KBA North America

American Firms Win High Honors BUDAPEST, HUNGARY—Winners of the Sappi International Printers of the Year awards for 2006 were announced at a gala event held here at the Museum of Applied Arts. The nine winners were chosen from 33 finalists in the following categories: annual reports, books, brochures, calendars, catalogs, general print, magazines, packaging and labels, and printer’s own promotion. North American firms bringing home the cast bronze elephant trophy included Nahan Printing, St. Cloud, MN, for its Bergdorf Goodman Magazine Resort/Holiday 2005 in the magazines category and Cenveo Anderson Lithograph, City of Commerce, CA, for the 2006 Cadillac XLR brochure in the brochures

THE 2006 printing industry campaign provided more than enough ‘oohs’ and ‘aahs’ to keep followers on the edge of their seats, including a summer blockbuster takeover attempt of Banta Corp. by Bob Burton and Cenveo Inc. And the subject of postal reform, which has festered for years without a resolution, appeared on the brink of falling to pieces at the last minute. The M&A train seemed to pick up speed in 2006, though some parties managed to botch the due diligence aspect and instead land in court. Reorganization was in the air (unfortunately, so were job losses) and some of the biggest names in

MINNEAPOLIS—November 29, 2006—KBA North America, a leading sheetfed offset press manufacturer based in Williston, VT, is announcing that Bolger Vision Beyond Print, a 220-employee, $30 million printer based in Minneapolis, has installed the first-of-its-kind press configuration of a KBA Rapida 105 ten-color perfecting press that prints and coats both sides of the sheet at once using UV inks. It also features coating towers after the fifth and tenth unit for special effects. “In our intensely-competitive industry, it’s critical to differentiate ourselves from the competition, “ exclaims dik Bolger, executive officer at Bolger Vision Beyond Print, a 220-employee, $30 million printer based in Minneapolis. “In

Palamides Open House Delivers RENNIGEN, GERMANY—Think that an automated delivery system can’t significantly boost the productivity of your folder, stitcher or in-line finishing system? Think again. Several such solutions were shown recently at Palamides’ “Think Tank 2006” open house held here. MBO America showcased these new equipment offerings to a group of printers and trade binders from across the United States. The open house event was hosted by Stefano Palamides, who founded Palamides GmbH in 1997, and partner company MBO Binder GmbH & Co. MBO America serves as the exclusive distributor for Palamides in the U.S. market. Innovations shown included signature production from extra-large format (XXL) sheets

IT MAY be telling that, with a few exceptions, the presses in operation around the show floor of Graph Expo and Converting Expo 2006 were of the digital variety. Offset units were conspicuous in their absence. Digital presses largely have become part of the commercial printing mainstream, rather than being a specialty product segment or market niche. The exhibition’s Wide Format Pavilion showed ongoing interest in that segment, but adding a wide, large, superwide or grand format digital system still is seen as a way to diversify rather than being standard equipment. Hewlett-Packard shared results from an InfoTrends study that surveyed a sampling

WILLISTON, VT—KBA North America Inc.’s supervisory board has decided in order to better serve their customers to transfer web press sales, service and parts activities from York, PA, to KBA NA’s sheetfed division in the Burlington suburb of Williston, VT. The new combined sheetfed and web company will continue as a wholly-owned American subsidiary of Koenig & Bauer AG, Wuerzburg, Germany under the company name KBA North America Inc. North America represents a major KBA market, accounting for 15 to 20 percent of turnover and annual sales worth several hundred million dollars. Merging the two North American operations reaffirms a commitment by KBA’s management to

AROUND EACH turn of every corner stood a reminder of the greatness that is Strine Printing. Dave Kornbau, the company’s vice president of operations, was a popular man while providing a walking tour in early August. His cell phone rang every few minutes. Co-workers handed him press samples here and there. Quick questions received lightning-fast answers. It was like watching an episode of “The West Wing,” the White House drama, only without the constant scowls. Kornbau paused and gestured toward bulletin board-type displays that adorned the hallway walls. Rich colors and textures were everywhere. Sparkling ceiling mobiles danced in the cool air, their diecut

Gämmerler will launch the BL 408 bindery stacker for use behind saddlestitchers, perfect binders, folders and inserters. Features wide format range, two-stage stacking system and a low copy drop height. The infeed is equipped with four top belts and eight bottom belts. Visit www.piworld.com/infocenter and enter number 381 Goss International will unveil its Pacesetter 2200 and 2500 saddlestitchers. The systems feature servo-driven hoppers and excel at quick makereadies. The Pacesetter 2200 system completes up to 22,000 books per hour. The Pacesetter 2500 model features a dual stitcher and a 25,000 books per hour capacity. Visit www.piworld.com/infocenter and enter number

Ohio large-format printer differentiates itself with super large format press GAHANNA, OH—KBA North America, a leading sheetfed offset press manufacturer based in Williston, Vt., is announcing that Loupe, a large-format printing operation, has experienced double-digit growth and enhanced its printing business after the installation of a super large format Rapida 205 81-inch six-color sheetfed press with coater and custom plastics package. The new press was installed in early January 2005 at the firm’s new 308,000 sq ft facility. “The key to our rapid growth is the ability to offer our clients one source to produce all of their printing under our roof in the fastest and

IT’S STRIKING for so many industry trends to be encapsulated in a single company, especially a mid-size printer with just over 50 employees. Denver-based Lange Graphics continues to make major investments in sheetfed offset capabilities while expanding its digital printing business. Both production platforms have the capability to support the firm’s diversification into printing on plastic, static cling and removable vinyl materials. The shop also is in the process of rolling out a Web-to-print solution. Lange Graphics originally established a separate business—Digi Colorado—as a vehicle for its move into digital printing, but is now offering offset and digital printing services in an integrated approach. Its