What is it?
It’s a semi-automated hot-roller laminator.

What does the machine do?
It laminates documents from SRA5 to B2 and covers weights ranging from 115gsm to 300gsm. Features include a separa­tor and inline slitting. An automatic feeder can be retrofitted.

Why did you choose to invest in a laminator?
As a short-run digital printer, specialising in bespoke colour and black and white printing, we offer a laminating service. Customers ask us to laminate covers, invitations, employee incentive material and so on. Although we have a wide range of finishing equipment, we did not have an in-house laminating facility so we were having to outsource all our laminating. This was adding quite a lot to the cost, particularly if we were only laminating 20-30 covers. We decided to bring all the shorter runs – up to 1,000 copies – in-house, which is about 80% of our laminating.

Why did you choose this particular machine?
A colleague saw the Pegasus laminator being demonstrated at a print show and it fitted the bill in terms of cost and performance. We bought the B2 version because, although virtually all our work is B3, it gives us the flexibility.

Did you look at any other machines?
No. It’s an ancillary piece of equipment in our finishing department and we didn’t see any point in spending a lot of time when we had already found something that did the job at a sensible price.

What features do you like?
It’s simple to operate and it’s proving to be reliable. The quality is as good, if not better, than we have been getting from the external supplier.

What features do you dislike?
We decided to buy the entry-level semi-automated machine, because that is all that we really need. However, as it is hand-fed, sometimes we need two people in order to maximise its productivity. Also, it would be nice if it was a little bit faster, but we would probably have had to pay double the price and, for our applications, it would not have been worth it.
We can always buy an automated feeder at a later stage, should the need arise.

How fast is it?
It operates at up to 10m per minute.

Has it saved you money?
We were spending an average of £1,000 a month outsourcing our laminating. We also had to spend money couriering jobs from Beaconsfield to Watford and, in some cases, we were not able to pass this cost on to the customer, so it has saved us a lot of money.

How much time has it saved?
Bringing the work in-house has saved us a lot of time and inconvenience.

Has it won you any new work?
We already had quite a lot of work for the Pegasus, but now we can turn the work around more quickly and more competitively. I am sure it will bring us new work.

What has the service been like?
Encore Machinery installed the machine and gave us half a day’s training and then we were in production. You learn how to get the best out of the machine by using it.

Who do you think the machine is right for?
This particular model is suitable for anybody with short-run laminating jobs, who wants to be more competitive by doing the work in-house. It’s straightforward to operate and does not require a specialist finishing operator.

Would you buy another?
Yes I would.

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CONCLUSION
User’s verdict
Speed 4/5
Quality 4/5
Reliability 4/5
Value for money 4/5

Supplier’s response
Encore Machinery managing director Mike Biggs comments: “We are delighted to be distributing this range of heavy-duty laminating equipment, which starts at an entry-level semi-automated laminator and goes up to a B1 fully automated machine. It complements our other finishing equipment and, in particular, the Pit Stop range of digital creasers.”
Price £12,000
Contact Encore Machinery 01582 668900