First Rapida 205 Goes To German Poster Printer

German poster printer Ellerhold Grossplakate has taken delivery of the first KBA Rapida 205 to roll off the production line.

German poster printer Ellerhold Grossplakate has taken delivery of the first KBA Rapida 205 to roll off the production line.

The size 9 (803/4") sheetfed offset press - claimed to be the biggest worldwide - comes on stream in mid-March in a production plant adjacent to KBA's sheetfed facility in Radebeul.

The cost benefits delivered by a Rapida 205 in the production of giant posters can make a big difference to the bottom line, said KBA.

With the new press, 18/1 placards (18 x A1 surface area) can be printed in four sections instead of six to eight.

Backlit displays, which must always be printed in one piece, no longer have to be run on an ancient Miehle press.

"We have set our sights on the European poster market," said founder and managing director Frank Ellerhold, "The 205 is the perfect tool because it can print all the formats, such as 40/1 superposters, which are three metres high." Ellerhold Grossplakate has pursued a policy of sustained and vigorous organic growth.

Its first move, in 1999, was to build a poster-printing production plant, Plakatfabrik Radebeul, which has since been expanded four times.

The next stage, implemented in 2001, saw the addition of 12,000 square metres (129,000 square feet) of production space, driven by rapid growth in sales of nine square metres (97square feet) mega-light posters.

Two more extensions were erected to house a box making plant.

When Frank Ellerhold ordered his second Rapida 162a in 2000, he was well aware that it would be too small to cut the cost of poster production by reducing the number of sections.

He decided instead to go for a configuration less common in his line of business - six colours plus coater and extended delivery.

The idea was to run it alongside his first 162a, a dedicated four-colour poster-printing press, so that he could expand his product range by offering his customers a wider choice of colours and coatings.

The new 205 is to be used for printing posters two-thirds of the time, with the remaining one-third filled up with packaging jobs.

An ICS slitter was added so that two piles, each measuring 1,000mm x 1,400mm (39.5" x 55"), can be output to the pallets.

The piles can then be die-cut in two flatbed machines, one for size 6 and the other for 7b.

Once this is running the Rapida 162a six-colour with coater will be used almost exclusively for high-quality packaging.

At the end of 2004 Ellerhold's plant in Zirndorf will take delivery of a Rapida 185 that will be used to print posters for the German market, for example four sections for 18/1.

The Rapida 205 will primarily be reserved for posters based on the three-metre raster required for export.

At Ellerhold, exports account for around 20% of output.

Domestically the company has secured the pole position with an estimated market share of 35%.

Anyone who has signed up for KBA Radebeul's pre-Drupa open house from 24 to 26 March will have the chance to see Ellerhold's 205 in production.

KBA will also arrange for people to see a four-colour version with perforator in action at teNeues in Kempen, near Dusseldorf, during Drupa.

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