KBA North America, a global press manufacturer based in Dallas, Texas, announces that the Printing and Postal Service Department at the University of Houston is providing higher quality and faster turnaround with the installation of its KBA Performa 74 20 x 29-inch four-color press with aqueous coater and dryer.
 
"Our new KBA Performa 74 four-color press is capable of printing up to 13,000 impressions per hour," says Sally Rowland-Ketley, Director of Printing and Postal at the university. "This is a far cry from the older two-color presses the printing department had prior to this acquisition. Our processing time was approximately 3,000 impressions per hour with our older presses. Plus, we had to run jobs through four times (two-sided job) to put four colors onto the paper. Our new Performa allows us to do this in two passes---a big time saver."
 
Speed of production is not the only benefit of the new press. The press is equipped with a central console, which allows the operator to remotely control the ink keys on all four units, thus reducing the time drastically when matching color. The tedious trial and error experienced with the old equipment is eliminated. The console also allows the operator to get the register on all four units and coating unit remotely for high quality printing.
 
After the press installation, the department held an open house to showcase its new press. The Performa 74 20" x 29" press features semi-automatic plate changing and a blanket and cylinder wash, and it is JDF-compatible. It has double-size impression and transfer cylinders, and a seven o'clock cylinder configuration to minimize marking. Maximum sheet thickness is 0.6 mm. The press has four form rollers in each inking train that can be set to run with or without lateral oscillation. Twenty-three zones on each ink blade can be set at the delivery-end touch screen or at the control console.
 
In addition to the improvements in the printing operation, the postal side of the department also has a slew of services that they want to promote to the university. UH Postal Services operates as a full service mailing house right here on campus. They are on top of all the postal regulation changes and offer their customers the benefit of their postal knowledge. "We offer inkjetting, folding, inserting, mail merges and almost everything that you can think of in the way of expediting mailing projects," says Rowland-Ketley.
 
The staff of UH Printing and Postal prides itself in assisting their customers with projects from inception to fulfillment. They can design, print, process and mail. "We are employees of the university and have the best interest of the university at heart," explains Ms. Rowland-Ketley. "It really is a win-win situation for everyone."
 
The University of Houston, the premier metropolitan research and teaching institution in Texas, is home to more than 40 research centers and institutes and sponsors more than 300 partnerships with corporate, civic and governmental entities. UH, the most diverse research university in the country stands at the forefront of education, research and service with more than 35,000 students. The Department of Printing and Postal has been servicing the university for 60 years.