Printing and Packaging Co invests in a Rapida 106

Print Solutions

High quality carton and litho laminated packaging producer Printing and Packaging Co has opted for a high specification Rapida 106 seven colour and double coater press with conventional and UV inking from KBA. The new press, which is due to be installed in the company’s Hinckley factory at the end of March, has been purchased to provide additional capacity, and to increase the range of coating options available to existing and future customers.

Printing and Packaging Co Ltd was established by chairman Joe Sall having worked in the industry since 1963. The company, which has a reputation for producing luxury folding cartons and litho laminated products and has an extremely loyal customer base which has been built on their policy of ‘never letting a customer down’. The new press is the latest stage of significant investment in the business which has included new buildings, die cutting, blanking, repro and a highly specified folder gluer.

Sales director Denny Sall stated, ‘The investment in the Rapida 106, and in particular the double coating capability will allow us to offer an additional range of finishes and special coatings to our clients.’

‘The ability to control and monitor colour on every single sheet the press produces via KBA’s QualiTronic ColorControl will enable us to provide even greater levels of quality assurance to our clients.’

The new press will provide productivity with a top speed of 18,000 sheets per hour and crucially for longer runs, the press is being commissioned with a massive 900 mm plinth, extensive logistics and auto-non stop feeder and delivery capabilities. For ultra quick make readies fully automatic plate changing is also specified, with all plates being changed in less than three minutes.

More efficient production on a broad range of substrates is possible with the new press as it is equipped with both a ‘CX Package’ and a ‘Plastics package’. This will allow printing of a great variety of materials of up to 1.2 mm thick. The UV drying system is equipped with UV sensors which will enable the company to precisely monitor the UV output directly at the lamp. This will provide confidence that the level of UV curing is always at its optimum level.

For energy efficiency the press has been specified with KBA’s VariDry Blue energy recovery system in the delivery which reuses heated waste air from the delivery drying process and reduces energy consumption by approximately 33%. The whole press is equipped with a water cooling facility which greatly reduces heat in the press hall and reduces wear and tear on the peripheral components.

The performance data of the press will be automatically captured for analysis via KLogoTronic Professional which will provide detailed reports on every activity taking place on the press. This system also provides the link to pre-press, an MIS system and allows the storage of the colour quality data produced by the press via KQualitronic QualityPass and QualiTronic ColorView.

Production Director Pali Sall stated, ‘The press is equipped to a high standard to allow us to not only add additional capacity to the business but also to ensure we have all the relevant reporting methods to ensure that what comes out of the press is at the desired levels of performance and quality. Colour consistency and its reporting is crucial for our clients and to have a tool like Qualitronic Colour Control is going to provide them with even greater reassurance of our ability to match and maintain colour to very tight tolerances throughout a press run.’