Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

My 2 cents first: SAD to see "Faulty machines" bringing down the product review instead of an actual USEFUL review. I've gone through TONS of foils to get the flawless result everyone is looking for and the truth is, it could be a million factors to take into account. The machine not getting hot enough or the toner is low quality, paper is low quality, laser printer settings blah blah blah... So here's how I FIGURED IT OUT: - Laser Printer DPI doesn't matter. (300, 600, 1200 or higher) - Print settings MUST BE TEXT. (not graphics) - Type of paper DOES NOT MATER THAT MUCH. The more coarse the paper textures are, the harder it is for the foil to apply flushed to the surface. THAT IS TRUE, BUT not a deal breaker to all textured papers. I've used the coarse, cheap, most generic copy paper to prove that it's not the paper quality (see pictures). NOTE: I've also used a heavyweight photo matte paper (for INKJET) and it held the toner nicely and foil adhered flawlessly. It does NOT need to be laser paper only. HERE'S THE KICKER: - The foil DEPENDS ON HEAT. If you're getting that nice splotchy look, it is because there is not enough heat being applied. The number 3 setting on the minc is 'suggested'. I had to bump it all the way up to 5 to get that flawless application. Be warned though, it's going to get REALLY hot. Try to let the bottom of your minc 'breathe' and keep it off the table with some makeshift legs. Let the minc also run for a minute or so to get that heat up to a steady temp and then run your foils. (I use those wooden bases you can buy at michaels) - DON'T RUN it for too long periods at a time. (this is just a suggestion) PROS: - I could use it for cold or hot lamination. Not only foils. - Produces nice steady temp on each setting. - Heat up VERY FAST. Love that. - Does what it supposed to do. CONS: - Takes a long time to cool down. - WILL have that burnt plastic smell for a long time. (But honestly, that's how some heating coils smell. You either get use to it or you don't.) - A LOT of testing, wasting paper and foils before getting the results you want. (what project doesn't have that? It IS to be expected.) - Gets very hot to the touch. The design of the machine COULD have used some legs. I don't like the idea of that much heat sitting FLAT on my table top. PICTURES: * Gold Foils were done on #3 setting. Pink Foils were done on #5 setting. ** For those who want to know how I got the softer sheen on the pink foil, I use a matte laminate over the foil itself. ***Ignore 'brandished' (took a used dryer sheet and rubbed it into the toner to smooth it out) THOUGHT it would have a better effect for getting rid of splotchy toner and creating a more solid base for the foil to apply, but NOT necessary. **** Tested it on regular, cheap rough 20lb copy paper and default printer settings. The two factors I changed were the dpi (printer setting) and more heat (Minc setting). This was to prove than it's not really a toner OR paper issue, but heat itself. HOPE THIS HELPS!