June 25, 2007 -- KBA North America, a leading press manufacturer based in Williston, Vt., is announcing that Lithographic Industries, a leading packaging printer who’s expertise is in high-quality blister card printing in combination gang runs, has purchased and installed a unique KBA Rapida 105 11-unit straight or nine-over-two perfecting press for its Broadview, Il headquarters.
 
“We’re in a very competitive market,” says Lou Ebert, president of Lithographic Industries. “Our new KBA press gives us abilities that no other competitor has and allows us significant savings. We’re unique because we have the only straight eleven color or nine-over-two perfecting press on the market.”
 
The new fully-automated press has a perfector after the second unit. It is also equipped with KBA’s popular closed-loop Densitronic S scanning Spectrodensitometer system that significantly reduces waste by measuring both the density and spectral values on the x and y axis; KBA Logotronic system; board package, and a unique split fountain design that allows the printer to produce many more colors.
 
Superior inking system
 
“KBA’s advanced inking system is far superior to any other out on the market,” says Ebert. “The fountain design does not use blades but uses individual keys. It allows us to split colors with more accuracy. We’re able to put three colors on the back, 10 colors on the front, and four-color process.”
 
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.

KBA’s Densitronic S is a combined density and color measuring system for quality control during printing. Unlike any other system available on the market, 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 immediately 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.
To remain a leader in the competitive market of printing blister cards and folding cartons, Lithographic Industries chose these particular systems for its new KBA press to give it the ability to produce high-quality, multi-color products in a timely, cost-effective manner.

Superior, well-engineered, highly-automated press
 
It was due to this very competitive market that Ebert turned to KBA for a unique, one-of-a-kind press to give his firm a competitive advantage. “I knew exactly what type of press configuration I needed,” says Ebert. “But every other press manufacturer couldn’t build it except KBA. This new press is so far superior to any other press manufacturer. KBA designs and builds a very sturdy, very strong, very well-engineered press with highly-automated components that will give me much more production, an increase in through-put, and a very high level of color quality and consistency that can’t be matched.”
 
In fact, Ebert is predicting huge savings and productivity gains with his new press. “In today’s competitive market, the only way an American printer can make money is to increase productivity and decrease costs like waste,” explains Ebert. “This new press will allow me to decrease waste by 85% and I’ll be able to double my productivity.”
 
Exact precision, positive press installation
 
Ebert is also impressed with KBA’s attention to detail and its service-oriented mentality when installing a new press. “My installation team is top-notch,” says Ebert. “They put the entire press together step-by-step with exact precision and they work long hours to ensure that all the electronics are working precisely. I’ve never had this positive experience in installing a press.”
 
The management and sales team from KBA are equally as impressive. “Ralf Sammeck, the president and CEO of KBA, and Steve Korn, my district sales manager, provided me with such professionalism during the press negotiations that there was no doubt I was going to buy the press after I left the meeting,” recalls Ebert.  
 
Lithographic Industries, Inc. was established in 1961 by brothers Louis and Roman A. Ebert, Jr., and dedicated to the premise of providing the highest possible quality at the lowest possible price. Located in Broadview Illinois, in 1961, Lithographic invented the concept of producing many different blister cards on the same sheet. This concept was called combination gang runs or "combos" for short.