(July 13, 2008) KBA North America, a global press manufacturer based in Williston, Vermont, is announcing that Ultimate Paper Box Co., a City of Industry, Calif. packaging manufacturer, is moving into the large format printing market with two new KBA Rapida 162a 64-inch six-color plus aqueous coater sheetfed presses. Delivery of the Rapida 162 64-inch six-color plus aqueous coater took place in late May with a planned start-up date in July 2008. The second Rapida 162 64-inch six-color press with double extended delivery and full UV capability will be delivered in 2009.

“As our business has grown, we have continued to invest and add larger and larger presses to accommodate the needs of our customers,” says owner Janak Patel. “Our new KBA Rapida 64-inch press features so much automation that it will operate and produce high-quality jobs equal to a few 40-inch presses. We purchased the second press at Drupa for two reasons: capacity and having a press equipped with full UV capabilities.”

To quickly turn jobs and produce high-quality, the firm’s new KBA press is equipped with KBA’s Logotronic management system and the popular KBA Densitronic Professional closed-loop scanning spectrodensitometer system that provides density and color measuring for quality control both during and after printing. Unlike other systems, Densitronic Professional permits direct “X,Y” measurements within the image. Deviations from defined target densities, color values and other quality parameters (dot gain, trapping, etc.) are recognized and displayed not only reliably, but also very quickly in comparison to hand-held measuring devices. With integration for online control, the density and spectral deviations are converted into corrective adjustments for the individual ink keys. Densitronic Professional controls the density and spectral parameters of each sheet by measuring along control strips or directly on the image.

High-end quality for demanding customers

“Quality is a significant part of our success,” says Patel. “Our top labels for the corrugated industry need to be the highest level of quality. We’re printing for the electronics, food, cosmetic, and pharmaceutical industries. The printing has to be sharp. We are confident that our new KBA large format presses will deliver that sharp image. In addition, our new KBA large format presses will also be flexible enough to handle lots of different jobs, from light weight paper to board.”

Patel’s business has been on an upward curve ever since its inception due to two main reasons: print quality and quick delivery. “We don’t have a sales force,” says Patel, “but our loyal customers spread our reputation through word-of-mouth. Plus our customers know that I get very involved in the production of their jobs; I’m a very hands-on owner. In September 2008 we’ll be having our very first Open House to welcome our customers and let them see our new KBA press in action.”

As the new KBA press is being installed, the firm is preparing for the start-up. Two hundred hours of training will take place on the new KBA at Ultimate’s facility while two more teams from the company will travel to Germany for extensive training during the month of July. The firm has also added a new 64-inch die-cutter and a new 52-inch folder/gluer to help the workflow keep pace in the bindery.

KBA: Way ahead of its competition in large-format

Patel spent six months researching and comparing the different large format presses on the market before deciding on his KBA. “I looked at the other two manufacturers with large format presses,” says Patel. “I went to their Open House and really compared each press against each other. But the KBA presses came out way ahead of their competition. Not only did they offer more automation and better print quality, but KBA had a better reputation in the market and I felt very good about their whole management team.”

Ultimate Paper Box Company was established 12 years ago as a home-based print shop in Patel’s 2,000 sq ft garage. Today, the firm is headquartered in a modern 40,000 sq ft production facility with 58 employees posting more than $8 million in sales and catering to the electronic, food, cosmetic, and pharmaceutical packaging markets.

KBA North America is a member of the KBA Group, a leading global supplier of sheetfed, webfed, and digital offset presses located in Williston, Vermont. KBA is dedicated to excellence in printing technology. The company’s greatest satisfaction comes from helping its customers succeed by building presses that enable their businesses to prosper. From engineering through production, KBA’s focus is on people, providing flexible technology, customized printing solutions, and personal service to help its partners differentiate themselves and be successful today and in the future.