Digital Print 360 » Offset

KBR Graphics Canada Installs Standard Horizon BQ-470 PUR Perfect Binder at Hume Intermedia

Editor — Sun, 30 May 2010 20:31:19 +0000

John Hume Jr. of Hume Intermedia Services Inc., a Toronto, Ontario full-service digital and offset print and fulfillment firm, stands beside the newly-installed Standard Horizon BQ-470 PUR perfect binder, the first of its kind in Canada with PUR glue system.

May 30, 2010: KBR Graphics Canada, a major supplier of printing equipment, announces that Hume Intermedia Services Inc., a Toronto, Ontario full-service digital and offset print and fulfillment firm, recently installed a new Standard Horizon BQ-470 PUR perfect binder, the first of its kind in Canada with PUR glue system.

“Our motto has always been ‘Service, service, service’,” says John Hume, president of Hume Intermedia Services. “By installing the new Standard Horizon BQ-470 PUR perfect binder, we are anticipating our customers’ ever increasing needs—for both PUR, which all publishers are demanding, and improved reliability and productivity.”

The Standard Horizon BQ-470 fully-automated four-clamp perfect binder, with its state-of-the-art design and fully-automated setup, is easy to operate with minimal operator training required. It produces up to 1,350 superior-quality perfect bound books per hour, with four clamps that travel on a vertical elliptical track. The BQ-470 is the latest in an expanding line of products that draw on Horizon’s core competence in finishing automation. The BQ-470 binder’s 10.4” LCD touch-screen is used to provide stepper motor-controlled automation to the professional-quality mid-range binding market. The BQ-470 can bind books up to 2.5” thick, and supports PUR adhesive to meet varying customer requirements including digital color books. The BQ-470 perfect binder fits a sweet spot in short-run professional-quality book production with full automation and touch-screen control.

The PUR glue system allows the BQ-470 to serve an even wider range of applications. PUR, which stands for polyurethane reactive, is chosen over standard hotmelt adhesives for many reasons, the most important of which are its superior adhesion and the ability of a PUR-bound book to lie flat when open. PUR is unique in that it will bond to lacquer and UV-cured coatings, films such as Mylar, as well as paper. Due to the polar nature of the polyurethane molecule, these adhesives also bond well to clay-coated papers.

“Our well informed clients understand the need the PUR durability provides for their products,” says Hume. “The BQ-470 PUR capability enables us to produce superior quality books up to 2.5 inches thick with fast changeovers for short runs. Our publishing clients are demanding PUR for their products and we are happy to comply. This technology is another asset that sets us apart from our competition.”

For maximum efficiency and throughput, the BQ-470 features an intelligent icon-based color touchscreen that facilitates set-up and allows for instant recall of regular jobs from memory. The installation and start-up of their perfect binder, says Hume, was easy and quick.

“We replaced two Standard Horizon BQ-270 perfect binders with the new Standard Horizon BQ-470,” says Hume. “In one month, we found that the BQ-470 was far more productive than two BQ-270s. Now we have ample excess capacity to do even more books due to the BQ-470’s speed and reliability.”

Since being established 22 years ago, Hume Intermedia has grown to attract a broad base of over 200 clients in a mix of markets, across Canada, the United States and Europe. In possessing a large stable of high volume digital presses, such as three Xerox iGen high speed four-color digital presses, two Xerox Nuvera 144s and one Nuvera 288 black-and-white digital production systems, a Canon PIXMA PRO9000 large-format inkjet printer, and two Heidelberg GTO offset presses, Hume lives up to its adage that “we can print and bind more color impressions or black-and-white impressions in 24 hours faster than almost all other printer in the country.”

“Every job we produce is done in-house,” says Hume. “Our clients rest easy in the knowledge all the work we create for them is printed, bound, mailed or distributed under one roof. We are far more efficient than most. Hey and we are east to get along with too.”

Hume adds that it is his firm’s loyalty to particular brands that kept them with Standard Horizon and KBR Graphics. “We have other Standard Horizon equipment in our bindery, such as an SPF-20A saddle-stitcher and an HT-30 on-demand automated book trimmer that are very reliable,” he says.

Hume was founded in March 1988 as a two-man copy shop, squeezed into 1,000 square feet of space. Since then, the 44-employee firm has evolved into Hume Intermedia Services Inc., one of Canada’s largest producers of digital color and black-and-white print. The firm’s 30,000 sq ft comprise three separate facilities: a downtown studio in Toronto which houses Web hosting, design and creative studio and its large-format production; a warehouse for storage capacity in east-end Toronto; and, next door, the main plant with production, bindery and mailing facilities, along with administration and sales support. Hume’s depth of resources has established the firm as a “one-stop source” for its clients’ communications needs, from design to print and distribution.

With a tradition spanning over 30 years of dedicated sales and service support to the printing industry, KBR Graphics LTD. has evolved as a major supplier to the printing industry covering the provinces of Ontario, Quebec and the Atlantic provinces. The company offers a wide spectrum of graphic arts equipment including major manufacturers such as Standard Horizon finishing solutions, KBA offset presses, Perfecta cutting & paper handling systems, and MGI digital print & finishing solutions. KBR Graphics has locations in both Toronto and Montreal.

Related websites:
www.kbrgraphics.com
www.humeintermedia.com

Guillaume will step up production capacity

Editor — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 06:43:07 +0000

September 17th 2009 – Commercial printer Guillaume Imprimeur of Comines, Northern France, has placed an order for a 32-page Sunday 4000 press from Goss International. The new gapless web press will be the first 32-page short-grain Goss press in France.

The new Goss Sunday 4000 press is scheduled for delivery in March 2010 and will feature a 1450 mm web width, running at speeds of up to 60,000 impressions per hour. The press will also be equipped with Goss Autoplate automatic plate changing as well as the latest Goss Non-Stop Edition Change technology, which allows faster and more efficient job changes.

Specializing in catalogs, brochures, inserts and direct mail products, Guillaume Imprimeur is well established in the European commercial print market. Founded in 1930, the company currently operates a range of sheetfed and 16-page web equipment, including two Goss M-600 presses and two Web 16 presses, as well as inline inkjet finishing for product customization. The Goss Sunday 4000 system will be Guillaume’s first double-circumference press.

According to the company, key factors behind the choice of equipment include the proven Sunday gapless technology, short-grain productivity and the double chopper fold capability of the Goss SG-3 folder for A5 products. In addition, the new Goss Non-Stop Edition Change (NSEC) technology further enhanced the appeal of the Sunday 4000 press due to the expected efficiency it will deliver on regular job or version changes. The technology reduces makeready time and waste by allowing plates to be changed while the press continues to run at a ‘crawl’ speed.

“This investment is driven entirely by our ongoing determination to improve our service to customers,” explains Daniel Lenoir, Production Director at Guillaume Imprimeur. “Working mainly for larger companies with stringent requirements, we have become very sensitive to expectations regarding response times, press availability and costs, and we strive to provide a seamless service by anticipating their demands. This investment will ensure that we have the technology and production capacity to continue to meet delivery deadlines and high-quality requirements while also maintaining cost-effective prices.”

Commenting on the significance of this order, Goss International sales director Jean Segura says, “Guillaume Imprimeur has built a strong reputation in the commercial print market for its expertise across a range of requirements, from simple high-quality print work to more complex direct mail jobs requiring sophisticated data management. This know-how is now in greater demand and increased production capacity is the obvious next step. The press system Guillaume has specified will ensure the expansion is efficient, cost-effective and delivers maximum versatility.”

‘Goss’, the Goss logo, ‘Goss International’, ‘Sunday’, ‘M-600′, ‘Autoplate’ and ‘SG-3′ are trademarks or registered trademarks of Goss International Corporation.

Quad/Graphics First to Install Presstek 52DI®-AC Press Featuring Inline Aqueous Coater

softwaretileguy — Sat, 12 Sep 2009 03:20:53 +0000

September 10, 2009 – Presstek, Inc. (NASDAQ: PRST),a leading manufacturer and marketer of digital offset printing solutions, today announced that Quad/Graphics, the Western Hemisphere’s largest privately held commercial printer, will be purchasing a Presstek 52DI-AC. The Presstek 52DI-AC is debuting at Print 09, being held at McCormick Place in Chicago this week.

“We are thrilled that a printing company of the size and quality of Quad/Graphics has chosen the Presstek 52DI-AC as part of its production platform,” said Jeff Jacobson, Presstek’s Chairman, President and CEO. “Quad/Graphics is clearly an industry leader. This transaction validates Presstek’s business growth strategy for serving larger printers.”

The Presstek 52DI-AC is a digital offset press that features inline aqueous coating supporting both flood and spot coating. Presstek DI digital offset presses offer printers the most profitable solution for meeting the demand for quick turnaround, high quality color printing in runs from 500 to 20,000. Capable of printing on a broad range of substrates from .0024” to .02” (0.06 mm to 0.5 mm) thick, DI presses support up to 300 lpi (120 l/cm) and FM screening without incurring additional time or expense. These highly automated DI presses combine the efficiency of an all-digital workflow with the versatility and high quality of offset printing.

“Presstek’s 52DI-AC gives us high-quality reproduction and print-run-count flexibility – features which are extremely important to our client base – with the added benefits of quick makeready and minimal waste,” said Tom Frankowski, Senior Vice President of Manufacturing for Quad/Graphics. “We envision a wide range of uses for this equipment. It will augment our manufacturing platform very well, giving our clients more ways to profit from our print capabilities.”

Quad/Graphics has purchased the Presstek 52DI-AC being demonstrated on the show floor at Print 09.

“Quad/Graphics sees the benefit of leveraging the Presstek 52DI-AC to take advantage of the growing market for high quality shorter runs that are not cost-efficient to produce with conventional offset or digital toner-based presses,” added Mark Levin, President of Presstek Americas Region. “We look forward to working with them during the implementation process as they create new opportunities and applications that can be integrated into Quad/Graphics’ world-class product and service mix.”

For more information about Presstek’s digital offset and workflow solutions, please visit www.presstek.com or call 800-524-0003, extension 3599.

About Presstek

Presstek, Inc. is a leading manufacturer and marketer of high tech digital imaging solutions to the graphic arts and laser imaging markets. Presstek’s patented DI®, CTP and plate products provide a streamlined workflow in a chemistry-free environment, thereby reducing printing cycle time and lowering production costs. Presstek solutions are designed to make it easier for printers to cost effectively meet increasing customer demand for high-quality, shorter print runs and faster turnaround while providing improved profit margins. Presstek subsidiary, Lasertel, Inc., manufactures semiconductor laser diodes for Presstek’s and external customers’ applications. For more information visit www.presstek.com, or call +1-603-594-8585, ext. 3599 or email: info@presstek.com.

New KBA Rapida 75 Arrives at Paramount Performance Marketing

Editor — Sat, 12 Sep 2009 03:15:13 +0000

KBA North America, a global press manufacturer based in Dallas, Texas, announces that Paramount Performance Marketing, a fully-integrated marketing solutions firm and commercial printer, is installing its new KBA Rapida 75 23 x 29-inch six-color, sheet-fed press at its Jacksonville, Florida headquarters.

“We are constantly listening to the needs of our customers as we adapt and evolve with innovative solutions,” says Jon Cummins, president and CEO of Paramount Performance Marketing. “With the installation of our new KBA half-size press, we’re upgrading our equipment to enable us to offer faster turnaround, higher-quality, and enhanced environmental responsibility.”

Recently Paramount took its direct mail production to the next level by leveraging the use of personalized direct mail printed pieces targeted to the individual with the power of the internet. The service utilizes personalized web addresses or pURLS to generate leads and communicate with existing customers as well as update databases, measure responses and obtain customer feedback.

Paramount also offers specialized services in building online storefronts. These online catalogs, which can be inter-company or public, allow companies to automate and centralize everything from their own print products from Paramount, distribution of products and supplies through the company or the sale of their products to customers. Cummins plans to utilize his new KBA Rapida 75 press to print both the personalized direct mail and online storefronts pieces.

“This new press lays a key foundation in our goal as we respond to the changing print needs of our customers,” explains Cummins. “For example, our online storefront service allows our customers and their customers to order print products on-demand, thereby reducing their print inventory. We’ll now be able to offer our customers personalized, customized pieces printed on the Rapida 75 that we couldn’t offer before. The Rapida 75 will give us the ability to produce shorter run lengths–as low as 200 pieces–that are cost-effective and a higher quality. We’ll also be able to produce print jobs on lighter weight sheets with better quality on the Rapida 75. We tested 60 lb coated gloss sheets on the new press and they were printed flawlessly at high speed.”

Cummins was also attracted by the Rapida 75’s array of high-level automation. Having made its debut at Drupa 08, the six-up Rapida 75 23.75 x 29.5-inch press offers a 15,000sph, is configurable with two to eight colors plus coater and four-over-four perfector, and incorporates some 30 new features. Many of the proven features that have made the bigger format presses popular have now been incorporated in the Rapida 75. These include pneumatic suction sidelays, an open inking unit design, gripper systems and KBA Densitronic density measurement and control from the console. At Drupa 08, the five-color coater press with extended delivery demonstrated a high-speed job change from luxury spirits packaging on lightweight board to six-up flyers for commercial printers. For printers who produce US letter or typical magazine and catalogue formats, the Rapida 75 23 x 29-inch size allows six-up layouts. In other words, a printer can produce two extra copies compared to other half-format presses and 50% higher productivity.

“We’re especially pleased with the KBA Densitronic S closed loop color management scanning densitometry system on a half-size press,” says Cummins. “This will give us the ability to ensure a high level of consistency on all of our jobs because it is constantly monitoring each job and automatically setting the ink controls to produce a consistent printed piece.”

Environmental responsibility and seeking to continuously improve their corporate environment are key aspects at Paramount. The firm belongs to the Jacksonville Lean Consortium, a group of 55 member companies that seek to be lean and efficient and promote a culture of continuous improvement. “We chose the Rapida 75 because it features big press features in a smaller 6-up format,” says Cummins. “Our press operators will be more efficient because we’re reducing our press size from a 40-inch model to a 29-inch model and the Rapida 75 is seven feet shorter than a competitor’s half-size press. Due to its smaller footprint, we will be creating less waste, using less paper, and in the end, we predict we’ll significantly reduce our electricity usage.”

Much care and thought went into the purchase of the new KBA Rapida 75 press. “We looked at three different press manufacturers including KBA,” recalls Cummins. “While all of them had good quality, the Rapida 75 quickly stood out among the others with its superior print quality. We immediately ruled out one press manufacturer because the KBA model offered faster makeready and less paper usage. We felt that KBA had taken the best facets of its large format presses and put those features on this half-size press. In the end, it was also the return-on-investment and cost of the press that swayed us in KBA’s favor.”

But as Cummins focused more closely on the KBA Rapida 75, he decided that this press rose above and beyond the other half-size models. Cummins visited the KBA production plant to see how the press is produced. He questioned five different printers in person who own the Rapida 75 press and could see first-hand that KBA’s claims about the press’s productivity and quality are true.

“The printing industry across the country is changing,” says Cummins. “Paramount has been working diligently for more than five years to adapt and evolve. Our customers are looking for innovative solutions in this tight economy. We believe that in this current economic recession it is time to re-tool and become even more efficient so that we’re ready when the economy picks back up. That’s why we chose to install the Rapida 75 now.”

Established in 1912, Paramount Printing grew to become one of Jacksonville’s largest commercial printers. Late in 2008, after restructuring and expanding its technologies and services, the firm changed its name to Paramount Performance Marketing, reflecting the firm’s new fully-integrated marketing solutions services. The 30-employee firm, located in a 20,000 sq ft facility, offers both digital and traditional offset printing, direct mail and fulfillment, and specialized services such as building corporate online storefronts.

KBA North America is a member of the KBA Group, a leading global supplier of sheetfed, webfed, and digital offset presses located in Dallas, Texas. KBA is dedicated to excellence in printing technology. The company’s greatest satisfaction comes from helping its customers succeed by building presses that enable their businesses to prosper. From engineering through production, KBA’s focus is on people, providing flexible technology, customized printing solutions, and personal service to help its partners differentiate themselves and be successful today and in the future.

KBA Makeready Champion Rapida 106 41-inch Sheetfed Press with UV Installed at Hanover Packaging

Editor — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 05:08:01 +0000

KBA North America, a global press manufacturer based in Dallas, Texas, announces that Hanover Packaging, a premier packaging firm based in Hanover, Pa., is installing a new KBA Rapida 106 41-inch six-color sheetfed press with conventional and UV capabilities during the summer of 2009.

“We chose KBA due to the high quality, flexibility and environmentally-friendly properties of the company’s Rapida 106 press,” says Larry Chatzkel, president of Hanover Packaging. “We also wanted to provide a cost-effective solution for our customers. This press is the world record holder for the number of jobs run in a production shift and it has extremely short makeready times. In addition this press will run at speeds up to 18,000 sheets per hour. The fastest makereadies and highest production speeds translate into cost savings for our customers.”

There were two primary factors that led Hanover Packaging to purchase the press: its low impact on the environment and the quality of its performance on a wide range of substrates. “First, we were looking for a press that would be as environmentally-friendly as possible,” explains Chatzkel. “The KBA Rapida 106 emits zero VOCs when printing UV, which was a huge plus for us. Secondly, because we manufacture packaging in all substrates, we wanted a press that could excel in printing on both board and plastic. The Rapida 106 is the first press in which we had the confidence that we could achieve these goals.”

Since its establishment more than 80 years ago, Hanover Packaging has been known as an innovative and customer-focused organization, with absolute dedication to anticipating and meeting its customer needs. The firm prides itself on exceeding customer expectations throughout the process of creating packaging, from beautiful designs for new product launches and re-launches, through high quality manufacturing to – for many of its customers – full service co-packing or “fulfillment” of the packaging it manufactures. Hanover’s attention to detail and high standards ensures that all of its products are of the highest quality, and its turnkey manufacturing facility allows for quick turnaround, high quality and on-time deliveries.

To maintain this high level of customer satisfaction, Hanover is constantly evaluating its customer demands and upcoming trends in the market. “Many of our customers are requesting short-run orders, as well as maximum productivity for long runs,” says Chatzkel. This will allow us to run multiple short runs with extraordinarily low waste, and therefore more cost effectively. Due to the press’s ability to deliver very short set up times, a high level of accuracy and performance, and very low waste, we expect to be able to provide our customers with the highest level of quality and efficiency. Many of our customers, this year in particular, are asking for just in time deliveries and this press enables us to be even more responsive to this need. For long runs, the press has a maximum speed of 18,000 sheets per hour, which makes it an industry leader and a cost effective solution. UV technology also permits us to print many special effects such as dimensional printing and metallic inks applied with analox rollers that closely mimic foil stamping. Plus, the format on the new Rapida 106 aligns with the rest of our production equipment and ensures high resolution on the outer edges of the sheet. This is very important for us and for our customers in that it ensures the print quality that they desire.”

Environmental aspects were another important component to Hanover’s decision. Hanover Packaging is powered 100% with renewable energy and just completed an audit to determine its carbon footprint. The company has now purchased offsets which subsidize carbon reduction efforts making Hanover carbon balanced. The firm is also at the forefront of sustainable packaging production, including the use of recycled materials, such as RPET with a very high recycled material composition. Chatzkel learned about the KBA Rapida 106 at DRUPA in 2008 when it was introduced and recognized by the EU for its low environmental impact. The addition of this press to Hanover Packaging is an important element in its continued sustainability initiatives.

The new KBA press is equipped with a bevy of new technology, including an 18,000 sph output, ultra fast makeready times, and cutting-edge automation. Automation options include the KBA DriveTronic dedicated drives and simultaneous plate mounting system, as well as the DriveTronic feeder, with its pre setting capabilities. The press also features the GATF InterTech award-winning sidelay free infeed, DriveTronic SIS. Hanover’s Rapida 106 is a hybrid press that allows the company to print both UV and conventional depending on the needs of its customers. In order to make quick makereadies between conventional and UV, Hanover had the press equipped with dual wash-up systems. The firm wanted to ensure that the press could run varied thicknesses of stock so it is equipped to run from 40 lb paper to 48 pt board and E flute. A fully-automatic plate changing system ensures fast makereadies and the new shaftless DriveTronic feeder will help to reduce waste and allow for rapid job changes. The Rapida 106 with servo-motors drives the inkers and plate cylinders for one-minute plate changes on all units at once. “We went all out to make sure that this press would be equipped with the latest technology that would carry us into the future,” notes Chatzkel.

Hanover Packaging has a history of investing in the latest technology in order to keep current with its customers’ changing needs. Over 90% of its packaging is manufactured with equipment purchased in the last five years. “We believe that continued investment in the latest technology keeps us competitive in both the domestic and world markets,” says Chatzkel. “This latest addition of our KBA press follows that trend. As a manufacturer of a variety of packaging solutions, the KBA press was able to best meet all of our needs for a variety of materials and sizes.”

“Since this is Hanover’s first KBA press, we’re proud that they chose our equipment over other press manufacturers based on our technology, ability to deliver high quality, and environmental commitment,” says Edward Heffernan, sales representative for KBA North America.

Prior to the arrival of the press, Hanover began to implement training and install a new state-of-the-art Kodak prepress system to quickly integrate the Rapida 106 into its workflow. As for its facility, Hanover only needed to pour a pad for the new press; its facility is already large enough to fit the new press. Chatzkel does, however, see a need to seek more employees as the installation of the new press and prepress system will create new jobs at his firm.

Since it inked the press contract, Hanover has been building a solid relationship with KBA. The firm plans to send its pressmen to KBA’s German headquarters for training. “We believe in providing training for our employees,” says Chatzkel. “We regularly send employees to school at our machine manufacturers’ facilities. It results in bringing new ideas for efficient production back to our facility and is a great opportunity for personal development for those who attend. We have found that training away from the demands of production is a great learning environment.”

Founded in 1925, Hanover Packaging is a leader in the design and manufacture of innovative packaging. The company is proud to count among its customers many market leaders in the cosmetics, gourmet food, health and beauty, publishing and consumer products industries. Its manufacturing capabilities include rigid boxes, hinged boxes, folding cartons, transparent cartons in PVC, APET and RPET, and windowed cartons, all of which are manufactured in its 125,000 sq. ft. state-of-the-art manufacturing facilities in Hanover, Pa.

Related websites:
www.kba-usa.com
www.hanoverpackaging.com

Efficiency and Productivity at Malnove With The KBA Rapdia 142

Editor — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 04:41:07 +0000

KBA North America, a global press manufacturer based in Williston, Vermont, and is building a headquarters in Dallas, Texas, has replaced a 50-inch press with a new KBA Rapida 142 56-inch seven-color press at Malnove, Inc., the largest independent folding-carton manufacturer in North America. The new press was installed at Malnove’s Clearfield, Utah facility.

“Our goal in purchasing the new press was to update our print capabilities and increase our capacity,” says Steve Mayhan, vice president of corporate manufacturing for Malnove. “In both areas we have succeeded with our new KBA Rapida 142 56-inch press. Having this new press, we’re now providing faster turnaround, increased speed-to-market, and printing at a higher quality level than before.”

Malnove’s key to success is expecting and exceeding its customer demands, whether it be faster speed to market from weeks to now days or less, high quality and consistent color, and repeatability. “Our KBA Rapida 142 provides all of these necessities for our continued success,” says Mayhan. “The KBA Densitronic S spectrophotometer color control system on press allows us to easily repeat our customer jobs thus allowing them to shorten their run lengths, while keeping their inventories low and allowing them to change their graphics as often as they wish. The KBA Logotronic Management System gives us the tools to improve our makeready and slash waste.”

When the new KBA press arrived, it became the centerpiece of an entire make-over for the entire Clearfield facility. The 105-employee, 150,000 sq ft facility is under renovation with more lights and larger work areas for office workers, an enhanced working environment, and a pleasant venue for Malnove’s nationwide customers to work with them.

While Malnove has been a long-time customer of KBA, the company did research other press manufacturers and their products before choosing KBA. “We felt that KBA was the best fit for our facility due to their technical expertise and their past knowledge of our firm” says Mayhan. “KBA continues to make amazing innovations on their presses and our company has formed a solid relationship.”

Installation and training went very smoothly between the two firms. The new 56-inch press replaced the spot where the existing 50-inch press had operated. The three existing press operators from the older press took over the reigns on the new KBA but have become more productive, says Mayhan, due to the new press’s higher level of automation, such as blanket washing, press cleaning, and high-quality print systems. “The operators have quickly become accustomed to operating the press after training at KBA’s customer care center in Vermont and on-site training,” he explains.

Founded in 1948, Malnove converts high-quality packaging at its three plants located in Omaha (NE), Jacksonville (FL), and Clearfield (UT). The Nebraska facility offers sheetfed and gravure printing up to eight colors and flexo printing up to six colors, with backside coaters. The Florida facility, the newest folding-carton plant in the US, has seven-color sheetfed capability and six-color flexo capability with backside coating. The Utah facility features sheetfed printing up to seven colors.

KBA North America is a member of the KBA Group, a leading global supplier of sheetfed, webfed, and digital offset presses located in Williston, Vermont, and is building a headquarters in Dallas, Texas. KBA is dedicated to excellence in printing technology. The company’s greatest satisfaction comes from helping its customers succeed by building presses that enable their businesses to prosper. From engineering through production, KBA’s focus is on people, providing flexible technology, customized printing solutions, and personal service to help its partners differentiate themselves and be successful today and in the future.

MOSAIC Installs First KBA Rapida 75 Five Color Press in US

Editor — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 00:35:34 +0000

KBA North America, a global press manufacturer based in Williston, Vermont, and Dallas, Texas, announces that MOSAIC, a carbon neutral waterless printing company specializing in commercial, digital, UV and waterless printing, has installed the first KBA Rapida 75 five-color 29-inch sheetfed press plus aqueous coater in the U.S. at its Cheverly, Maryland location. The firm took possession of the press in January 2009.

“Being a high quality print provider in the commercial sheetfed industry requires being resourceful and flexible,” says Joel Zelepsky, MOSAIC’s senior vice president of sales and marketing. “With its 23″ x 29″ footprint, the new KBA Rapida 75 compliments the many sizes of turnkey print solutions we provide our customers 24/7. Plus the new press is a faster and a more versatile upgrade to our KBA Karat 20×28-inch press, which over the years was a tremendous workhorse for us. This 23×29-inch size fills a need for our smaller-size projects, gives us the versatility to put much more suitable work on this press rather than our larger 40-inch sheetfed presses, while allowing us to enjoy the same modern marvels of print technology on our larger presses.”

Color control, waste reduction, high print quality

The KBA Rapida 75 five-color press is equipped with the popular KBA Densitronic full scanning densitometer and color control system as well as special cooling for waterless printing. These systems significantly reduce waste (water and paper) while maintaining the highest print quality.

Environmental awareness and responsibility is a key component of MOSAIC’s corporate climate leadership. Purchasing the Rapida 75 with its waterless printing technology and aqueous coater provide a perfect fit to MOSAIC’s family of existing sheetfed presses, says Zelepsky. “Although it is a smaller size, its environmental impact in using less water, paper, and VOCs fits right in with our corporate environmental direction,” he says.

While MOSAIC’s management did investigate presses from three other press manufacturers, its pre-existing relationship with KBA positively influenced its decision to purchase another KBA press. “KBA and MOSAIC are true business partners,” says Zelepsky. “From their service to their training they have positioned their interest in MOSAIC with vested responsiveness. KBA has a fine reputation for quality and innovation. We feel they signature their technology with cutting edge processes that translates into our being able to deliver a superior product.”

MOSAIC believes that with the acquisition of its 23×29-inch KBA Rapida 75 its market share of this size press jobs will continue to increase. “The increased speed and ease-of-use gives us a tremendous edge over our competitors,” says Zelepsky. “Being able to handle all different sizes in a turn-key format has always been a major prerequisite in purchasing equipment and technology at MOSAIC.”

Timing on installing the new KBA press was perfect for MOSAIC, as the firm was in the process of retiring one of its older presses. The space becoming available was a good fit for the incoming KBA Rapida 75 with room to spare.

“MOSAIC’s customer profile is its passion for printing, its innovative use of technology, its cutting-edge quality processes, and its environmental responsibility,” says Ed Heffernan, KBA district sales manager. “We are pleased to be true business partners with MOSAIC and continue their success with another fine press from KBA.”

Keys to success

“Being proactive, providing innovative alternative solutions and savings to our customers while maintaining a sense of urgency, especially in a down economy, is our key to success,” says Zelepsky. “MOSAIC builds partnerships with our customers one job at a time.”

MOSAIC is a premier print communication company specializing in Commercial, Digital, and Waterless Printing, Direct Mail Distribution and Web to Print Solutions. The company’s custom-designed eco-friendly facility is located in Cheverly, Maryland, just outside Washington, DC, and only 40 minutes outside the city of Baltimore. Since 1948, MOSAIC has provided unparalleled quality and service to advertising agencies, design firms, associations and corporations throughout the country. The 140-employee firm has steadily grown over the years and has been recognized by the Washington Business Journal as the fifth largest printing company in the Washington DC metro region. MOSAIC is proud to be a six year recipient of the “Best Workplace in the Americas” Award by the PIA/GATF organizations. In 2007, the firm was presented with the Art Directors Partnership Award by the ADCMW recognizing its involvement and contributions among the design community including its environmental initiatives.

KBA North America is a member of the KBA Group, a leading global supplier of sheetfed, webfed, and digital offset presses located in Williston, Vermont, and Dallas, Texas. KBA is dedicated to excellence in printing technology. The company’s greatest satisfaction comes from helping its customers succeed by building presses that enable their businesses to prosper. From engineering through production, KBA’s focus is on people, providing flexible technology, customized printing solutions, and personal service to help its partners differentiate themselves and be successful today and in the future.

Related websites:

www.kba-usa.com
www.mosaicprint.com

Heidelberg to Shed 5,000 Jobs for Cost-Cutting

Editor — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 20:24:15 +0000

DigitalPrint360 – Faced with the continuing poor demand resulting from the global economic and financial crisis, the Management Board of Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG (Heidelberg) has decided to take further measures to ensure the company’s competitiveness and efficiency. By financial year 2010/2011, these measures by the world market leader for printing presses – including the existing initiatives – are intended to result in total savings in the order of 400 million Euro (previous target 200 million Euro) compared to financial year 2007/2008. As a result, the company will be much better equipped to face future challenges and will also be well placed when the crisis is over.

2009 has seen a continuation of the reluctance to invest that has been in evidence since the fall of 2008. This is due primarily to print shops’ low capacity utilization and the difficulty being experienced by the press manufacturer’s customers in securing bank loans. Heidelberg must reckon on incoming orders for the fourth quarter of 2008/2009 being below 500 million Euro and thus lower than the figure for the previous quarter, which was itself already weak (Q3: 560 million Euro). No improvement is expected in the short term, which means that a further downturn in sales can be expected in financial year 2009/2010 as a whole. The company is therefore planning to reduce capacities and structural costs still further to provide a decisive response to the fall in orders.

Determined response to the crisis from Heidelberg
“The global financial and economic crisis has continued to hit the mechanical engineering sector hard over recent months,” said Chief Executive Officer Bernhard Schreier. “We introduced a cost-cutting program last year in response to this crisis. The difficult economic situation has meant a further slump in demand and there are no signs of any improvement in the short term. In this situation, it is up to the management team to maintain the company’s competitiveness and efficiency. We have made the necessary structural adjustments to optimize our company’s earnings on a sustainable basis and ensure it is primed for the upturn when it comes,” he added.

Cost-cutting measures
Planned measures include a further reduction of personnel and non-personnel costs in research and development (R&D), production, administration, and sales. Investments will be scaled down and the production of packaging products will be concentrated at the main plant in Wiesloch-Walldorf. Most of the savings will be made in financial year 2009/2010.

In order to achieve these savings, it is planned to roughly double the 2,500 job cuts that were originally intended. The company estimates that 170-190 million Euro will be required to implement the entire cost-cutting program.

Termination of the agreement on safeguarding the company’s future
In order to be able to make the necessary personnel adjustments – among other things through compulsory redundancies – Heidelberg is terminating the collective agreement on safeguarding the company’s future that was last extended in October 2007. This will take effect from June 30, 2009. The company intends to negotiate the additional personnel adjustments with employee representatives and the union.

“When we extended the agreement on safeguarding the company’s future two years ago, there was no way of predicting that the global economy would take such a dramatic downturn. Given the worldwide financial market crisis, we regret that we are left with no alternative but to terminate the agreement. This is the only way, we can ensure our competitiveness and efficiency, something that is also in our workforce’s interests,” said Bernhard Schreier.

Cavanaugh Press Installs Suprasetter 105 MCL and the Speedmaster 102-P

Editor — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 23:21:49 +0000

Cavanaugh Press, Inc., a family owned and operated print and mail business in Baltimore, Md. has followed up its 2007 installation of a 6-color Heidelberg Speedmaster XL 105 with the recent addition of a Suprasetter 105 MCL platesetter. The new CtP device enables Cavanaugh to keep up with the XL 105’s prodigious plate consumption, reported company President Bob Atwell. “The XL 105 is our productivity gem, but it would eat plates faster than we could make them, especially on short-run work. Given that kind of productivity, it made no sense for us to wait for plates – and now we don’t have to. With the Suprasetter 105, we can plate on demand and handle last-minute changes with ease. We’ve gone from remaking 40-50 plates per month for reasons related to client preference or scheduling to remaking zero plates.”

Cavanaugh also has introduced a second 2-color Speedmaster 102-P to its all-Heidelberg pressroom lineup. “It’s the first perfecting press we’ve ever owned that can perfect on coated stocks without slurring or marking,” Atwell said. “The SM 102 perfector delivers the highest quality 2-color work we have ever seen. The company also operates a 6-color Speedmaster CD 102 straight press, a pair of 54” POLAR 137 ECM cutters with jogger, and a total of six continuous-feed and signature Stahlfolders. Atwell understands the value of sticking with a supplier he knows and trusts. With Heidelberg, he said, “We get the total package: outstanding quality, the best service, high residual value” and the “brilliant” Systemservice36 service coverage, which provides just the right security for Cavanaugh’s high-dollar press investment.

Cavanaugh’s reliance on Heidelberg also extends to its use of Saphira consumables, including plates and proofing papers. “The one thing we won’t do is introduce variables into our workflow in the form of generic or inferior consumables. While our Saphira plates clearly are outperforming our old plates with respect to sharpness, gain, and consistency, they also excel in maintaining the proper ink-water balance.” How does he know? “Pressmen are very sensitive to this issue,” Atwell said. “When you’re hearing no complaints from the operators, you know you have a winner.”

Twenty-five-year-old, family owned and operated Cavanaugh Press occupies 60,000 square feet in two adjacent facilities in Baltimore. The company serves a national client base made up of discerning commercial print buyers.

Tired of waiting for plates? Click here for more about the Suprasetter 105 MCL.

State-of-the-Art KBA Rapida 162 64-inch Seven-Color Press Purchased by Accurate Box

Editor — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 06:49:50 +0000

KBA North America, a global press manufacturer based in Williston, Vermont, and Dallas, Texas, announces that Accurate Box Company Inc., located in Paterson, New Jersey, has improved its automation and productivity with a new KBA Rapida 162 64-inch seven-color sheetfed printing press. Accurate Box is a leading high-graphics corrugated box manufacturer specializing in custom full color litho-laminated packaging. The installation of the new press took place in late fall of 2008 with full production beginning in January 2009.

“Our niche is the production of exceptional high graphics corrugated packaging for nationally-recognized brands such as Kellogg’s and Pepsico,” says Lisa Hirsh, president and CEO of Accurate Box. “This type of packaging has become more brilliant and requires higher color reproduction due to the growth of the big box retailers like Costco and Sam’s Club. Our job is to produce the logos and graphics with the highest quality on a strong corrugated material that will withstand shipping, storage, and display, and entice customers to purchase the products.”

To keep up with demand and maintain its leadership position, Accurate Box chose to add a new, state-of-the-art KBA Rapida162 seven-color press to complement the existing KBA Rapida press. This new press offers expanded automation and productivity coupled with higher press speeds as well as the KBA Logotronic management system. The Logotronic management system provides company-wide digital data exchange between management, production, purchasing, logistics, and general office departments. In addition, the new technology provides the KBA Densitronic S closed-loop color management scanning densitometry system.

“We’ve only had the press a few months and we’re already seeing how much faster it comes up to color, its quicker make-ready times, and all of the new automation and technology,” says Hirsh. “While we spent a good amount of time analyzing other press manufacturers and their models, in the end we felt that our customers deserved the flexibility, consistency, and reliability of the high quality printing that our KBA presses deliver.”

Hirsh admits that another component of the purchasing decision was how to adapt to faster turnaround times demanded by their customers. “In addition, our customers are ordering shorter run lengths and we’re seeing much more frequent copy changes to keep the copy fresh. Our new KBA Rapida press equipped with all of its automation is allowing us to cut our makeready times, quickly set up the press to print, and scan our jobs to ensure that color is exact. Further, the press has allowed us to increase capacity and we’ll be looking for new ways to reduce waste due to the efficiency on press.

“Forming a close partnership with Accurate Box and providing them with a press that will satisfy their demanding customers is our ultimate goal,” says Ed Heffernan, KBA district sales manager. “We’re pleased that after an extensive search of different presses on the market, Accurate Box chose to remain with KBA and utilize our latest technology to keep them as leaders in their niche market.”

Accurate Box Company Inc. was founded in 1944 by Hirsh’s grandfather as a local folding carton company until his son Charles took over as president in 1964. In 1997, Ms. Hirsh became the third generation to operate the 200-employee firm. Today Accurate Box is an international leader in high graphics corrugated manufacturing and is a certified women-owned business. The litho-lamination process, Accurate’s market niche, combines sturdy corrugated paperboard–ideal for shipping and storage–with high quality lithographic printing that makes a product stand out in the store. Litho-lamination allows stores to display the product in the same package in which it is shipped, thus saving them the time and expense of unpacking their wares.