Feb. 4, 2008 - KBA was able to place a significant number of sheetfed offset presses of its highly automated medium-format Rapida 105 series in South Korea in 2007. Two of them, an eight-colour Rapida 105 for 4-back-4 perfecting and a four-colour straight configuration, were officially taken into operation in the Prinpia print centre on 13th December. Prinpia, a member of the Chunjae group, was founded only in 1990, and is active above all in the printing of books and magazines. The two company locations (Seoul and Incheon) each boast a line-up of five sheetfed and web offset presses. The operations are fully integrated with four further companies affiliated to the Chunjae group. The two new, 18,000 sph Rapidas have been installed in Incheon.  

In a short welcoming address, the managing director of KBA-Samwoo, Ki Suk Lee, introduced the two Rapida 105 presses as the latest high-tech models for the medium-format market. Their leading role was underlined, he said, both by their extraordinary printing performance and by the many automation components which were setting benchmarks for the industry. This also reflected precisely the objectives pursued by Prinpia. Byung-Mok Oh, president of the parent company Chunjae Education, characterised the company for his guests with the following words: "Prinpia possesses the most highly automated printing facilities in Korea, and is very satisfied indeed with its investment in its two high-performance presses." KBA sales director Dietmar Heyduck congratulated the company on its new presses and passed on thanks for the confidence placed in KBA. At the same time, he expressed the hope that this occasion would herald an era of intensive and longstanding partnership.  

The Rapida 105 combines the benefits of fast makeready and exceptional productivity with simple handling and a high degree of automation. Both presses at Prinpia are equipped with a shaftless DriveTronic Feeder and the sidelay-free infeed system DriveTronic SIS. The latter eliminates the need for a conventional vacuum sidelay and has revolutionised the sheet infeed process. Fully automatic plate changing (FAPC) is similarly a standard feature on the two high-performance Rapidas. Further equipment highlights are ACR-Control (video register), fully automatic washing and cooling systems, and workflow interfaces to pre-press via KBA LogoTronic basic.  

On the fringes of the event, which was attended by numerous print industry professionals from all over Korea, it was also possible to negotiate several new projects. And already on 5th January, the first Rapida of the year left the factory headed for Korea.