October 11, 2007 -- KBA North America, a leading press manufacturer based in Williston, Vt., is announcing that MOSAIC, a premier waterless print communication company specializing in Commercial, Digital, and Waterless Printing, Direct Mail Distribution and Web to Print Solutions, has agreed to purchase two new KBA Rapida 105 41-inch six-color sheetfed presses equipped with interdeck UV and waterless capabilities. The first Rapida 105 will be delivered to the firm's Cheverly, Md. facility later this fall and the second KBA Rapida 105 will be delivered in the fall of 2008.
"We have a reputation as a cutting-edge firm that is a leader in environmental initiatives and passionately believes in partnering with our customers," says Joel Zelepsky, senior vice president of sales and marketing of MOSAIC. "By adding these two new KBA Rapida 105 41-inch presses with both waterless and UV capabilities, we will be able to expand our reputation with new uv waterless print capabilities that challenge the POP and packaging markets."
One of these new capabilities will be MOSAIC's ability to print UV waterless inks and apply UV coating within the press run with the new Rapida's interdeck units. In the past, MOSAIC either had to outsource a UV coating job or pass it up. Now, explains Zelepsky, MOSAIC will be able to handle those jobs in a fast, efficient manner by having the UV coating applied inline during the press run.
Presently, the firm is equipped with three 40-inch six-color sheetfed presses, a 40-inch two color press from a different manufacturer  a KBA 74 Karat digital offset press and two color digital presses. When the firm's management team, led by co-owners Brendan Connors and Joe Fontana, determined that it needed new six-color presses with UV and waterless capabilities, they spent several months flying all over the US and Europe to perform print tests on presses from all the major press manufacturers.
KBA presses have proven highest print quality and productivity
"After spending the time and effort to test all of the different presses on the market, the executive management team determined that KBA had the highest level of consistent color and productivity over all of its competitors," says Zelepsky. "They were very serious and diligent in their undertaking and examined all of the critical quality factors before making their choice. They wanted to make sure that these presses would satisfy the quality needs now and in the future for  our customers while giving us the ability to offer new products in new markets."
MOSAIC has already had a positive experience with KBA and its presses. The firm has been using its KBA 74 Karat digital waterless offset press with inline aqueous coating for over six years. The 74 Karat is used to produce short run length (1,000 to 5,000) 4 color jobs. But in those six years, the 74 Karat has built a niche for itself at MOSAIC where today it is scheduled for three shifts daily.
KBA presses make Mosaic a certified "Green Printer"
The KBA 74 Karat digital waterless press was one of the keystone units in MOSAIC's desire to be an entirely environmentally friendly printing firm. Since 1993 when the firm started its environmental initiatives through waterless printing, Mosaic has remained an environmental steward while building its reputation as a top print solution company. The firm has become certified by the Forest Stewardship Council and a member of the EPA Green Power Leadership Club. The firm recycles over 885 tons of paper each year and uses over 65,000 lbs of soy-based inks per year across its presses. Today, MOSAIC is one of four printers in the US that advertises itself as carbon neutral. Earlier this year, the firm reached its goal to be carbon neutral by offsetting some 413 tons of CO2 emissions from its employee's automobiles commuting and natural gas usage for heating. The firm has also purchased 100% wind powered energy and is participating in reforestation programs to offset all of its company's carbon impact.
Environmentally-friendly passion
"Being a waterless printer for all of these years has not been easy," says Zelepsky. "Printing conventional is much easier. But we're committed to the environment and waterless printing is the most environmentally friendly print process available. It eliminates many of the harmful chemicals used in conventional printing. The greater quality and control provided by waterless printing creates shorter makereadies allowing us to conserve paper. And this passion of ours allows our customers to be equally passionate about the environment through us."
The next step of adding both a UV and waterless press will continue MOSAIC's reputation of being environmentally friendly and unique. "There are very few UV waterless presses in the country if any," says Zelepsky. "We're going to develop the UV waterless market, especially among our design customers in the Mid Atlantic region."
UV, explains Zelepsky, has become an environmentally friendly process, in which the coating has become biodegradable. In addition, UV coating has the ability to cure on the surface of uncoated papers, a favorite substrate for designers and ad agencies producing eye-catching pieces.
KBA is part of the MOSAIC family
"We're so excited to be adding two new KBA presses to our press lines," says Zelepsky. "KBA has become a part of our family of quality manufacturers. It's the next exciting step in our growth. Dale Ford, company president, has been announcing the purchase and upcoming installation of these two KBA presses at waterless printing seminars and other international venues."
MOSAIC is a premier waterless print communication company specializing in Commercial, Digital, and Waterless Printing, Direct Mail Distribution and Web to Print Solutions. The company's custom-designed facility is located in Cheverly, Maryland, just outside Washington, DC, and only 40 minutes outside the city of Baltimore. Since 1948, MOSAIC has provided unparalleled quality and service to advertising agencies, design firms, associations and corporations throughout the country. The 150-employee firm has steadily grown over the years and has been recognized by the Washington Business Journal as the fifth largest printing company in the Washington DC metro region.  MOSAIC is proud to be a four year recipient of the Best Workplace in the Americas award from PIA.  In 2007, the firm was presented with the Art Directors Partnership Award by the ADCMW recognizing its involvement and contributions among the design community including its environmental initiatives.