One of the most exciting sheetfed presses to arrive in the UK in recent years will shortly be commissioned at London printer Alito Color Group. The press line - a £3 million ($5.8m) package of a twelve-unit KBA Rapida 105 long perfector coupled with the latest RS 105 reel sheeter - will further establish Alito Color as a market leader in quality color and the UK commercial printer with one of the biggest arrays of modern KBA presses in the country. This new Rapida 105 perfector is the first KBA 12-unit in the UK and the first in the world to run with the RS 105 sheeting facility. Alito Color already operates ten-color and eight-color Rapida perfectors plus a Rapida 105 six color with coater and board facility. The press room is equipped with DensiTronic S density and spectral imaging controls and CipLink networking, and the new reel sheeter will be the second servicing the KBA presses. "Our KBA machines deliver superb color," says Alito Color chairman Terry Brady. "Sustained quality has won us new work and new customers which justifies this exciting new investment." The new press will operate from Alitoís new state-of-the-art 40,000 sq ft (3,700m≤) purpose-built steel and glass showpiece factory at the heart of the London Olympic Village. Commenting on the strength the investment will give Alito in the marketplace, sales & marketing director David Collins says: "The addition of the 12-color to our extensive KBA fleet will increase our print capacity dramatically. It will enable Alito to provide our client base with a very competitive core business product. Having the ability to perfect 6 over 6 on 350gsm substrates greatly improves our position within the commercial and direct mail sectors." The environmental side of print is very important to Alito and was a major factor in the design of the building, choosing KBA presses and all aspects of production and waste management. KBA UK managing director Christian Knapp, delighted to announce the deal with Alito, says: "Terry Brady and David Collins always promised to stay ahead of the game and out in front in terms of quality, flexibility and productivity. This ultra-long Rapida will give them a further edge as a truly sophisticated supplier of color print." Alito Color is a general commercial printer with strong ties to the financial market, advertising agencies, major retailers, facilities management companies, the direct mail market and the television and entertainment sector. The new-generation range of Rapida 105 presses, launched at Drupa 2004, is KBAís top selling sheetfed press worldwide and is earning a rapidly increasing installed base in the UK. The Rapida 105 offers superb print quality and substrate flexibility and maximum rated output of 18,000sph in straight production and 15,000sph perfecting.