SmartWorks scales up with Tauler laminator

Co-founder and financial director Shane Whitter says SmartWorks has steadily evolved into a nimble operation offering high-impact, short-run digital printing with standout finishes. ‘We’ve always pursued digital enhancement to help our customers create premium print experiences,’ explains Shane.

However, premium finishes brought postpress challenges. ‘We were manually laminating thousands of sheets – it took forever. We knew we had to automate,’ says Shane. That’s when Neal Oliver, sales consultant at Ipex Machinery, stepped in. ‘This machine does the job. It’s well priced, high quality and built to last. As the official agent for Tauler in South Africa, we knew it would resonate with local printers who need reliability and performance,’ says Neal.

The Tauler PrintLam B2 S, a compact yet powerful single-sided laminator, delivers speeds of up to 35m/min (substrate and operator dependent) and handles paper weights from 130gsm to 450gsm. Designed for operator ease, it features a user-friendly touchscreen interface, automatic feeding, temperature control via sensor, a pneumatic pressure roller system, decurling and microperforation functions and a scissors roller for precise separation. Notably, it includes an automatic bursting feature – a game changer for busy shops.

Since the machine was installed in November last year, SmartWorks has seen a significant increase in its production capabilities. ‘Jobs that took one to two days now take just an hour,’ Shane confirms. ‘It even separates and stacks up to 530mm of paper on the infeed – it’s relentless.’