(November 18, 2008) KBA North America, a global press manufacturer based in Williston, Vermont, and Dallas, Texas, announces that American Greetings, the world's largest publicly-owned creator, manufacturer, and distributor of social expression products, has installed a 74 Karat DI (direct imaging) waterless 20-inch x 29-inch sheetfed press at its Osceola, AR facility in July 2008. The new press features the KBA keyless Gravuflow inking system and coater.
 
"The 74 Karat press has allowed American Greetings to move to a half-format sheet size while maintaining litho-quality printing," says Jeff Lipnichan, engineering director at American Greetings. "The 74 Karat delivers a 20-inch x 29-inch format that integrates well into our existing work flows. We take the printed sheets from the Karat and apply subsequent finishing like foil stamping and embossing. This half-format size can be processed efficiently with our existing equipment."
 
The KBA 74 Karat is designed for four-color printing in the short- to medium-run sector. The 10,000 sph press features easy and short makeready and productivity-boosting features, such as quick-change ink cartridges, which can be switched even while the press is still running. With its high levels of automation, the 74 Karat is designed for swift job changing – a complete change takes about 15 minutes. The unique Gravuflow keyless inking system also helps to cut makereadies and reduce waste and allows the press to be in color within 15 sheets. Nearly all functions can be controlled directly from the operating console situated at the delivery. Its aqueous inline coating unit dramatically reduces drying times.

American Greetings sized up the half-size format press market before choosing the benefits of the KBA Karat. "There were several DI machines on the market in the 52 cm format but the sheet size was simply too small for our processes at this time," explains Lipnichan. "The low startup waste from the Karat's keyless ink train was another feature that led us to choose KBA. Reducing waste enables us to be competitive on short runs." He adds, "Our 74 Karat is in production, and we have received good support from KBA throughout the installation and commissioning of the press."