72pp Web Press And Variable Folder Enable Growth

Following Slovakia's accession to the European Union, Slovenska Grafia in Bratislava is aiming to raise its profile in the European print market with a 72-page KBA Compacta 818 web offset press.

Following Slovakia's accession to the European Union, Slovenska Grafia in Bratislava is aiming to raise its profile in the European print market with a 72-page KBA Compacta 818 commercial web offset press.

With a variable-format folder, the new press will be commissioned in October and it will increase the company's production capacity by 40 per cent.

Now owned by the Grafobal Group, Slovenska Grafia can offer customers sheetfed, web offset and webfed rotogravure production.

Its main product lines are magazines, promotional items, catalogues and direct mail, produced at a rate of around 5.5 million A4 pages per hour.

Exports, most of them to central and eastern Europe, account for 40 per cent of output.

Slovenska Grafia's managing director Martin Ilavsky, said: "Efficiency, versatility and, above all, flexibility are key to success in the European print market today.

A press of this size is a major investment, even for a big operation like ours.

But with business rapidly expanding, it was the only way we could improve our efficiency and address customer demands for more sophisticated products." He continued: "Our decision was partly determined by our competitors, since we're determined to defend the competitive edge we have gained.

48-page and 64-page presses are standard issue in Europe, but a Compacta 818 for 72 pages, and with a variable-format folder in to the bargain, will give us a unique capability." Alongside the new commercial press the company is investing in large-format CTP, ink pumping systems and finishing equipment.

Slovenska Grafia's production director Peter Kosik, said: "KBA's innovative technology reflects our avowed approach to web production.

The Compacta 818's unrivalled advantage - its ability to switch from standard long-grain to short-grain copies - means that we will be able to print 72-page copies in A4 or 84-page copies in reduced magazine format.

The benefits will be more variety for customers and greater cost-efficiency for us." The press features a variable-format V5 folder, automatic reel feed, semi-automatic plate changing, a variable former and magazine superstructure and a closed-loop colorimetry system.

The company is also installing glue-binders for promotional brochures and fashion or motoring magazines.

The Compacta will be housed in a new building and embedded in a high-tech logistics system.

The equipment upgrade at Slovenska Grafia also includes a new-generation 18,000 sheets per hour (sph) KBA Rapida 105 that will be the fastest and most advanced sheetfed press in the Slovakian and Czech markets, said KBA.

Configured with five units plus an in-line UV coater, the B1 (40-inch) Rapida 105 will print quality coated covers for magazines and catalogues.

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