The first purchaser of the 530 x 750mm (20.87 x 29.5in) Rapida 76 KBA has launched at Drupa 2012 is Amsterdam-based Dutch print provider Rob Stolk. The two owners made a spontaneous decision on the KBA stand in favour of a five-colour version. The 18,000sph high-performance press will feature automatic plate changers, QualiTronic inline colour control and DriveTronic SIS no-sidelay infeed adapted from the B1 (41in) Rapida 106 and unique in B2. The Rapida 76 will also be configured with VariDry HR UV curing systems, with one module inserted after the fifth printing unit, the second freely positionable according to production specs.

Tanneke Janssen and Jacqueline van As, who have owned this small commercial print enterprise for the past ten years, opted for the high-tech press from KBA because the innovative curing technology means that its energy consumption is much lower than that of comparable presses. Fast makeready times, the ability to handle a broad product range and inline quality control also influenced the choice of press. Although other offers were cheaper, KBA's total package won the day, together with confidence in KBA and its Dutch agency sales Wifac.

Rob Stolk has around 15 employees and alongside B2 also offers digital print services. The company mainly addresses the artistic sector, museums and the fashion industry. In recent years the environmentally-minded proprietors made the transition to waterless offset. In future they are planning to switch to HR UV curing systems because colour impositions of up to 300 per cent are a routine feature of production. Tanneke Janssen and Jacqueline van As are delighted with their purchase. “With the Rapida 76 Rob Stolk will make enormous advances in terms of quality,” says Tanneke Janssen. Since production must stop for a few days while the new Rapida 76 press is installed, this has been scheduled for January next year.