Fellowes Venus 125 Laminator (5215901)

Received my laminator from Amazon today after only a 2 day wait.Upon opening the instruction sheet there were two different sheets explaining about the need to remove the screw on the bottom before use and in the need to open the top to clear a jam. A previous reviewer on this page mentioned about earlier users not knowing about the bottom screw and returning their laminators as defective. Some confusion as to replacing the screw after removing it is expected as one sheet says to replace it after clearing a jam and the other sheet does not say to replace it. I left mine out with no problem.It can be a problem in some offices if you do not have a screwdriver handy at all times to remove and replace the screw if na jam occurs.True to another reviewer, I found that this laminator had a srong burning rubber type smell when first starting up. It seem to lessen after about 15 mins. (or maybe I just got use to the smell)The cooling fan is a bit loud (compare to my previous quiet GBC model) but not unbearable. To open the cover to remove a jam after the rollers are heated up took approx 15 mins to cool down before you could release the hinged top. I think that is way to much time if you are in the middle of laminating a rush job and your boss (and everyone else is waiting for you or for their turn to use the laminator.There is a button with a circle arrow on the front right panel but nothing in the instructions state what it is for. After some experimenting with the button, I figured out that it is the reverse mode button. You have to hold it down the whole time in order to reverse your laminate if it was put in crooked. The main thing I do not like is that the laminator is always in the forward running mode unlike my previous model wich had a manual forward button. You have to be 100% sure that the laminate pouch is straight before starting to laminate, if not you have to be quick to hold down the reverse button to start again.Overall it appears to be a good laminator albeit a big desktop footprint.

I have had this laminator about a month now and have used it frequently. One run was 97 8.5x11 3mil laminations.I find this one a lot more user friendly than the last model I had, one which required disassembly to clear a jam. The internals are of cheaper materials but I guess that is progress. At any rate I find this model to be of satiafactory quality and construction. It does make a little noise the first few times you use it but quiets down after it breaks in. Either that or you get used to the noise but I don't find it objectionable.I haven't had problems mentioned by other posters regarding curled, bent corners or faulty laminations. I can only suggest that attention be paid to proper selection of heat setting for the pouches being used and taking care to feed the pouch properly into the machine.The instructions are not the best but I think it matters more to a novice over an experienced user; still it is nothing that a novice user can't cope with. I have no problem recommending this model and do not regret my decision to purchase it.

I have bought several of these over the years at work. We laminate a lot of electrical diagrams. Far more than what is intended for this product. We should really have a more industrial product or the next step up. This laminator usually last us 1-1/2 to 2 years. The price I found shopping at Amazon was the lowest. Locally at Staples it was twice that much, but I could have picked it up that day. This last one I received did not work upon arrival. I thought "blast", I should have just bought it at Staples. I called Fellows and without question they said they would send one, but would take 7-10 days. I didn't have that much time. They mentioned to try Amazon. I called Amazon and they offered immediately to send a replacement the next day! I received the replacement the next day and they sent an email with a shipping label to send the other one back. I was very pleased with the response of Fellows and especially the response and service of Amazon. I have a lot more confidence in shopping on line at Amazon in the future.I think this is a great product for moderate use, which could mean at least a dozon or more a day. It warms up in about 4 minutes and goes at a fairly fast rate. Enjoy.

The machine has this really cool feature where you can open the whole machine up and remove any jams. The problem is the machine has to be completely cooled to do that. I asked it to open half and hour ago and I'm still waiting for it to say we can open it. We only had it on for a couple of minutes when we heard it was making a strange noise. We ordered this machine in September and its now December but we have had it on constantly since we got it. It has metal gears which it nice because the plastic ones get tweaked and then the rollers lock up. Our last laminator caught on fire because of that.The machine heats up in a decent amount of time, it's very sturdy and it laminates very well. The opening feature is very annoying because I can't get in when I want to.

I bought it used, and it came in a box that looked like it had been dragged underneath the FedEx truck for about thirteen miles. Initially, Laminator did not want to cooperate. It was stuck on the cold lamination setting. The instructions were no help. I broke one of the hood release buttons off in my attempt to troubleshoot the problem. I thought I had been had by the previous owner. After about 1 night of therapeutic cursing, hopping on one foot, and fist-balling, I renewed my attacks in the morning and it worked flawlessly. It has worked flawlessly ever since. Though it takes about five minutes to prepare for a 10 ml pouch, it laminates quickly, is extremely quiet, and does a superb job. The 4-star rating is for the poor packaging and the initial frustration in using it. Altogether the best laminator I've ever had.