February 18, 2004 -- KBA North America, a leading sheetfed offset press manufacturer based in Williston, Vt., has announced that Ambassador Packaging, a York, S.C. packaging printer, has installed a new KBA Rapida 142 56” six-color fully-automated sheetfed press in September 2003. Ambassador Packaging caters to the folding carton industry, serving all types of markets. “We feel that KBA has the very best large format sheetfed press available,” says Dave Martin, Ambassador’s president and CEO. “Our customers require faster turnaround and high quality. They are sending us jobs with more colors and more intricate designs. This press with its fully automated features allows us to produce faster make-readies. We especially like the KBA Densitronic S closed loop densitometry/spectrophotometry system, in which we can scan a job and maintain the same critical color throughout the press run.” Before Ambassador Packaging settled on the KBA Rapida 142 sheetfed press, the company visited other printers who had KBA Rapida presses and also went to KBA’s factory in Germany to see the press in action. “We were quite impressed with every aspect of KBA’s factory and its presses,” says Martin. “The high-quality output of the presses and the high speed of the press and the fast make-ready were all very impressive.” Once Ambassador Packaging installed its press, KBA engineers from Germany stayed for a number of weeks to help Ambassador’s press crew learn to use all of the automation on the press. “The KBA engineers gave us guidance and assisted us in our learning curve on the press,” says Martin. Ambassador Packaging was founded in 1986 as a privately owned packaging printer. Today the firm employs 47 and serves a variety of clientele with a majority located in the southeast U.S. but also nationwide and internationally. “We are pleased to be supplying Ambassador Packaging with a new KBA Rapida 142 six-color press,” says Ralf Sammeck, President and CEO of KBA North America. “Our new press will allow Ambassador Packaging to better service its customers with higher quality and faster make-readies.” KBA North America is a leading supplier of sheetfed offset and digital presses located in Williston, VT. It is a member of the KBA Group, a leader in the manufacture of sheetfed offset, digital offset, web offset, rotogravure directory, security, and newspaper presses. See Photos www.kba-print.com/vt/headlines/sheetfed/2004-02-13-00/