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There are lots of neat techno-gadgets that can prove very useful in your office, even if they don't quite fall into an easily definable category. This time around, we'll take a look at a few of them, including an inexpensive laminating machine and a handy, low-price label maker.
Rama Lam[inator] Ding Dong
When I first saw the Smith Corona LX-900 laminating machine in the SOHO (small office-home office) section of CES (Consumer Electronics Show), I thought it was a pretty useless piece of equipment. Faulkner & Gray, the publisher of this magazine, has a small laminator that it drags to accounting shows to laminate business cards for passersby. But just how many laminated business cards do you need turned into luggage tags? In all likelihood, you certainly will not need enough of them to justify the LX-900's $100 street price.
Actually, because the LX-900 can use laminating pouches varying from business card size to letter-size, there's a lot more that you can do with it. Important papers, which always seem to rip, crinkle, and become soiled are transformed by lamination into artifacts that will probably outlive their owners. Presentations to potential and existing clients likewise become impervious. And, of course, if you run out of things to entomb, you can always make a few more luggage tags or laminate your business cards and give them to your favorite, money-paying clients!
Using the LX-900 couldn't be any simpler. Just plug the unit in, and turn on the power switch (it lights when the unit is operating.) There's a second indicator light that glows green when the laminator's heater warms up to the correct operating temperature. Place the document that you want to laminate into a plastic laminating pouch, insert the pouch into a cardboard carrier (which keeps the plastic pouch from overheating), and place the combination into the input slot of the laminator. This activates the unit's motor drive, which grabs the carrier and feeds it through the laminator. When the carrier comes out of the other end of the unit, make sure to give it a moment to cool down, and--presto--your document has achieved immortality!
One little "gotcha," though. I experienced a lot of incomplete lamination, where one edge didn't fully seal. Putting the...