Many decades ago, a Heidelberg press was developed that offered what was, in effect, the best of both worlds. Combining litho with letterpress meant that printers could offer two print processes in one machine and, according to Autobond managing director John Gilmore, Heidelberg sold "stacks of them".
Gilmore is banking on the fact that his company's new machine will repeat the German press manufacturer's success. Autobond's Mini 52 TP UV is unique to the finishing sector and it allows the manufacturer to effectively "hedge its bets", according to Gilmore. "No one has a machine on the market that can do both lamination and UV," he explains.
"From both the US and China there have been UV roller coaters for this market, but they have not been well built. The biggest selling point is that this product is a dual-purpose machine. The user has the option of doing either lamination or UV coating."
The Mini 52 TP UV combines high-speed film lamination and UV coating in one machine. In its full configuration, Gilmore says the machine offers either single- or double-sided thermal film lamination and, uniquely, flood UV varnishing. It's done in one pass and the Heanor, Derbyshire-based manufacturer claims that it takes only five minutes to changeover.
Sustained interest
The Mini 52 has already attracted plenty of interest in the market with four customers already in the UK. The development of the machine goes back to a B1 prototype, which was built last year. "We had demand from some of our customers for biodegradable products," adds Gilmore. "For us, it was very easy to make a dual-purpose machine and we shipped that prototype to a customer in South Africa. However, we felt that the digital guys had been left high and dry by developments in the market."
This consideration and continuing solid growth in the digital market convinced Autobond to press ahead with the new machine. The Mini 52 is capable of finishing products ranging from books to brochures with an output speed of up 45m per minute. By the manufacturer's calculations, that's 3,700 B2 sheets an hour - either laminated or UV varnished.
"Previously, if a company was trying to achieve a high gloss level, the operator had to reduce the speed of the coating line," explains Gilmore. "But this speed reduction is not needed with the Mini 52. The 2m distance between the coating rollers and the UV lamp allows time for the varnish to flow, which produces a fabulous gloss level at high speeds."
He adds that the internal temperature of the three varnish transfer rollers can be micro-adjusted. "Warming the varnish makes it flow more readily, increasing the gloss level. Our R&D team have come up with a design that enables very fine control of the amount of varnish applied - down to a smidgen. This gives the ability to reduce wastage and costs considerably."
The machine is also modular in design, so if a customer only wanted a UV-only device then they can have one. The whole set-up costs £71,000 and a UV-only Mini 52 costs around £45,000. Autobond can also effectively create a bespoke machine for customers.
The Mini 52 comes with a vacuum-feed table and bottom separation continuous Heidelberg-Stahl suction feeder. However, because of the modular configuration of the machine, users have the option to add a rising pile back separation Heidelberg Speedmaster 52 feed head. This speeds up the running speed as with the head, the laminator can be equipped with a mill skid plate allowing a full pallet of print to be loaded directly from the press.
"The high level of automation makes our machines very straightforward to operate and we can usually train an operator within a couple of days," says Gilmore. "In addition, a remote diagnostics facility means one of our experienced engineers can provide customers with immediate advice if they need help, regardless of where they are in the world."
The machine includes an adjustable anti-curl bar, pneumatically adjustable in-feed nip rollers, plus a pneumatic air clutch to give a constant tension between the laminator and the sheeter. According to Autobond, a quick-change airshaft switches rolls of film more easily, while a trim slitter and perforating mechanism are standard, along with a bump roller separator.
The manufacturer adds that makeready should require only two or three sheets of paper resulting in a low level of wastage. The sheets are delivered into a vibrating jogger. The Mini 52 can handle stock from A5 up to 520x740mm and in weights from 90 to 650gsm. Autobond says that a customer is able to add a cross-cutter and handle film as thick as 500 micron. Thick 26mm steel side plates enable a nip pressure of six metric tonnes, which according to Autobond, allows the successful lamination of digitally printed work - even with toner-based inks.
With a footprint of 3.7x1.4m, Gilmore says that this machine will fit well into a small to medium-sized printer and Autobond is targeting this machine at the B2 market in particular. "As well as litho printers, we believe that the Mini 52 will have a huge appeal to the digital sector where there is a need for high-quality laminating and UV varnishing," he adds. In terms of alternatives, while Gilmore says that no-one else "makes a machine that does both", there are two manufacturers that have devices in the UV and lamination sector that Autobond is targeting (see Alternatives).
Inkjet ambitions
Future developments from Autobond are likely to revolve around the cutting-edge digital technology that was widely on display at last year's Drupa, with inkjet being the technology that Gilmore believes will truly push the UV boundaries.
"To inkjet UV varnish over matt film will be the way to go in the future," he explains. "Spot UV is the technology we are investing in and we will be bringing out a machine to do just that. There are a lot of very clever people in the inkjet sector at the moment and we are smart enough to able to develop for this market. We expect to take our developments to next year's Ipex."
He adds: "We design and build our laminators in the UK and, when we have to buy in components, we ensure they are from manufacturers in Germany, Switzerland and Japan."
In the meantime, Autobond will focus on shifting its latest Mini 52. So far, Gilmore admits that the manufacturer hasn't done that much marketing, but he adds that word-of-mouth promotion has created plenty of interest in the market for the product. The company has already secured four UK customers with the machines shipping next month. "We are choc-a-block with orders from lots of different countries," he adds. "We've had several printers visiting our Heanor factory over the last few weeks."
With the digital print market on the rise, Gilmore believes Autobond has identified a gap in the market and, by offering both UV and lamination in a single machine, he reckons that the Mini 52 gives that sector exactly what it wants.
The idea of running two processes in one machine isn't new, but Autobond's R&D department has come up with a product that is designed to give customers a mouth-watering option when it comes to finishing.
"We're very excited by the new machine and have already had enquiries to make B3 and B1 versions," adds Gilmore. "We believe this will appeal to a wide cross-section of printers - anyone looking to improve the quality and durability of their printed products."
SPECIFICATIONS
Processes film lamination, UV coating
Speed 45m per minute, 3,700 B2 sheets per hour
Sheet size from A5 to 520x740mm
Stock 90-650gsm
Price £71,000 (UV and laminating), £45,000 (UV only)
Contact Autobond 01773 530 520 www.autobondlaminating.com
THE ALTERNATIVES
TAULER PRINTLAM DIGITAL B2
Autobond's Gilmore believes that this is the main challenger to the Mini 52 on the lamination front. Friedheim International exclusively distributes this product, which is ideally suited to the digital print environment. It features an automatic sheet feed and a pressure roller protection system. The Tauler range also includes the PrintLam Smart 52, the smallest model, which runs at 15m per minute.
Process film lamination
Speed 30m per minute
Max sheet size 520x750mm
Max stock 600gsm
Price £39,000-£45,000
Contact Friedheim International 0845 026 2001 www.friedheim.co.uk
MORGANA DIGICOATER
This small-format UV coater was unveiled at last year's Drupa. It has a footprint of just 1,320x940mm and is designed to be moved around a factory as required. When priming, a separate set of feed rollers are used along with traditional tanks for the primer and its own wash chemical. Morgana also supplies special ‘Morgana Magic' coatings which are available in gloss and matt finishes.
Process UV coating
Speed 3,500sph
Max sheet width 508mm
Max stock 400gsm
Price UV coat only: £29,990; Prime and UV coat: £31,495
Contact Morgana Systems 01908 608 888 www.morgana.co.uk
