KBA and Xerox, currently co-developing a B1 sheetfed digital folding carton press, the VariJet 106, which the companies say will take them into leadership in this new market sector.
The VariJet 106 will print inkjet in up to seven colours, it will have a white preprint unit in front of the printing units, it will have cold foiling option, it will be able to print screen and offset inline if required, and will have double coating and inline die cutting if specified. There are two full machines currently in the KBA labs; delivery of the first machines is slated for next year.
On its 3,000sqm stand, KBA has a plethora of solutions including four Rapida sheetfed offset presses from half to large format; the Rapida 106 RDC rotary die-cutter; the re-designed high-volume digital RotaJet L series; the NEO XD LR web press from KBA-Flexotecnica; a laser coding and separating system from KBA-Metronic; and solutions relating to service, workflow, and KBA 4.0.
At the press conference on the first day of the show, Claus Bolza-Schünemann, president and chief executive at KBA, referred to the activities of subsidiaries KBA-MetalPrint and KBA-Kammann in packaging segments metal and glass container direct decoration which are represented on the stand by print samples.
He said, “Parallel to rising prosperity, stricter hygiene regulations and online trading, with an average growth rate of four per cent, the global packaging market is growing faster than the world’s population and the global national product. KBA companies are active in all six packaging markets and are even leading in folding carton printing, glass and metal decoration. The alliances with HP and Xerox fit to our strategy.”
KBA sees growth prospects in all packaging segments. The company aims to significantly expand its market share, especially in flexible packaging printing, a field it entered two and a half years ago. KBA sees opportunities with glass decoration and coding technology, mainly in China and the Far East, the main growth market for all types of packaging. Ralf Sammeck, chief executive of KBA-Sheetfed Solutions, expects synergy effects in the folding carton market from the entry into post press given the largely identical customer base. The press manufacturer with a broad product portfolio also does not rule out the return to the large sheetfed flexo market for corrugated printing in which KBA was active over 10 years ago with the Corrugraph, previously built at its U.S. plant.
Sammeck spoke about the expansion of the service spectrum as part of KBA 4.0; the comprehensive management of the global sales network for all Group units; targeted expansion in Asia, Latin America and Africa; and increased use of the service potential of the installed machine base and.
KBA has made parallel investments in analogue and digital print solutions, reflected by its stand at drupa with new and advanced presses from both worlds. This includes the eight-colour Rapida 106 with coater in LED-UV printing and the Rapida 145 with double-pile delivery, which prints at up to 18,000sph. The company has placed previous discussions about the strengths and weaknesses of analogue and digital behind it, saying the deciding factors in terms of the most suitable process include the business model; the job structure; the quality and finishing requirements; and the economy. However, Sammeck expects sheetfed offset process to dominate folding carton printing. Even so, folding carton printers will seek a suitable digital addition for very short runs; test packaging; stronger regional or seasonal differentiation; and print on demand, all with the goal of reducing storage costs or more individual packaging.
KBA says its development of the KBA VariJet 106 press, with digital giant Xerox, came about as a result of in-depth talks with folding carton printers.
It lists the resulting benefits and advantages as: flexibly configurable press with up to seven colours for individual demand; print speed in B1 format of up to 4,500sph with a print resolution of 1440 dpi; handles substrates 0.2 to 0.6mm with a 40in transport belt for precise sheet travel; before inkjet, Corona, primer + drying, opaque white, offset units and cold foil possible; after inkjet, coating/double coating, offset/screen units, grooving/perforating, die-cutting possible; aqueous KBA inks for direct application on coated stock; short maintenance times through auto head cleaning and fast inkjet head exchange; and integration into existing offset workflows and KBA remote maintenance.
KBA says the KBA VariJet permits the combination of conventional printing and finishing technologies with digital inkjet printing in a tailor-made hybrid press. It presented the press concept at drupa via video in a cinema, saying that after it completes development, and the necessary tests, it will unveil the digital sheetfed press industry experts at an open house in Radebeul together with further KBA digital printing solutions for other markets. KBA says it will make the VariJet 106 available for delivery in 2017.
Christoph Müller, chief executive of KBA-Digital and Web, reported on the alliance with HP in the digital corrugated printing market segment. The American Technology group has ordered five HP T1100S with a gigantic web width of 2.8m for high-volume inkjet printing from KBA-Digital & Web. HP invited prospective customers to press demonstrations at the KBA headquarters in Würzburg.
KBA-Digital & Web continues to build web offset presses for commercial and newspaper printing and again announced some orders from Mittelrhein-Verlag in Koblenz (Commander CT 6/2) and from B&K Offsetdruck in Ottersweier (commercial web C16) prior to the trade show from this shrunken market. KBA claims status as market leader for newspaper presses in the mid and top performance classes. However, it sees growth prospects predominantly in digital printing, in industrial markets new to KBA, such as decor printing, and in expanding services for own and third-party web presses.
The KBA RotaJet VL series with web widths of up to 2.25m, implemented as a 4/0 press, has industrial applications such as decor printing. This press produced the laminate flooring on the KBA stand at drupa. The new RotaJet L with web widths of 77 to 138cm in 4/4 configuration printing at the trade show for the first time targets established digital print markets for books, mailings or publications. It has possibilities for other industrial markets as a 4/0 press. The modular design permits 42 different configurations. KBA can retrofit the press at a later date in terms of web width, colour, and output.
The RotaJet 77 4/0 press exhibited at drupa has new inkjet head technology and prints up to 1200 dpi native on various materials, including coated offset stock. It offers a web speed of up to 300mpm and register comes through web lead over a central cylinder without the need for turner bars. KBA calls it a first-class product in high-volume web digital printing.
Christoph Müller added that users of the waterless KBA Cortina offset web press are especially creative when it comes to innovative print ideas for new target groups and KBA supports the industry with regard to creative print ideas. He offer an example in the newspaper magazine Cortissimo from RBD published in various formats, available on the KBA stand in hall 16 and on the f:mp. stand in hall 12 as a print product as well as a linking of print and online with VR (Virtual Reality) presented as a 3-D animation.
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