Rapida 106

Fast, faster, faster still... that is the motto nowadays – also in print. No-one can afford equipment which is standing idle. But on the other hand, job changeovers are integral elements of the print process. The key to success is thus to minimise such makeready times. 

The KBA Rapida 106 is the makeready world champion. You don‘t believe that? Well, it has already produced 104 jobs of 1,000 sheets each in a single threeshift day. All under the watchful eyes of independent institutions. A case for the Guinness Book of Records. Or do you know of a medium-format sheetfed offset press which has done better? The Rapida 106 incorporates a whole host of process automation and optimisation features. 

These include: 

and many, many others. 

But what is the benefit of even the best automation concept, if all the necessary processes run one after the other? With the KBA Rapida 106, there are no worries whatsoever in respect of efficient organisation. The press is able to perform up to six different makeready processes simultaneously, slashing 40 or even 60 per cent off the time taken for job changeovers, depending on the complexity of the makeready and the press configuration.  

Maximise your productive time, and leave the pressure on your competitors. 

Vibration? No, thank you! We have no need for longitudinal drive shafts, bevel gears and complicated differentials. Our gear train is already a tradition in itself. Even the longest presses are driven reliably day in, day out. The constantly outstanding print results are ample proof of that. 

The KBA Rapida 106 also incorporates highly advanced electronic drives. For example the drives on the feeder: The shaftless DriveTronic Feeder was already introduced in 2000 – and is still today unique to KBA. Smooth, jerk-free pile transport and reverse gathering of the sheets from the feed table are just two of its strengths. The sidelayfree infeed DriveTronic SideLay SIS is based on the same innovative concept. A dedicated electronic drive provides for perfect alignment of the sheets as they run into the press. A conventional vacuum sidelay is no longer necessary. Manual settings are thus also a thing of the past. 

The DriveTronic concept is rounded off with a facility for simultaneous plate changing. With DriveTronic PlateChange SPC, all the plates on the press can be changed in a single cycle, irrespective of the number of units involved. At that at the press of a button from the console! 

KBA‘s innovative dedicated drive technology not only saves you time and money, it also spares your nerves. 

Slim-line sheet guiding – that is the guarantee given by double-size impression cylinders and transfer drums. The unit-based press design was actually born at what is today KBA‘s Radebeul facility. That was back in 1965. And in the meantime? Almost all the others have followed suit. But the original, and consequently the most experience, is still to be found in sheetfed offset presses from KBA. 

What are the benefits of this design? An almost unbelievable substrate flexibility. When equipped with board-handling accessories, the KBA Rapida 106 processes stocks up to a thickness of 1.2 mm. For the direct printing of corrugated board, the relevant figure is even an amazing 1.6 mm! The sheets are subject to a minimum of bending. Carried by a sophisticated air cushion system, they float – whether thick or thin – contactand scratch-free through the press. You need an inline perfecting unit? But of course you can have one! Thanks to the convenient console-based operation, the conversion process can be triggered at the push of a button, and the press is back into production without further delay. Four-back-four configurations have long since become routine. Six-back-six is no longer a rarity. Almost everything is possible – you alone decide where in the press the sheet is to be turned.  

A single basic concept for commercial and packaging printers alike – you have our word on that. 

The world is going digital, but print remains conventional.  

Wrong! In print production, too, the advance of digital processes is unstoppable. Without JDF networking, the automatic presetting functions of the KBA Rapida 106 would be unthinkable. And without the production management system LogoTronic professional, there would be no consistent printshop workflow. 

A cloudy dream just a few years ago, but today reality – transparency from order receipt right through to dispatch. 

You need a better overview of your production processes? The LogoTronic concept facilitates job scheduling and capacity optimisation. PressWatch informs you on the status of the current production. And SpeedWatch documents all process-relevant events from the KBA Rapida 106. With this trio, you definitely have everything under control. Post-production accounting practically takes care of itself. 

But this is still not all: Job profiles can be saved on the console and recalled for repeat jobs. An electronic spare parts catalogue simplifies the identification of even the tiniest screw. And with the facility for Internet-based remote maintenance, we are always on hand should you need our assistance. 

The KBA Rapida 106 thus integrates seamlessly into your data network – whether local, regional or even global. 

Run lengths in the commercial sector are becoming ever shorter. Cost pressures are increasing, and warehouse capacities are becoming more and more expensive. You, too, are annoyed over each sheet which lands in the waste containers. You try to handle each job with the maximum possible efficiency and automation. We are ready to help you. And the KBA Rapida 106 offers the ideal prerequisites.  

Our presses are customer-tailored. You choose the configuration which best suits your individual production spectrum. You need a four- or five-colour press for straight printing? Or would a long perfecting press be more profitable? You decide – and we accommodate your wishes. 

Multiple job changeovers within just a short period – the KBA Rapida 106 can point to a whole series of interesting features which help keep everything running perfectly. These include, among others, fully automatic plate changers, DriveTronic PlateChange SPC and parallel washing processes. Data-matrix coding even enables the press to recognise whether its plates are in the correct units. With exact register presetting – of course. 

On perfecting presses, the delivery suction rings can be positioned from the console. That saves valuable time. The rough-chrome cylinder surfaces after the perfecting unit are another unique highlight. The front and reverse sides of the sheet are both printed in immaculate quality, and washing intervals are also extended.  

We offer sophisticated solutions for all those printers who cannot afford to compromise in their printing processes. After all: “Time is money”.  

Packaging is encountered in practically every sphere of daily life. After all, over 90 per cent of all products are packaged. This starts, at one end of the scale, with simple corrugated boxes, but then goes right through to the most exquisite folding cartons – a real challenge for the print industry. 

Packaging printing is a particular strength of the KBA Rapida 106. The incomparable substrate flexibility is just one of its advantages. The coating concept is similarly unrivalled. Gloss and matt effects, all-over and spot finishes, single and multiple coating applications with dispersion and/or UV varnishes – there is almost no limit to the possibilities. Drying included. Some of the finishing technologies were even developed by KBA itself – to enable you to offer your customers eye-catching, but nevertheless favourably priced printed products. 

Most of the processes connected with coating are automated. Forme changing is a matter of seconds. If you need to vary the amount of coating applied, the anilox roller is exchanged in next to no time. And console-integrated coating supply and cleaning systems avoid your getting hands dirty unnecessarily.  

Frequent pile changes because you are printing heavy board? Automatic nonstop systems at the feeder and delivery simplify handling considerably. But that is not all. Individually tailored logistics systems bring new pallets to the feeder just when they are needed, and transport the printed piles on to the conversion departments. 

Whole new horizons are opened up for your creative ideas. 

You want to do more than just print and coat? Thanks to the modular concept of the KBA Rapida 106, we are able to fulfil practically any desire. Perforating, numbering and rainbow printing are probably the best known options, while the KBA ColdFoiler lends packaging and image products a gold or silver shine. 

How about window cut-outs or tearoffs? Inline die-cutter facilities can be incorporated in either simple or highly automated versions – whichever is most appropriate to your individual needs. 

The spectrum is sheer endless. Aluminium- coated stocks? No problem. You want to print in-mould labels, plastic cards or lenticular films? Simply choose the carefully thought-out plasticshandling package. If the surface tension still causes problems, then a corona tower is the answer. Even playing cards can be produced in a single inline process – all you have to do yourself is shuffle and deal! 

Packaging with integrated security features is a field which is gaining rapidly in importance. The brand-name segment, in particular, is often plagued by counterfeiting. Whether the chosen solution is fluorescent coating or microtext – or even high-tech options such as hidden images or DNA tagging – everything is possible. 

With the KBA Rapida 106, you are sure to be on the safe side. 

Outstanding print quality is the be-all and end-all. That is also why we devote so much attention to features which enable you to enthral your customers. The dot-sharp print of all Rapida presses is widely appreciated in the industry. The reasons are manifold: Robustness, the elimination of vibration, the bleed-free ColorTronic ink metering, the open inking unit design, the cylinder geometry. The list could be continued almost endlessly. 

But print quality must also be measurable and reproducible. To this end, we offer a tailored solution for every situation. With DensiTronic, density measurement and control is performed directly on the console. The control recommendations are simply transferred to the press at the push of a button. DensiTronic professional, with its separate inspection desk, combines density and colour control – and at the same time also provides a direct link-up to pre-press. A text reader, finally, scans the print and compares the result with an approved PDF file. In this way, errors in foreign languages or images can be recognised immediately. 

Quality control in packaging printing is a topic of its own. Every sheet needs to be scrutinised, and that can take time. With KBA QualiTronic, on the other hand, you accomplish 100% inspection at full printing speed. Corrections included, sheet for sheet and blank for blank. An ingenious technology marks the flawed sheets, enabling the waste to be diverted out of the process fully automatically at the downstream stages. 

A minimum of effort for maximum effect – and you stand out from the crowd with ultimate quality. 

Everyone is talking about environment protection. But we at KBA are not just talking, we are also acting. For a long time now, KBA has spearheaded developments for ecological printing. The first Rapida presses were already awarded the eco-certificate “Emissiontested” in 2000. KBA had once again assumed the pioneering role – as the first press manufacturer to subject its products to intensive testing in this respect. 

The certificate confirms compliance with a variety of branch-specific emission thresholds. The defined limits correspond at least to those laid down in international standards, but are in some categories considerably stricter. The eco-certificate is thus recognised as binding also outside Germany. In the meantime, all the different Rapida presses have been tested: For printing with conventional, hybrid and UV inks, for dispersion and UV coatings, and for paper and board. 

Our responsibility for ecological printing begins already with the reduction of emissions during manufacturing of the presses. If you visit our factory, you will see this for yourself! 

Would you also like to do something for the environment? Through careful management of hazardous substances, and by choosing ecologically compatible process media, you can make an equally valuable contribution to resource protection and a sustainable environment.  

It‘s now up to you... 

 

¹⁾ Printability is also influenced decisively by the flexural rigidity of the substrate
²⁾ Dependent on individual processing parameters, e.g. the inks and substrates used
³⁾ From floor / without non-stop operation