KBA North America, a leading supplier of sheetfed offset and digital presses based in Williston, VT, is announcing that the Conway, Arkansas facility of Rock-Tenn Company, a leading manufacturer of packaging products, has added capacity and replaced older presses by installing two new KBA Rapida 162 64-inch seven-color sheetfed presses with coating units. The first press began production in Oct. 2004 while the second press began production in March 2005. “These two new presses from KBA give us higher speeds, lower makeready, more automation, and less waste due to the quicker set-up time,” says Steve Edwards, Rock-Tenn’s production manager in Conway. “We believe these presses will increase our capacity substantially. We’ve already seen a substantial gain in throughput through the plant.” The Conway, Arkansas facility produces a wide array of high-end, multi-color folding cartons for a nationwide customer base. The majority of the firm’s jobs are designed for the food industry. The 220,000 sq ft plant has 260 employees. Consistent color, monitor jobs closely After beginning to talk to KBA about the presses at Graph Expo 2003, Rock-Tenn began to seriously consider the presses and their new management and quality control systems. “We were seeking to maintain more consistent color control and be able to monitor our print product at a higher level,” explains Edwards. “Consistency is a very important key to the success of our customers and our printed product. We have to produce a very high quality, multi-color product package that is the same from one store shelf to the other. By having KBA’s Densitronic S closed loop color control system and KBA’s Logotronic Management systems on the presses, we’re able to read densities much faster and keep track of our jobs much more efficiently.” The KBA Densitronic S is a combined density and color measuring system for quality control both during and after printing. Unlike other systems, Densitronic S also permits direct measurements within the image. Deviations from defined target densities, color values and other quality parameters (dot gain, trapping, etc.) are recognized and displayed not only reliably, but also very quickly in comparison to hand-held measuring devices. With integration for online control, the density and spectral deviations are converted into corrective adjustments for the individual ink keys. The Densitronic S controls the density and spectral parameters of each sheet by measuring along control strips or directly on the image. The KBA Logotronic system guarantees multi-system digital data communication. The company-wide data exchange between the printing company management system, Logotronic professional, MIS or trade software and prepress is carried out by means of a JDF interface. Once the plates have been made the CIP3 data are automatically assigned to the job via the hot folder. The CIP3 files are also converted into preset data for the press. When a job is rescheduled to another press the preset data are automatically recalculated for that press. This ensures that the latest job data, including preset data, is always available at the control console. Next generation CIM system – Logotronic The Logotronic Management system’s advantages include: •JDF/NGP compliant •Totally automated workflow •Transfer of order data from the trade software to the control console of the press •Automatic determination of press presetting data from the prepress data •Access to Logotronic professional from all workstations connected to the network •Shorter makeready times thanks to presetting data or repetition data •More effective printing time and therefore more saleable products per shift •Less waste •Greater efficiency, since data only need to be entered once and mistakes due to multiple data input can be avoided •Improved accounting since exact press and production data can be used to calculate actual costs •Greater overview since all job-related, presetting and pressrelated data can be looked at •Comprehensive and transparent information for the printshop management “In our industry, turnaround time is the name of the game,” says Edwards. “By having digital plating and CIP3, we’re able to be on press much faster than before. Once on press, the automation of the KBA Rapida presses allows us to meet the increasing fast time that our customers demand to have their products on the shelf.” Rock-Tenn is one of North America's leading manufacturers of packaging products, merchandising displays and recycled paperboard, from folding cartons to corrugated boxes to specialized, protective interior packaging to point-of-purchase displays. Headquartered in Norcross, Georgia, Rock-Tenn is listed on the New York Stock Exchange. Since its founding in 1936, Rock-Tenn has focused on developing packaging and paperboard products that bring high value to its customers, employees and shareholders. The company operates manufacturing facilities throughout the United States, Canada, Mexico and Chile, and employs approximately 8,800 people. 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.