Imagine! Express Minneapolis Installs a 41" KBA Rapida 105 Sheetfed Offset Press

DALLAS—December 16, 2014—KBA North America is proud to announce that Imagine! Print Solutions, North America's prominent independent commercial and packaging printing company, has installed this fall a new 41" KBA Rapida press with fully automated quality control and inspection systems at its newest division, Imagine! Express Minneapolis. This is the eighth KBA press installed at an Imagine! Print Solutions facility.

"Since January of 2012, Imagine! Express Minneapolis, an Imagine! Print Solutions-owned company formerly known as DigiGraphics, has experienced tremendous growth with sales increases of over 200 percent," said Bob Lothenbach, Imagine!'s president and founder. "To continue that success, better align with Imagine!'s customers and prospects, and serve local and regional clients, Imagine! Express Minneapolis has added complete commercial printing and direct mail capabilities to its already impressive lineup of equipment and services. The company added a new 41" KBA Rapida 105 press with fully automated quality control and vision inspection systems, along with additional equipment needed to become one of the predominant companies in the area.

"These capabilities will complement the already robust offerings in large and grand format UV printing, framing and interior décor solutions," he continued. "The upgrades, additions and enhancements will create a single facility with some of the most extensive capabilities available anywhere. Imagine! Express Minneapolis already has a powerful local presence, driven by the strength of a thriving national company.”

Steve Korn, KBA director of national and key accounts, also noted: "We are excited about the new KBA Rapida 105 press investment made by Imagine! for its new Imagine! Express Minneapolis location. This was the culmination of much hard work behind the scenes between both firms and just the beginning of a much broader program that Bob Lothenbach, a true industry visionary, and his team are executing. We at KBA are most appreciative of the strong partnership that we’ve forged together over so many years with Imagine! Print Solutions."

Korn continued: "We applaud Bob and his entire Imagine! team on what they’ve accomplished, their extraordinary growth, but most importantly their relentless customer-focused solutions approach; it’s simply who they are, and what we’ve observed is that the marketplace continues to move more business Imagine’s way as a result. We are confident that this new KBA press will provide increased capacity, fuel future growth, and continue Imagine's high quality printing and on-time service with its existing and future clients for many years to come."

The newly-installed 41" KBA Rapida 105 press at Imagine! Express Minneapolis joins seven more KBA Rapida presses at Imagine’s facility located in Shakopee, MN: a giant 81" Rapida 205, two 64" Rapida 162 presses, and four 41" Rapida presses. All presses are fully equipped with KBA’s advanced technology from quality control to fully automated processes including a host of drying solutions.

"KBA has been our press partner for nearly 10 years," added Lothenbach. "In 2005, we purchased the first six-color, 81" Rapida 205 press in North America. Since then we have added several additional KBA presses to maintain the quality level and provide us with the best possible performance from our litho department. Its commitment to our market and sheet size requirements is what sets KBA apart from its competition.”

To accommodate the additional space required to install more production equipment including the new KBA press, Imagine! Express purchased an 80,000-square-foot facility next door to its current location near downtown Minneapolis. "This name change, and more importantly this major investment we are making, will provide local clients, which made Imagine! what it is today, a company focused on service and quality, driven by technology. In addition, we would like to see Imagine! Express locations throughout the country, helping support our major clients in their local markets. This is the beginning of that vision," concluded Lothenbach.

About Imagine! Print Solutions
Imagine! Print Solutions is headquartered in Minneapolis, and is North America's prominent independent large-format and commercial printing company. Imagine! has more than 1,300 employees and celebrated its 25th anniversary in April, 2013. Imagine! has grown to be a $305 million company serving seven national print segments: point-of-purchase, packaging, UV print, commercial, flexography, digital and screen print. Imagine! sets the pace in its core markets for service, capacity, flexibility and on-time delivery. The company's capabilities and services include: temporary and permanent display design; folding carton design; electronic prepress; one- to seven-color sheetfed and UV printing; one- to 10-color flexography; complete finishing and carton converting; kitting and fulfillment and fully integrated eCommerce services—including online product ordering, inventory reporting and job tracking tools.

About KBA North America
KBA North America is located in Dallas, and a member of the KBA Group. Established almost 200 years ago in Wuerzburg, Germany, Koenig & Bauer AG (KBA) is the oldest and second largest press manufacturer worldwide. KBA's banner, 'People & Print', reflects its dual focus as a leading innovator for print entrepreneurs. The group's product range is the broadest in the industry; its portfolio includes commercial and newspaper web presses, sheetfed offset presses in all format classes, inkjet systems and presses, flexographic presses, special presses for banknotes, securities, metal-decorating, smart cards, glass and plastic decorating.

Source: KBA.