KBA's Genius Waterless Press Wins Top Award

KBA North America has received the 2006 Intertech Technology Award from Printing Industries of America/Graphic Arts Technical Foundation (PIA/GATF) for its Genius 52 UV sheetfed offset press.

KBA North America has received the 2006 Intertech Technology Award from Printing Industries of America/Graphic Arts Technical Foundation (PIA/GATF) for its Genius 52 UV sheetfed offset press.

The Genius 52 UV press was one of 11 nominations out of 35 entries to be selected to win the award.

The Genius 52 UV is said to be the world's first waterless UV sheetfed offset press.

The press can operate at a claimed 8,000 sheets per hour (sph) and is also claimed to have the world's widest stock range in this format - from 60lb to 32pt.

KBA added that because the Genius 52 is waterless technology the make-ready times and print quality are distinctive in this category of press.

The function of the Genius 52 UV is to allow small to medium format printers, plastic printers, packaging houses, lenticular printers, screen printers and general commercial printers to enter new markets with economic, reliable, efficient and brand new distinctive equipment.

The press is also said to have an extremely small footprint.

According to Chris Travis, KBA's technology manager, the Genius 52 UV has taken small format sheetfed presses to a new level in terms of print quality, ease of use, stock ranges and variety of substrates in a design that has never been used before.

The Genius 52 UV press with keyless inking, waterless technology, extended delivery and dryers is designed to print on a variety of paper, board and plastics, such as lenticular, ABS, PVC and PC, for instance.

It features an automatic plate changing device that is said to provide short set-up times and reliable reproducibility.

The control console of the Genius 52 features a touch screen display that can be slid from one end of the press to the other for press operator access.

The press prints in four or five colours with UV curing inks that harden through an integrated drying system that is claimed to allow further processing, such as laminating or punching immediately afterwards with no waiting period required.

Ralf Sammeck, KBA's chief executive officer and president, commented: "We are very proud to receive the highly-acclaimed PIA/GATF Intertech Award for the Genius 52.

Since its introduction one year ago, the Genius 52 has found its niche and sales have been booming.

We're especially proud to receive the award for the second year in a row.

Last year, our Rapida 205 81-inch sheetfed press, the largest in the world, won the Intertech award." And he added: "We believe that being an award winner for two consecutive years shows the industry that KBA is a leader in the technological field and that we keep introducing innovative equipment." KBA believes that the satellite cylinder arrangement with a central impression cylinder lends the Genius 52 UV its small footprint and distinctive appearance.

The company added that the press stands apart from its traditional counterparts by way of this compact design as well as the design and function of its inking units.

The design of the anilox inking units on the Genius 52 UV effectively eliminates the ghosting effects typical for a classic offset process, added the company.

The combination of an anilox inking system, waterless process and the self-calibrating inking unit with keyless ink metering, are claimed to ensure a fast production start with an absolute minimum of initial waste.

Printers who have already installed the Genius 52 UV praise the press, said KBA.

Bob Gay, president of The Mallard Press in Illinois (USA) 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." He added that the press saves the company's press operators a tremendous amount of time, with day-to-day start-up as simple as turning on the power supply, whilst the press is virtually maintenance-free." Gay continued: "It only takes 10 minutes to produce a sheet on the Genius that is up to colour and will remain the same colour throughout the press run.

Running to density numbers that don't fluctuate has its benefits.

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

Installing the Genius allows us to be more efficient.

We're able to capitalise on the growth of short-run quick-turn colour work along with the ability to print on any substrate." He also said that the Genius gives the company predictable consistent offset quality colour sheet after sheet no matter how much coverage is on the job.

And he emphasised: "We just load the plates, check register and print.".

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