Offset Printing - Sheet-Fed

By Gareth Ward For more than 50 years printers have been coming to drupa to see the latest developments in presses. It will be no different at next spring when the world’s printers will head for Düsseldorf to see what technical developments Heidelberg, MAN Roland, KBA, Komori or Mitsubishi, as the big five providers of sheetfed presses, have to show. While the demonstrations will certainly impress, there will be a change in emphasis. At previous drupa’s manufacturers have come up with advances in technology to impress visitors, this time the technologies are going to be about offering solutions to the problems that today’s printers

Augsburg, Germany—January 11 , 2008—As part of its long-term focus on ‘Connection of Competence’, the PrintCity alliance is working with several new partners for drupa 2008. These include BAND’ALL, FINESTFOG, GRAPHIC WEB SYSTEMS and LOGOTEC who will all be exhibiting with other PrintCity members in Hall 6, from May 29 to June 11, 2008. Band’ALL International, The Netherlands Band’ALL is a specialist supplier in banding equipment and materials - from hand fed to high-tech fully automatic and fully integrated systems; from basic materials to very fine, full-colour printed paper and film bands placed around all possible products and sealed with an innovative ultra

WILLISTON, VT—11/27/07—KBA North America reports that B&B Print Source, a leading Portland, Oregon, commercial and publication printer, is experiencing higher quality, reduced makeready times and faster running speeds with their new KBA Rapida 105 41-inch six-color sheetfed press with coater. “Our need for a new press was twofold,” says Mike Stevenson, president of B&B Print Source. “First, we were experiencing tremendous company growth, and second, we could see incredible opportunities in long runs that our existing customers currently ran on a web. After reviewing equipment from four major press manufacturers, we chose the KBA Rapida 105 41-inch six-color sheetfed press. With the higher speeds

CARLSTADT, NJ—Pictorial Offset Corp., the largest privately-owned, single-facility commercial printer in the United States, highlighted their environmental efforts during an Advertising Production Club of New York (APC) and Partnership in Print Production (P3) seminar on Monday, November 5, 2007 at The Yale Club in New York City. Don Carli, Institute for Sustainable Communication, Senior Research Fellow, moderated the keynote panel, “Fight Global Climate Change by cutting through the Green Fog” which focused on sustainability issues in printing and advertising. Speakers included David Refkin, Time Inc., Director of Sustainable Development; Gary Pawlaczyk, Pictorial Offset Corporation, Senior Vice President, Sales & Marketing; and Nick Patrissi,

KENNESAW, GA—November 8, 2007—Heidelberg will host its fifth Annual “Brats & Dots” open house at its state-of-the-art Print Media Demonstration Center (PMDC) in Kennesaw, Ga., on Thursday, November 29 from 11 a.m. – 6 p.m. Printers from around the Southeast and beyond are invited to see the latest prepress, press and postpress technologies in action and meet one-on-one with Heidelberg experts. Attendees can view live demonstrations of technology advancements in workflow, CtP, sheetfed, postpress, service and consumables. In addition, Heidelberg executives, product managers and staff will be on hand to answer questions and help customers maximize their investments in Heidelberg solutions. “Brats & Dots is designed

FLYING CARS and colonies in space were once seriously predicted to be a reality by now. Closer to home, though, experts also said that Adobe Photoshop and the Mac would never be acceptable for professional graphic arts applications. Any attempt to predict the course of technological development amounts to an educated guess at best. Even once a prototype has been developed, the scale-up to volume production can be problematic. Often, it is an unexpected development that leads to success. Printed electronics, security printing and lenticular are three technological developments that may hold opportunities for commercial printers. Each is still a work in process to

THINK OF a sheetfed offset UV press as a chemistry set for grownups, complete with an ever-shifting set of variables and a hands-on learning curve. The upside of that curve is the license to print an endless range of special effects impossible to achieve with conventional inks and coatings. And the downside? There isn’t one, according to a growing number of practitioners that may have assayed the market with a vague notion of value-added, then stayed once it became apparent what a mastery of UV techniques could mean to their competitive position and their bottom line. UV printing is not for the faint

After printing, applying drying powder to the delivered sheets creates an air gap between them that prevents offsetting—the transfer of ink from the freshly printed sheet to the reverse side of the sheet above it. Blocking (sheets sticking together) also is eliminated. But using too much powder reduces gloss and scuff resistance, impairs finishing processes, and may lead to an unwanted buildup in the press. Tips for correct use: apply minimal amounts of powder with a grain diameter of at least 0.015 mm and a low proportion of fine dust. In jobs involving multiple passes, use only powder containing starch—mineral-based powder can wear away the

WASHINGTON, DC—10/12/07—KBA North America, a leading press manufacturer based in Williston, VT, is announcing that Mosaic, a premier waterless print communication company specializing in Commercial, Digital, and Waterless Printing, Direct Mail Distribution and Web to Print Solutions, has agreed to purchase two new KBA Rapida 105 41-inch six-color sheetfed presses equipped with interdeck UV and waterless capabilities. The first Rapida 105 will be delivered to the firm’s Cheverly, Md. facility later this fall and the second KBA Rapida 105 will be delivered in the fall of 2008. “We have a reputation as a cutting-edge firm that is a leader in environmental initiatives and passionately

PITTSBURGH—October 11, 2007—Offset and Beyond, the only national conference developed by printers for printers, announced signature content for its event scheduled for April 26–29, 2008 at the Renaissance Schaumburg Hotel & Conference Center in Schaumburg, IL. “There will be outstanding networking opportunities with industry notables, cutting-edge programming, and immediate take-home value for all attendees,” said Ralph Pontillo, Vice President, Division Director at Transcontinental Printing Inc. “This is a must-attend event and will continue to be for the foreseeable future.” Known for its world renowned keynote speakers, Offset and Beyond delivers once again with James Bradley, Author, Flags of Our Fathers, and David Gregory, NBC Chief White House