Koenig & Bauer has said that in 2019, large-format Rapidas contributed significantly to a very successful year for sales of sheetfed offset printing presses in Germany. Almost 100 printing units were ordered by the country’s commercial, specialist, and Internet printers, as well as by traditional packaging companies.
Rapidas for sheet formats up to 106 x 145 cm (Rapida 145) and 120.5 x 164 cm (Rapida 164) print at speeds up to 18,000 sheets per hour. According to the company, packaging and commercial printers, in particular, appreciate the large-format Rapida models for their performance, production availability, and long service life.
A Rapida 145 with six printing units and coating equipment was installed at Gundlach Packaging in Oerlinghausen, for example. This was the company’s first sheetfed offset press made in Saxony after almost exactly 30 years. In May, Mugler Masterpack in Crimmitschau received a Rapida 145 with seven inking units, coating equipment, quadruple-length extended delivery, and a whole host of further automation options, as well as the PDF-Check quality control system for sheet inspection with comparison against a pre-press PDF.
Print provider Walter Grieger Offsetdruck in Nettetal is another typical Koenig & Bauer user which has now opted for a new large-format Rapida. A Rapida 164 with seven inking units, a coater and extended delivery is set to come on stream in just a few weeks. In addition to displays and packaging printing for corrugated board products, it will be used to print gang formes for the folding carton industry. The new press is furthermore an entry card to the world of printing with an extended colour gamut.
A year ago, Werner Kenkel, a Polish specialist for corrugated and solid board packaging, celebrated the 40th anniversary of its foundation. And taking this as a fitting occasion to further expand its production capacities, the company commissioned what was already its third large-format Rapida – a Rapida 164 with six inking units, a coater, and triple-length extended delivery.
Superior Litho in Los Angeles, on the other hand, chose a Rapida 145 to add another 40% to its printing capacity. The seven-color coater press is the third large-format press from Koenig & Bauer which the company has installed in the space of a decade. The feature list includes UV dryers, inline color control, and PDF-Check. Superior Litho supplies packaging for the food, electronics and cosmetics industries, as well as for special products.
Thanks to a broad diversity of configuration options, accessories, and automation solutions, the large-format Rapidas is an efficient means of production for both established and niche markets. They can be equipped with a reel-to-sheet feeder, a double-pile delivery, intermediate drying units, additional printing units after coating, and perfecting facilities, as required for the individual application. For packaging printing, they can also be placed on raised foundations and integrated into a fully automatic pile logistics system. Presses with up to 16 printing and finishing units are already in daily use, the company said.
