3M Recalled About 53,634 Scotch Thermal Laminators Sold on Amazon After 63 Reports of Smoking, Melting and Overheating, Including 5 Reports of Fire

The small desktop laminator that seals school posters, flash cards and chore charts is the subject of a new federal recall. 3M is recalling about 53,634 Scotch Thermal Laminators sold on Amazon after 63 reports of the machines smoking, melting and overheating, including five reports of fire, according to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission.

The recall was announced Oct. 15, 2026. No injuries have been reported, and owners are being offered a full refund.

Which Scotch laminators are covered

The recall covers one model: the Scotch Thermal Laminator TL1302Z. The CPSC said the model number is printed on a sticker on the bottom of the machine and on its packaging.

The recalled laminators are light gray and white with gray accents, with “Scotch” printed in gray across the front. The feeding slot is about 13 inches wide, and there is a carrying handle on the right side when the machine is viewed from the front.

They were sold only on Amazon.com from June 2024 through September 2026, for about $44 to $56, the agency said. The units were made in China and imported by 3M Company of St. Paul, Minnesota.

That sales window matters for families. A laminator bought for back-to-school projects in either of the last two Augusts, or picked up for a classroom teacher as a gift, could fall inside it.

What the 63 reports describe

According to the CPSC notice, 3M has received 63 reports of the laminators smoking, melting and overheating. Five of those reports involved fires, and one involved minor property damage.

The agency classified the hazard plainly: the laminators “can overheat, posing a fire hazard.” The recall title on the CPSC site describes the risk as one of “serious injury or death from fire hazard.”

Thermal laminators work by heating rollers that melt adhesive inside a plastic pouch, so they run hot by design. A machine that overheats beyond its normal range on a kitchen table or a child’s desk is the scenario the recall is meant to head off.

How the refund works, step by step

The CPSC tells owners to stop using the recalled laminators and unplug them immediately. The refund process runs through 3M’s own Scotch brand recall page, which lays out the steps:

• Unplug the laminator and confirm the sticker on the bottom reads TL1302Z.
• Cut the power cord.
• Submit the online recall registration form.
• Watch for an email with an eight-digit case number, then write that number on the bottom of the laminator in permanent marker.
• Upload two photos: one showing the model sticker, the case number and the cut cord together, and a close-up of the sticker and case number.

3M says proof of purchase helps but is not required to start the process. The company asks owners to keep the laminator and the cut cord until it confirms it has received everything. Once that happens, a refund check is mailed, and the CPSC says the machine should then be disposed of under local and state electronics recycling rules.

Owners who cannot take photos or would rather handle it by phone can call 3M at 800-772-4337 from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Central time, Monday through Friday, according to the CPSC.

The Scotch page also separates three similar model numbers that are easy to mix up. TL1302Z is covered by this recall. TL1302 machines have their own, separate recall form. TL1302X machines are not subject to any recall, according to 3M.

Not the first Scotch laminator recall

This is the second time in about four years that a Scotch thermal laminator line has been pulled for a fire risk. In December 2022, 3M recalled about 516,500 laminators with model numbers TL1302, TL1302VP, TL1302EF and TL1302KIT after nine reports of the machines catching fire, three of them with minor property damage.

That earlier recall was far broader in where the machines were sold. Those units went through Walmart, Staples, Costco and other stores nationwide, plus Walmart.com, Amazon.com and Staples.com, from April 2014 through October 2022, according to the CPSC. Families who still have an older TL1302 from that era are covered by the earlier recall, not the new one.

Local outlets including KTVU in the San Francisco Bay Area reported the new recall in mid-October, but the details owners need, from the model sticker to the refund steps, come from the CPSC notice and 3M’s recall page.

Parents keeping track of the year’s product pulls can find more in this roundup of 2026 baby product recalls, and the household fire and burn risks that are easy to overlook are covered in a guide to hidden home hazards.

Anyone whose laminator has smoked, melted or caught fire, whether it is a recalled model or not, can report it to the CPSC through SaferProducts.gov, the agency’s public database for product safety complaints.

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This article was produced with AI assistance and edited for accuracy against the sources linked above.

Image: Sachinkothari123 – CC BY-SA 4.0/Wikimedia Commons