Koenig & Bauer Live launch of new B1 Rapida 106

Koenig & Bauer renews commitment to drupa 2021

June 25, 2020

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In its ongoing Koenig & Bauer Live event coinciding with the original dates for drupa 2020, the company unveiled a new B1 press for the packaging and commercial markets, the Rapida 106 X on 23 June 2020. The K&B event is part of a series of virtual events that we are calling the zen drupa. The K&B Live streaming is showing and discussing the press K&B would have demonstrated at the postponed event. While the company has unveiled several products and technologies each working day last week and this week, it has also emphatically stated that it would take part in drupa 2021 on the new dates next June.

The cockpit concept gives a realtime picture of how the press is running and can also give feedback on the cost efficiency of each job. Screenshot PSA — The cockpit concept gives a realtime picture of how the KBA 106 X press is running and can also give feedback on the cost efficiency of each job. Screenshot PSA

At a new packaging competence center in Radebeul, the Rapida 106 X was shown in a 7-color with double coater and an extra print unit configuration for packaging production earlier this week — a configuration that is becoming increasingly popular in monocarton packaging. An 8-color perfector with coater, for the commercial market, will be shown at the K&B Live event on Thursday, 25 June 2020. The Live events are at most 20 minutes and held three times a day, once in German and twice in English. K&B emphasized its current financial strength that allows it to build and sustain the new demonstration in Radebeul.

Koenig & Bauer Rapida 106 X presses on sale from November

Both the Rapida 106 X presses will be on general sale from November. Koenig & Bauer says the new 106 X press is a fresh development from the ground up, with a rated speed of 20,000 sheets an hour, claiming it to be the “The fastest packaging sheetfed press on the market.” (Manroland Sheetfed in the past month, also announced a 20,000 sheets an hour offset press the Manroland 700 Evolution Speed).

The automation in the Rapida 10 x is claimed to have saved 25 minutes in the projected makereadies for 8 jobs which would have taken 82 minutes in the demo center. The Job Optimizer software connects the printer’s MIS systems with the Koenig & Bauer Logotronic press management system, managing to tweak yet more efficiencies out of the make-ready process.

The new Rapida 106 X accepts unbent plates, doing away with another step in pre-press, and its simultaneous roller wash works for UV inks as well as conventional inks. Inks can be changed in less than two minutes, thanks to upgraded ink ducts. The Job Optimizer can also help to change the printing order of jobs lined up according to their technical requirements and not just the delivery date.

The Rapida 106 X has a new black and grey design with side panels made of illuminated glass. There are a new touchscreen operating panel and a press status display panel at the delivery end. An app for mobile devices gives details on the current job and the next in line. There is a new cold foil module with more efficient foil saving technology. As explained in the demo, the blanket is also tensioned in a motorized way and does not require a torque wrench. The coating plate is insertion is also a push-button solution.

For the pharmaceutical packaging sector, KBA also launched the Rapida 76, which has the highest level of automation for luxury and cosmetic packaging.

For the packaging demonstration on the new Rapida 106 X, two print jobs were demonstrated with varied requirements. The first was a luxury packaging with K&B new Optima foiler with improved multiple passes of the cold foil and indexing. The second job was a food packaging job. This job used the 7-color extended color gamut with an overprint varnish at the end. On the demonstration press apart from the cold foil, there was a printing unit after the coaters for use in drip coatings.

The KBA Live stream will show the new Rapida 106 X for commercial applications today 25 June at 10 am (1:30 pm India time) 1 pm and 4 pm (7:30 pm India time). The 10 am and 4 pm live streams will be in English while the 1 pm stream is in German. Click here to register. https://www.koenig-bauer.com/en/live/

The videos of each demonstration are also available afterward on the Koenig & Bauer website.

This article was extensively updated on 29 June 2020 by the author.

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