The KBA Rapida 205 size 9 (205.74cm) seven-colour plus coater sheetfed press, the world’s largest litho press in North America weighing in at almost 6,000kg, is due to be introduced with a ribbon-cutting ceremony in mid-July 2006 with a tentative start-up date of August 2006.
“We are a successful printer because we are constantly responding to the needs of our customers,” says George Diamantis, chairman of National Print Group, parent of National Posters. “This press will enable our company to present our customers with more print opportunities and options than ever before.” This includes:
• the ability to print on a wider variety of substrates
• faster cycle time
• more control over producing jobs in-house
• enhanced quality and cost efficiencies.
Diamantis adds, “There will be no single competitor that will be able to do what we can with this press or have the ability to offer the variety of printing we offer, from digital to screen to litho. This press enhances and completes our current large format capabilities!”
The signage market represents 60 per cent of National Posters’ current business. By installing the Rapida 205 with hybrid UV capabilities, the firm will be able to print signage on a wider variety and substrates that are more rigid.
National Posters’ roster of existing presses is capable of printing up to six colours. The new KBA Rapida 205 with seven colours will allow the firm to take advantage of “significant growth” in multicolour printing and the trend toward using opaque whites, metallic and custom logo colours.
“This press will give us the ability to more quickly respond to the needs of our customers,” says Casey Scott, VP of marketing. “In addition our customers will now have the ability to print both short-run and long-run jobs with variability. We can use our current digital technology to print the variable message or print prototypes of holiday store advertising. Once they are approved, we can print the entire job on the Rapida 205.”
To prepare for the world’s largest press, National Posters has been busily readying its Chattanooga (Tennessee) plant. A new glass-enclosed pressroom has been built to house the large press with enough concrete to hold the 6,000kg press.
Surrounding the pressroom is a new customer lounge and viewing area to watch jobs being printed on press. To accommodate the larger sheet size, National Posters has upgraded its pre-press department by adding two new larger-format Kodak/Creo platesetters.
“The installation of this press will be a significant step forward for our company,” says Joel Stuart, general manager of National Posters. “We’ve been hoping for the last ten years that a press this size would be available and KBA has done it.
“The new KBA Rapida 205 will help to increase our capacity and give us faster turnaround using the UV capability to dry jobs and send them immediately to the finishing department. Key components on the press are its automatic plate loading and its integrated production workflow via the KBA LogoTronic Professional management system. All of these systems will significantly reduce makeready and increase our productivity.”
Founded in 1957 as National Posters, National Print Group has experienced exceptional growth. The firm began with 12 employees and has grown to over 400 employees in five plants.
National Print Group is now ranked in the top 125 printers in the US. Today, the firm is a one-stop resource for outdoor advertising and point-of-purchase advertising production. National Print Group caters to a nationwide clientele of well-known ad agencies and corporate clients. Its Chattanooga plant employs 150.
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