KBA Claims Only Across-Board New Presses At Drupa

KBA believes it is the only exhibitor at Drupa to present a complete range of new sheetfed offset presses aimed at enhancing the cost-efficiency and flexibility of print production across the board, f

KBA believes it is the only exhibitor at Drupa to present a complete range of new sheetfed offset presses aimed at enhancing the cost-efficiency and flexibility of print production across the board, from SRA3 to VLF.

The company lays claim to the world's biggest sheetfed offset press (Rapida 205), the most versatile size seven to B2 presses at the show (Rapida 162, Rapida 105 and Rapida 74), the most innovative B3 press on the market (Genius 52) and the world's longest B1 press (Rapida 105 Universal Effectpress at Meinke in Neuss near Dusseldorf).

It also cited its world premieres at the show like the Rapida 74 G (Gravuflow) waterless, keyless unit-type press exhibited by alliance partners Marks-3zet.

The company also pointed to a raft of new features, some of them that it claims to be unique.

They include shaftless feeders for medium-format and large-format presses, sidelay-free infeed on the new 18,000sph Rapida 105, and the Qualitronic II in line sheet inspection system.

KBA also claimed that more new products were already in the pipeline.

The company believes that the fact that waterless pioneers and its partner, Marks-3zet, and Toray decided to exhibit KBA Genius 52 and Rapida 74 G presses on their stands illustrates where they see the greatest potential for taking what they described as intuition out of sheetfed offset.

They also believe it is a good example of the way KBA is promoting the union of new press technologies with new consumables, such as hybrid finishing, printing on plastics with oxidative inks on the 74 Karat and ecological offset.

KBA claimed that its innovation has delivered a six-fold increase in sheetfed offset sales over the past 12 years, forming the basis for continuous growth in its market share.

And because it does not depend on high-volume sales of mass-produced goods it also believes it weathered the recent industry downturn relatively unscathed.

As evidence of that, just a few days before Drupa, for example, it booked an order from Anzpac Services in Sydney, Australia, for a 13-unit Rapida 142 with a record-breaking length of 40 metres (131feet).

The high-performance Compacta 217 16-page commercial web offset press exhibited at Drupa incorporates advances to established features, such as mini gaps, Drivetronic totally shaftless drives, perfect imprinting with standard printing units, automated gripper and pin folders, and automatic and semi-automatic plate changing, superstructures.

KBA claimed that some of those features have since been adopted by other manufacturers.

It said a large number of Compacta 217 press lines have already been sold in Germany and Italy.

Speaking at the Drupa press conference, KBA's deputy president Claus Bolza-Schunemann said that the group is following up the success of its newspaper, sheetfed offset and publication rotogravure presses with a concerted effort to shake up the highly competitive commercial web offset market with new advances.

Looking at publication rotogravure in Europe and North America, KBA said it is dominated by a small number of major global players and at Drupa, KBA is staking its claim for pole position in this technology with two reels 4.32 metres (171") wide.

Webs of this size will be run on two super-wide TR12B press lines that KBA will be shipping to Maul-belser in Nuremberg from September.

Each of the presses has a claimed production speed of 60,000 cylinder revolutions per hour (web speed 16 metres per second (3,150 feet per minute) and a claimed maximum capacity of 144 A4 pages, enabling it to produce 8.2 million four-colour A4 pages per hour, the equivalent of over 230,000 square metres (2.4 million square feet) of print, or seven times the output of the new high-speed 16-page Compacta 217.

KBA is demonstrating the interaction of print and e-media via an online link from a new gravure console on the KBA stand to the console of a TR10B press at Axel Springer's printing plant in Ahrensburg.

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