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News Release from: KBA North America | Subject: Rapida 105 10-color perfecting press
Edited by the Printingtalk Editorial
Team on 30 November 2006
10-Colour KBA Perfector Replaces Two
Presses
KBA North America has installed the claimed first-of-its-kind press configuration of a KBA Rapida 105 10-colour perfecting press at Bolger Vision Beyond Print.
KBA North America has installed the claimed first-of-its-kind press configuration of a KBA Rapida 105 10-colour perfecting press at Bolger Vision Beyond Print Bolger Vision Beyond Print is a 220-employee, US$30 million printer in Minneapolis that prints and coats both sides of the sheet at once using UV inks
This article was originally published on Printingtalk on 10 Apr 2006 at 8.00am (UK)
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The new Rapida 105 press features coating towers after the fifth and 10th unit for special effects.
Dik Bolger, executive officer at Bolger Vision Beyond Print, said: "In our intensely-competitive industry, it's critical to differentiate ourselves from the competition.
At Drupa 2004 we began to look for a new press and we looked at KBA's Rapida 105 41-inch 10-colour perfector press with UV curing and coating.
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But we weren't sure it was the right press for us." He added: "After researching the entire press market - both straight and perfecting - we kept coming back to the Rapida 105 10-colour perfector press.
This press configuration, with coating towers after the fifth and 10th unit, is the first of its kind in North America.
It surely does differentiate us from our competition and it is surely pushing the technology envelope." Bolger's KBA Rapida 105 has five colours, plus coating over five colours, plus coating.
The press has two individual coating towers with interdeck UV dryers between printing units and it will run hybrid inks.
A video camera follows the sheet's path through the press to ensure speed and accuracy.
The press is also configured with automatic plate changing, sidelay-free infeed, single-suction belt tables and adjustment-free gripper bars.
Operational information is fed in to Bolger's MIS for later data analysis.
Bolger said: "We're experienced with sheetfed perfectors.
We have two existing perfectors from different press manufacturers: a 2/4 used for matte paper and a 1/1 generally used for uncoated paper.
With those two presses, we'd have marking if we didn't allow for gutters.
The Rapida 105's special smooth cylinders after the perfectors as well as its UV drying on both sides of the sheet eliminate these issues.
There's no marking with the Rapida 105 and there is no difference in the dot structure from one side to the other." And he explained: "The UV curing gives us better trapping and no dot gain.
Our printed sheets are dry in the delivery of the press and ready for the bindery." Bolger explained that the new machine was the company's first KBA press.
He added: "What attracted me to KBA is that it seems to be more innovative than other press manufacturers.
KBA has a can-do attitude and it is able to build unique configurations for its customers.
KBA is the best press manufacturer that can print five colours, coat and perfect and then do five colours and coat all with UV in this configuration." Bolger was also impressed with what he described as KBA's friendly, direct management style and he added: "From the very top executive in Germany, Albrecht Bolza-Schuenemann, to the chief executive officer and president here in the USA, Ralf Sammeck, we've had visits from everyone to make sure our press is up to our standards.
I'm very impressed with the organisation and how it cares about its customers." The new press has replaced two of the company's four existing 40-inch, multicolour presses.
Bolger said the new Rapida 105 long perfector is perfectly suited for the short-range to mid-range multi-form market of run lengths of 1,000 to 60,000 copies.
Bolger Vision Beyond Print invited 300 customers to an open house where the key event was production on the Rapida 105 10-colour perfector.
Bolger said that customers like the fact that the printer can cut make-ready in half by coming in for one press check on the Rapida to check both sides of the sheet at once, rather than two press checks if they had to run the sheet through another press twice.
Founded in 1934 by John and Genevieve Bolger, Bolger Vision Beyond Print is a family-run company, with owners Dik Bolger overseeing sales and marketing and Charles Bolger in charge of manufacturing.
It has expanded beyond its offset printing base to offer a range of services from design through fulfillment, including 180 Creative, the company's branding strategy agency.
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