There are perhaps not too many people who would put a sheet-fed laminator near the top of their ‘wish list’ but Peter Tubb, managing director of Durban finishing house UVP Pro Bind, has been buying Autobond machines for more than 25 years and wouldn’t consider any other manufacturer.  The recent installation of a Mini 105 TPHS makes the fifth Autobond model at the site.
 
“I’ve been in the printing industry for 45 years and since the mid eighties I’ve probably purchased around 12 Autobond laminators while working at various companies,” says Peter Tubb.  “I helped set up UVP Pro Bind in 1993 and today it employs 40 people who provide laminating, varnishing and encapsulation services to printers throughout the region.  Our sister site in Cape Town operates Autobond machines too, and the next laminator to be installed at our Johannesburg factory will undoubtedly be from the UK manufacturer.
 
“For about 25 years I’ve enjoyed an excellent working relationship with the Gilmore family and have always been impressed by their friendly approach and the solid build of the equipment.  Our latest model, the Mini 105 TPHS, has performed tremendously, allowing us to easily achieve speeds of 60 metres per minute with many different types of stock.
 
“Although we were already operating four Autobond laminators here at Durban, customers often want work turned around within a few hours, and working overnight to provide a job for the next morning is no longer good enough.  It’s a bit like the old barber’s shop – there are four chairs and no waiting!  The extra capacity offered by this latest laminator has been fantastic in the way it allows us to provide an unrivalled production speed to customers.”
 
The Mini 105 TPHS can laminate both sides of a sheet in one pass with thermal film.  The rising pile, back separation Heidelberg Speedmaster 102 feed head, combined with a vacuum feed table, enables a wide range of papers to be handled at high speed.  The feeder is fitted with a mill skid plate, allowing a full pallet of print to be loaded from the press.  Laminated sheets are fed automatically into a stacker.
 
“The Mini 105 TPHS has been constructed to extremely fine tolerances, from the front lays to the stacker, and this ensures great reliability,” says Peter Tubb.  “In addition, the technical back up from Autobond is first class and the remote diagnostics facility enables immediate support from experienced engineers.  The ability to exert six tonnes of pressure in the nip rollers means that we can successfully laminate embossed boards, even when they have been printed in a heavy solid – not an easy task.
 
“As a trade house, we normally have no idea what jobs are going to arrive so the fast make-ready and high running speeds of the new Mini enable us to operate in a very flexible and efficient manner.  Print runs can be anything up to 100,000.
 
“With the growth in the digital print market we are now considering purchasing an Autobond Mini 36, which is specifically designed to laminate stock that has been printed on a digital press.  So, we may well be back in touch with Autobond again quite soon.”