Dallas-based Verizon Information Services, the world's largest print and online Yellow Pages publisher, has placed an order with KBA for a Commander directory press to be used in its Los Angeles printing plant. The high-performance press will print four-colour telephone and address directories, the volume of which - according to a study of the US market conducted by Pira - is expected to grow by 2-3% per year in the next five years, despite the boom in Internet and CD-ROM versions. This is another sector where print and e-media complement rather than compete with each other. 3D view of the KBA Commander directory press for Verizon Information Services' Los Angeles printing plant New-generation Commander directory presses recently came on line at Stevens Graphics Inc. in Birmingham, Alabama, and Quebecor World in Merced, California, underpinning KBA's technological lead in the market for Yellow Pages and Business Pages, where maximum output, cost-efficiency and production reliability are key. The four-high Commander press line, which will go into action in Los Angeles early in 2003, will join a string of other KBA presses. Verizon Information Services is a unit of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE: VZ), one of the world's leading providers of communications services. Verizon Communications was formed by the merger of Bell Atlantic and GTE in July 2000. The company has more than 256,000 employees and reported $65bn revenues in 2000. Verizon's global presence extends to 40 countries in the Americas, Europe, Asia and the Pacific. Verizon companies are the largest providers of wireline and wireless communications in the United States, with more than 128 million access line equivalents and 28 million wireless customers. The totally shaftless Commander press line is engineered for the production of 2 x 48-page four-colour directory sections in non-collect mode. It can handle a maximum web width of 1,467mm, has a cylinder circumference of 1,157mm and a maximum production speed of around 43,200cyl.rph. Configured as two four-high towers of stacked arch-type printing units, the press will incorporate reinforced inking and dampening units to ensure an optimum print quality on lightweight paper. Other features will include two heavy-duty KBA Pastomat RC reelstands, a folder superstructure with two former assemblies, and a special KF5T jaw folder with a 2:5:5 cylinder ratio and double-width delivery fans for handling two copy streams. The press package also includes a KBA Patras A automatic roll-handling system complete with stripping station, plus a high-tech console with job scheduling and press preset systems, RIP interface, automatic colour and cut-off register controls and a KBA BASKO web-tension control system.