B&B Print Source ‘Gets More’ from its KBA Rapida 105 Press

Once the press was installed, it was up to B&B’s crew to produce high-quality work and make the press accomplish the firm’s new goals. “We have always been known as a top-quality printer, but now our objective was to maintain our high quality level while reducing our cost to produce, which included compressing our setup times,” says Gregg Lazoff, B&B’s production manager.

The Rapida 105 was able to accomplish these goals thanks to its many features that are unavailable from any other press manufacturer, says Lazoff. Washup times are reduced because of KBA’s unique feature of disengaging any unused print or coating unit; replacement of coater blankets is now done using a tool-less semi-automatic plate feature; registration is achieved through an automatic camera feature; all air settings are preset and sent along with the CIP 3/4 information; and practically all print unit adjustments are made through the console rather than with tools at the print unit.

“We get more from our KBA press”

“Quality control has improved exponentially with the KBA Densitronic S, which provides report information from X-Y sheet scans for density and spectral values all in just seconds,” says Lazoff. “I’ve said this on many occasions since we installed the Rapida 105—we just get more with our KBA press.”

Press operators at B&B were also impressed with the Rapida 105. “I’ve run a number of presses in my 18 years in this business and must say the most impressive feature for me is the consistency from the new KBA press,” says Dennis Tapscott, B&B’s lead pressman. “From sheet to sheet, job to job, and day to day, and through a range of press speeds, the densities are extremely stable. Maintenance time is reduced with the intelligent layout of service points for the press. The remote maintenance feature also ensures maximum uptime.”