Product category:
Printing Presses and Machinery (New and Used, Service and Repair)
News Release from: KBA | Subject: Rapida 105 CX, Rapida 105, 142,
Edited by the Printingtalk Editorial
Team on 08 May 2006
KBA Presses Help Printer's Move To
Higher Market
When Rino Nicolini, founder and proprietor of Grafiche Nicolini in Gavirate, on the shores of Lake Varese (Italy) looks back on his life so far, he must be more than satisfied.
When Rino Nicolini, founder and proprietor of Grafiche Nicolini in Gavirate, on the shores of Lake Varese (Italy) looks back on his life so far, he must be more than satisfied Rino Niccolini founded Grafiche Nicolini, initially in Besozzo, in 1960
This article was originally published on Printingtalk on 9 Feb 2004 at 8.00am (UK)
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After several extensions and a move to the current location in Gavirate in 1996.
In autumn 2002, when Italy was going through difficult economic times, the now almost 70-year old took one of his most important investment decisions.
True to his motto that 'there is no night so long that new light cannot break', he parted company with three Aurelia sheetfed offset printing presses in 70cm x 100cm format and replaced them with two Rapida machines from KBA.
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The biggest SLF offset press on the international market entered the final phase of production at the beginning of November 2003 with the successful conclusion of sheet-run trials at KBA's factory.
They were a two-colour Rapida 105 with perfector and a large-format five-colour Rapida 142 with coating tower.
That marked the start of a new phase in the development of Nicolini's business.
Today, four years later, Rino Nicolini is confident that the partnership with KBA has paid off for him and for his company.
A third KBA machine has been in production in Gavirate since February - a six-colour Rapida 105 CX of the latest 18,000 sheets per hour (sph) generation with coating tower and an extensive array of special features.
Rino Nicolini said: "The fundamental decision we had to take was whether we would stay below a certain size and continue to do battle with a thousand other competitors or take the leap in to the higher market segment and only have 10 competitors.
We opted to meet the challenge head on and the results have shown that we were right." He added: "The courage to invest in a new CTP pre-press stage and two new printing presses grew not least from the expert advice provided by KBA.
We firmly believe that KBA offers the most highly advanced presses in the medium-format and large-format segment and, by consistently innovating in many different areas, has achieved a clear technical edge that users can utilize for their own individual production requirements." He said KBA's innovation is what Grafiche Nicolini's customers needed for their products.
And he explained: "Thanks to sophisticated coating and drying concepts, we offer our customers the special effects they want on an economically attractive basis.
This is particularly true for the new Rapida 105-6+L CX through the use of hybrid inks." And Nicolini continued: "Once we had entered a new market segment in 2002 with the Rapida 142-5+L and the Rapida 105-2 SW1, we spent two years on learning and understanding.
Thanks to the high net output of both Rapidas, however, we managed to meet rising demand and orders on schedule." The company uses the medium-format press with perfector specifically for operating instructions and mono envelopes and the Rapida 142 for more complex jobs involving additional colours and special effects.
The large-format press with coating tower in particular has opened up new opportunities world for the business.
Nicolini commented further about KBA's innovation: "The new Rapida 105-6+L CX press underlines KBA's technology potential.
The hybrid press comes with CX board unit, Washtronic washing units, coating unit, IR, TL and UV driers, ACR auto register, Densitronic S ink measuring and control unit and Ciplink networking to the pre-press department.
This machine has enabled us to make another leap in quality so that we can now meet even out-of-the-ordinary requirements." He said that for the company's printers the investment over the last four years has brought about a significant boost in motivation, with positive effects.
And despite its complex features, the new Rapida 105, like the first two KBA presses, has enjoyed a trouble-free start, he added.
He added: "In the four years that we have been printing with the KBA presses we have been able to build up excellent partnerships, particularly with our major clients such as Editione Paolini, Lindt, Elektrolux, Coca Cola and Whirlpool, for instance.
They value our innovations very highly because that gives them the opportunity to develop constantly as well.
We don't just print on paper and board, though, as we also print on PVC, plastic and polypropylene now." And he said that his company's flexible equipment enables it to print both large jobs to a high quality and smaller volumes with ultra-short delivery periods.
He concluded: "As well as the Italian market, we are now producing for customers in many countries across Europe. Request a free brochure from KBA ...
Our export ratio is about 30 per cent.".
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