strong. “Lamination continues to play an important part in people’s everyday lives,” says Martina. “Events like the pandemic created demand as more people needed to print signage around offices, leisure and retail environments.”
Annaliese adds: “Demand should remain strong as organisations continue to rely on printed communication and prioritise durability, professionalism, and sustainability,” she says. “With the shift toward greener consumables, laminators and environmentally friendly pouches offer a reliable growth opportunity for resellers.”
