The Oxford 24-hour printer, which operates a mix of digital and litho technology, took delivery of the laminator in April to replace an ageing D&K Europa B2 laminator.

The new machine has doubled Mayfield’s lamination capacity, meaning it no longer has to shop out any of its lamination work, said Damian Roscoe, group production director for Print Evolved, Mayfield's parent company.

This has helped Mayfield bolster its bottom line and improve turnaround times, with the Taurus operating at up to 40m/min.

He told Printweek: “It’s working really well, and we’re very pleased with it.

“During busy periods, we were having to outsource a fair chunk of our lamination work, so [the Taurus] has really helped. We do quite a lot of restaurant work, so a lot of it is laminated.”

Laminating up to 3,400sph at B2 portrait, the machine is equipped with suction feeder, high-speed bump separator, and has +/- 2mm under-lap accuracy at constant speed. It can handle sheets from A4 up to 530x750mm, and weights of between 115-600gsm.

Roscoe added that while he had looked around the market to find a good fit, he had been confident in the Taurus’ suitability for Mayfield’s needs.

“I’d had advice from trusted sources in the trade – people I respect – and it seemed a good fit. I had seen it at a demonstration at an IFS open day, and was quite impressed with it then. So we did some analysis and decided to take the plunge, and it’s been a very good decision.”

The Taurus laminates work printed on Mayfield’s production presses, which include two Heidelberg Speedmaster XL 75 B2 presses and three Canon digital presses; a 1350, longsheet 900, and varioPrint.

Mayfield employs 77 at its Oxford factory, and is part of the Print Evolved group, which also includes Tonbidge-based VR Print; the group turns over around £15m annually.