KBA Offers ‘Complete’ Package

RADEBEUL, GERMANY—You have to give Koenig & Bauer AG (KBA) a lot of credit. When it wants to throw a coming-out party for new presses or capabilities, KBA certainly displays a flair for the dramatic.

When the smoke had cleared from the pomp and circumstance of its pre-demonstration entertainment—which included an eclectic mix of dancers, a juggler, a man on stilts and an opera singer against a backdrop of colorful lasers—KBA gave 200 worldwide journalists a taste of its newer offerings heading into this month’s Drupa exhibition.

KBA literally had to wait for the smoke to clear to start its Rapida 162 packaging press; the press’ sensor picked up on the smoke and wouldn’t allow the feeder to start.

The press conference was a precursor to KBA’s open house, held April 9-11 for 1,500 guests from more than 50 countries. While the printing press specialist didn’t completely tip its hand on all the innovations that will be showcased in Hall 16 at Drupa, it certainly provided a hearty appetizer for the assembled media. Leading the way was KBA Complete, a multi-vendor project for independent consultancy specializing in strategic investment planning, process analysis and workflow optimization.

The possibilities offered by KBA Complete and the enhanced makeready and output times for its sheetfed presses gave KBA North America President Holger Garbrecht reason to smile.

“We made a big jump (in makeready times) compared to last Drupa,” Garbrecht said. “Together with Complete, it’s a gain that’s not been seen before.”

Among the highlights:

• The new Rapida 75 and an upgraded Rapida 105 sheetfed presses. The 75, which builds upon the Rapida 74 and Performa 74, has 30 new features and a slightly larger sheet size (20.5x29.5˝). The updated Rapida 105 (“universal” has been dropped) features a shaftless DriveTronic feeder and automatic/semi-automatic plate changing.

• The new 18,000 sph Rapida 106 sheetfed press was demonstrated, boasting a fast makeready and greater productivity. During the live demonstration, operators churned out three 500-count jobs, including makereadies, in roughly 16 minutes.

• Other innovations discussed were the Rapida 142 and Rapida 162 sheetfeds. The 142 offers increased four-over-four productivity in a large format.

• The print length of the perfector version of the Rapida 162a sheetfed has been extended to 46˝. The packaging press also has a lower pile delivery.

• KBA underscored its commitment to greener production methods by demonstrating four keyless, waterless presses at Drupa: a Genius 52 UV, a Rapida 74 Gravuflow and a 74 Karat DI, with a Cortina on the web press side.

• KBA won’t be highlighting web presses at Drupa, but will focus on providing information regarding the waterless Cortina 6/2 and the conventional Commander CT.

• KBA Complete provides JDF workflows with technologies for prepress, press and finishing applications, MIS, print process management, process standardization and climate-neutral print production.

At Drupa, KBA Complete specialists will be manning the Solutions Center on the KBA stand, providing advice for the range of software for all forms of print shop networking, organization and e-business, from Web-to-print and RFID to storage optimization and paper management.

Given President Bush’s economic stimulus package, Garbrecht has noticed a spike in activity from printers wishing to have units placed in service during 2008. One of the provisions of the package is that equipment must be placed in service during this calendar year in order to take advantage of the so-called bonus depreciation.

“I’d say we’ve seen a 10 percent to 15 percent increase (because of the tax incentives),” he says. “We see this as a good business opportunity.”