Although mostly a North American event, KBA was pleased with the volume of business generated at Print 05. The general consensus at the show was that the North American print industry is finally experiencing an upturn following a long, dry spell, and that printers are once again willing to invest in innovative technology.
High quality 56” press the Rapida 142 size 6 and the new revamped Rapida 105 – the only 18,000sph B1 41” press on the market with perfecting and inline coating capabilities – both proved popular among visitors to the press manufacturer’s stand.
There was also a lot of interest in press lines with as many as 14 units to support a growing trend in the US towards high-quality inline finishing.
KBA targeted small to mid-sized print operations with the Performa 74, a B2 press, which was being shown for the first time in the US. Manufactured by the company’s new Czech subsidiary KBA-Grafitec, the Performa is ideal for businesses with limited investment budgets.
KBA-Metronic’s Genius 52, an ultra-compact B3 20” press for UV production, drew a big crowd and a number of buyers, most of whom will use it to print cards and lenticular images on plastic film, which was what the press in Chicago demonstrated.
KBA also booked orders for its 74 Karat, a DI offset press which has already clocked up more than 50 installations in the US.
Rounding off the demos was a JDF workflow for Rapida presses incorporating management information systems from
KBA (Logotronic Professional) and North America’s leading provider, EFI.
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