Hi, I found a junked Leitz HR9 laminator and decided to give it a try to see if I can fix it for toner transfer. I could buy a new consumer type or use an iron, but this used to be a high-end laminator with adjustable temperature and hot rollers so I decided to test it.
I plugged it and it got hot and when the ready lamp lit up, I tried to feed it with a plain sheet of paper. The paper did not feed and that is probably why it landed in the junk. I opened it to see if there were some kind of paper sensor or anything. Nice mechanics and a control PCB was all I found on first inspection. I googled a bit for the users manual to see how it was supposed to be used, and all I found was related to a newer model of HR9 with fixed temperature and variable speed, mine seems to have fixed speed and adjustable temperature. I did not find out if the feed starts automatically when proper heat has been reached or if it starts when the paper is actually injected.
Since there is no obvious paper detection, I wonder how laminators really work. The motor is a 220V type and I don't see any obvious triacs or relays on the PCB control board at first glance so I would guess the feed should start when power is turned on. When I adjust the temperature, the ready light will go off until the temperature is right, so there must be some temperature sensing an control in there. I'll do some more investigation on my own, but maybe somebody here happen to know something about the older HR9 which could be of help. Looks like a nice device for toner transfer, if I can only get it to work.
Kind regards,
-- Svenn