(November 18, 2008) Edison Litho & Printing, one of the largest large-format litho printers in the Northeast, held a successful and informative seminar in which nearly 100 attendees learned about Edison’s large format capabilities. The seminar, which was held at Edison’s headquarters in North Bergen, NJ, not only gave a working demonstration of Edison’s two KBA Rapida 205 81-inch sheetfed presses but included an impressive line-up of industry experts who talked about the printing industry at large, the potential of printing large format jobs on different substrates, and the intricacies of the largest press in the world.
 
“Welcoming existing and potential customers to our facility to hear about our capabilities and learn from respected, well-informed industry experts made our first seminar a smashing success,” says Joe Ostreicher, Edison’s vice president. “We want to take the lead among the printing community by demonstrating how our organization is different and how it can better serve our customers.”
 
The day began with a tour of Edison’s facility and its two KBA Rapida 205 81-inch sheetfed presses. Roger Morel, Edison’s production manager, provided a fascinating glimpse into the inner workings of the presses, prompting one attendee to remark, “This is very informative; I’ve never seen such a large press in action before.” The presses produced a 2009 calendar on a plastic substrate and posters.
 
After lunch, attendees heard from a number of respected speakers. Frank Romano, Professor Emeritus, School of Print Media at Rochester Institute of Technology, presented an overview of printing buying trends to the Edison Litho audience. He began with a short video that musically mentioned 99 products, people, or technologies. The video indicated the scope of knowledge that print buyers today must possess, and it is extensive. From surveys performed by his students, print buyers place schedule and capability at the top of the list for printer selection. Buyers also state that printers fail to communicate their differentiation, such as the ability to print plastic materials. It was interesting that 66 percent of buyers surveyed would never buy print overseas. “I am happy to support printers who communicate with their customers and potential customers in educational forums. Edison Litho is a unique family-owned business that has developed new capabilities and new markets,” said Romano.
 
Chris Travis, Director of Technology for KBA North America, offered a comprehensive explanation of the KBA press and its capabilities. He discussed the flexibility of the Rapida 205, the automation and tools that the press operator can use to control color, the wide variety of substrates that can be run on the press, and in particular the ability to print up to an 81-inch sheet of plastic on the Rapida 205. Travis was questioned about the KBA Logotronic system, which gives the press the ability to recall jobs that were previously printed; the Rapida’s inter-deck lamp configuration, which can be outfitted on any unit of the press depending on the configuration of the job and color sequence; and the UV and water-based coating units.
 
Greg Kestler, Printable Films Manager for GPA, helped to educate the attendees about the different plastic materials, both pressure sensitive films and non-adhesive films that can be printed on the KBA Rapida 205. “When it comes to pressure sensitive films I discussed the different face films, adhesives, & liners with the most popular being a white vinyl with a low peel adhesive on a 90# lay flat liner,” explained Kestler. “This item is used as window signage as well as the base film in floor graphics. I also discussed many non-adhesive films including synthetic paper, styrene, rigid vinyl, polypropylene and polyethylene. The biggest message I wanted to impart on the audience was to get as much information as possible on the end use of any given project.”