Rising numbers of sheetfed printers are gearing up for post-recession growth with large format technology. For example, French printer Imprimerie Moderne de l'Est (IME) in Baume-Les Dames recently signed up for an eight-colour KBA Rapida 162a with autoperfecting after the fourth unit. 

The Rapida 162a will feature automatic plate changing, DensiTronic Professional colour management and KBA QualiTronic Professional inline quality control on both sides of the sheets. It will join five other Rapidas in IME's press room. Says general manager Laurent Labat: "We have a longstanding focus on large format. Our 220 employees print school textbooks, coffee-table publications, adolescent and non-fiction books, promotional brochures, magazines, tourist guides, road maps, telephone directories and posters. So large format is the natural choice."

For IME, ecology is as much a part of the daily routine as large-format printing. And it is the only printer in France with seven environmental credentials: it signed up to the Imprim'vert charter in 2004, gained the Trophée d'Or de l'Environnement in 2005, FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) certification and PEFC (Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification Schemes) accreditation in 2007, joined the Print Environnement initiative in 2008, renewed ISO14001 accreditation this year and is an active member of the UN's Global Compact. Says Laurent Labat. "We want to make a good impression both now and in the future."