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Printing Presses and Machinery (New and Used, Service and Repair)
News Release from: KBA | Subject: Genius 52
Edited by the Printingtalk Editorial
Team on 22 March 2005
Small Format Press Makes Mark In Italy
Following installations in a number of European countries, the compact small-format KBA Genius 52 press has now made a mark on the Italian market.
Following installations in a number of European countries, the compact small-format KBA Genius 52 press has now made a mark on the Italian market The first press went in to production at Dipdruck in Bruneck, South Tyrol, last December
This article was originally published on Printingtalk on 24 Feb 2004 at 8.00am (UK)
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Dipdruck, a family-owned business whose origins date back as far as 1848, also operates a six-colour 52cm x 74cm KBA Rapida 74 for the format.
Dipdruck's product range for publishers, commercial and industrial enterprises and the tourism sector (restaurants, hotels, tourist information offices) throughout South Tyrol and in the neighbouring regions of Austria covers not only the company's traditional field of books but also brochures and posters, as well as price lists, menus, stickers, labels and business forms.
The company offers customers the whole process chain from layout and pre-press to finishing and dispatch.
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Company director Norbert Harpf, the fourth generation of his family to look after the business, who has been in charge at Dipdruck since 1976, believes that the investment in the Genius 52 has already been justified.
"Back in 1976, we were one of the first printers in Italy to own a two-colour 50cm x 70cm KBA sheetfed press.
In 1983, we replaced that press with a high-speed KBA Rapida SRO.
Over the next 14 years, we printed more than 120 million sheets, before again investing in the latest small-format press generation, in that case a Rapida 72K purchased in 1998," said Norbert Harpf.
"After preparing the ground for even more economical production and faster delivery times for medium and longer runs with our decision to buy the 15,000 sheets per hour (sph) - now running at 18,000sph - KBA Rapida 74 at Drupa 2000, we were also on the look-out for an innovative and above all flexible means of production to further improve our customer service in the short-run segment.
We already saw KBA's new Genius 52 at its world premiere at IPEX 2002 and were immediately fascinated by the performance and countless production advantages of the press," he added.
The Genius 52 is tailored to the demands of small and mid-size businesses like Dipdruck.
In times when the majority of print work is accounted for by short and medium runs, criteria such as short installation times, minimal wastage, reduced downtimes for job changes, fast automatic plate changing, simple handling and maintenance and high print quality on the most varied substrates become especially important said KBA.
For Norbert Harpf, the investment in the new all-round press has already paid off after just four months.
Harpf emphasised the importance of the press's ghosting-free short-train inking units and the keyless inking technology.
"The quick make-ready, a start-up wastage of just a handful of sheets, the fast attaining of optimum inking conditions and the high production quality with constant colour densities all represent competitive advantages for users of the Genius 52.
Also the fact that the press is designed to permit the use of waterless CTP and analogue plates from different suppliers and can then re-use the same plates in the case of repeat jobs, is an economic plus.
We still use computer-to-film in our pre-press and were able to integrate the Genius 52 in to our workflow with no difficulties," added Harpf.
He continued: "With the attentive project support and professional training we received both from KBA in Radebeul, Germany and from the local specialists at KBA-Italia, the Genius 52 premiere in Italy was for us quite a relaxed venture.
The smooth installation and continuous detail improvements quickly made the press the focal point for our short-run production.
The press was reliable during our important Christmas business rush and we will be making even stronger use of that potential in the future.
The press operates in two shifts printing jobs between 2,000 and 3,000 copies.
It runs at an average 6,000 sheets per hour and, with the exception of envelopes, handles just about the whole of our broad product range.
We ordered the Genius 52 in the five-colour version, to be able to use the fifth unit for spot colours and for print varnish finishing." Junior director at Dipdruck,Andreas Harpf, who deals with the Genius 52 directly in daily practice, is convinced by the overall concept: "The new investment sets progressive standards in respect of design, compactness, print quality and ease of operation.
The motto for equipment on the Genius 52 was not automation at all cost but rather automation specifically where it is meaningful.
That specifically applies to the make-ready savings, handling, quality and value for money.
One prominent example is the system for automatic plate changing with a special pneumatic lock-up and register system, which ensures absolutely register-true and time-saving plate mounting.
The short-train inking units also permit considerable time savings when changing inks." The company added that visitors have been to the plant from as far as the Czech Republic to test the performance potential of the press for their own jobs.
Dipdruck have drawn up extensive calculations to find out exactly where the Genius is at its most effective.
The results showed that it is an especially efficient means of production for short-run work.
The company said it had already performed more than 1,500 plate changes since the start-up, and it could definitely say that the press is well on the way to paying back its investment.
Norbert Harpf already has plans for the next investments for Dipdruck on his desk.
"At Drupa 2008, we intend to replace our conventional KBA Rapida 74 with a new 52cm x 74cm Rapida 74 G, which will enable us to work with the latest inking technology.
The Gravuflow version of the Rapida 74 possesses all the same automation modules as its conventional counterpart.
The profound and long-standing experience gathered by KBA in keyless inking, from the waterless newspaper press KBA Cortina to digital sheetfed offset on the 74 Karat, speaks for itself," commented Harpf. Request a free brochure from KBA ...
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