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Product category: Printing Presses and Machinery (New and Used, Service and Repair)
News Release from: KBA North America | Subject: Genius 52 UV
Edited by the Printingtalk Editorial Team on 25 April 2006

KBA's Genius Press's Predictable Colour
Quality

Offset and digital printing company The Mallard Press in Lombard, Illinois (USA) is delivering fast, high-quality four-color jobs using its new KBA-Metronic Genius 52 UV press.

Offset and digital printing company The Mallard Press in Lombard, Illinois (USA) is delivering fast, high-quality four-color jobs using its new KBA-Metronic Genius 52 UV press Delivered last December, the Genius 52 UV press provides consistent predictable colour, quick make-ready, single operator use, cost-efficient production and the ability to print on paper, plastic, foil, or almost any non-porous surface, said KBA

"Over the past 10 years, we've seen demand in the market shifting more and more in to short-run quick turn-around process colour work," said Bob Gay, Mallard's president.

"We have been very aggressive with investing in the latest technology that can deliver short run, high quality results.

After analysing the equipment and costs involved, we jumped at the chance to purchase and install a Genius 52 UV," he added.

According to Gay, prior to installing the Genius 52 UV, The Mallard Press operated a variety of high-speed digital copier machines and half-size offset sheetfed presses.

Short-run colour work (producing from one to 500 pieces) was produced on the firm's Xerox Docucolor digital printer, whilst longer-run colour jobs (2,000 to 250,000 pieces) were produced on the firm's Komori five-colour and two-colour 28" half-size sheetfed presses.

Gay explained: "It was the in-between work, from 500 to 2,000 pieces, where we needed to find an efficient solution.

We thought our growth would lead us to install a Xerox iGen3 with variable printing capability.

But two reasons swayed us away from the iGen.

They were cost and full colour variable printing." He continued: "Our analysis showed that it cost twice as much to produce 500,000 8" x 11" pieces on the iGen compared to equal volumes on the KBA Genius.

Additionally, we didn't feel that full colour variable printing would have enough solid growth compared to printing short run four-colour shells with mono variable imprints.

We feel that we can creatively design variable projects using our two-step approach that are more cost effective than the 100 per cent digital colour methods." Gay's analysis also found that 50 per cent of the work the company was producing on the digital colour printer and 30 per cent of the work produced on the Komori offset presses would perfectly fit on the KBA Genius 52 UV press.

He added: "Installing the Genius allows us to be more efficient.

We're able to capitalise in the growth of short-run quick-turn colour work along with the ability to print on any substrate.

The Genius gives us predictable consistent offset quality colour sheet after sheet no matter how much coverage is on the job.

We just load the plates, check register and print." Gay's original blueprint for the company's new 30,000 square foot location called for a customer lounge area where customers could relax whilst they waited to approve press sheets.

That area has since been converted into a color laboratory for analysing press sheets and maintaining colour balance.

And he explained: "Since the installation of the Genius, we haven't had customers sitting around waiting to approve press sheets.

Having a customer lounge now seems like old-school thinking.

It only takes 10 minutes to produce a sheet on the Genius that is up to colour and will remain that same colour throughout the press run." He said that running to density numbers that do not fluctuate has its benefits.

And he added: "We just let the press do its thing by running consistent ink density no matter how much ink coverage there is on the sheet.

There are no ghosting, no ink and water balance issues, no drying problems and no traditional press problems to deal with.

If the colour does not look right, then the problem is probably in pre-press and should be adjusted in pre-press.

We can also remotely do press proofs for the customer by delivering press sheets to their office." He commented that within a half-hour and with a nominal charge, Mallard Press can produce press sheets right on the customers stock, exact to colour for true press proofs or progressive proofs.

The customer can review them, or send them to different locations for consultation.

Once the company receives approval, Mallard can remount the plates and produce the job with exact high-quality predictable colour, added Gay.

And he suggested: "This proof method may quite possibly be better than any other traditional dot proof in the market." As for the installation and training, KBA said that Mallard Press could not be happier.

After one week of training the Genius was running on a full production schedule.

The installation and training went very smoothly and Mallard was able to quickly train other operators.

Additional benefits realised by Mallard Press have been scheduling, pricing, and maintenance.

Rather than having to organise the pre-press and press departments together to send particular files to an on-demand direct-imaging digital press.

The pre-press department outputs as many plates as possible for the Genius and then allows the press operator to quickly change from one job to another.

That gives his company the flexibility to change the schedule immediately without affecting two departments simultaneously.

The jobs have to be lined-up in the plate rack and have the operator mount plates and print.

Mallard Press believes that the Genius is much more efficient than a traditional offset press, allowing the firm to be price competitive on short run lengths.

KBA said that maintenance on the Genius 52 has been virtually non-existent.

And Bob Gay said: "One of the biggest benefits of the Genius 52 is that the press just keeps running and running without having to wash-up.

We don't need to wash-up the press every night because the ink remains stable on press and only dries with UV light rays.

We can go weeks without washing up the press until we needed to put in a PMS colour.

It saves our press operators a tremendous amount of time.

Our day-to-day start-up is as simple as turning on the power supply and is virtually maintenance free." Established in 1978, The Mallard Press began as a small copy centre serving local community businesses.

The company was purchased in 1995 by Bob Gay and David Cox.

Soon after the purchase, the company began to adapt to the changing print environment by adding new technology and equipment.

Today, the firm produces high quality offset printing on its half-size sheetfed presses, along with multiple colour and high production mono digital printers from Canon and Xerox.

To complement the finishing department the company uses fully automated Bourg saddlestitchers and perfectbinders.

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