KBA North America, a global press manufacturer based in Dallas, Texas, announces that Paramount Performance Marketing, a fully-integrated marketing solutions firm and commercial printer, is installing its  new KBA Rapida 75 23 x 29-inch six-color, sheet-fed press at its Jacksonville, Florida headquarters.
 
"We are constantly listening to the needs of our customers as we adapt and evolve with innovative solutions," says Jon Cummins, president and CEO of Paramount Performance Marketing. "With the installation of our new KBA half-size press, we're upgrading our equipment to enable us to offer faster turnaround, higher-quality, and enhanced environmental responsibility."
 
Recently Paramount took its direct mail production to the next level by leveraging the use of personalized direct mail printed pieces targeted to the individual with the power of the internet. The service utilizes personalized web addresses or pURLS to generate leads and communicate with existing customers as well as update databases, measure responses and obtain customer feedback.
 
Paramount also offers specialized services in building online storefronts. These online catalogs, which can be inter-company or public, allow companies to automate and centralize everything from their own print products from Paramount, distribution of products and supplies through the company or the sale of their products to customers. Cummins plans to utilize his new KBA Rapida 75 press to print both the personalized direct mail and online storefronts pieces.
 
"This new press lays a key foundation in our goal as we respond to the changing print needs of our customers," explains Cummins. 8 0For example, our online storefront service allows our customers and their customers to order print products on-demand, thereby reducing their print inventory. We'll now be able to offer our customers personalized, customized pieces printed on the Rapida 75 that we couldn't offer before. The Rapida 75 will give us the ability to produce shorter run lengths–as low as 200 pieces–that are cost-effective and a higher quality. We'll also be able to produce print jobs on lighter weight sheets with better quality on the Rapida 75. We tested 60 lb coated gloss sheets on the new press and they were printed flawlessly at high speed."
 
Cummins was also attracted by the Rapida 75's array of high-level automation. Having made its debut at Drupa 08, the six-up Rapida 75 23.75 x 29.5-inch press offers a 15,000sph, is configurable with two to eight colors plus coater and four-over-four perfector, and incorporates some 30 new features. Many of the proven features that have made the bigger format presses popular have now been incorporated in the Rapida 75. These include pneumatic suction sidelays, an open inking unit design, gripper systems and KBA Densitronic density measurement and control from the console. At Drupa 08, the five-color coater press with extended delivery demonstrated a high-speed job change from luxury spirits packaging on lightweight board to six-up flyers for commercial printers. For printers who produce US letter or typical magazine and catalogue formats, the Rapida 75 23 x 29-inch size allows six-up layouts. In other words, a printer can produce two extra copies compared to other half-format presses and 50% higher productivity.
 
"We're especially pleased with the KBA Densitronic S closed loop color management scanning densitometry system on a half-size press," says Cummins. "This will give us the ability to ensure a high level of consistency on all of our jobs because it is constantly monitoring each job and automatically setting the ink controls to produce a consistent printed piece."
 
Environmental responsibility and seeking to continuously improve their corporate environment are key aspects at Paramount. The firm belongs to the Jacksonville Lean Consortium, a group of 55 member companies that seek to be lean and efficient and promote a culture of continuous improvement. "We chose the Rapida 75 because it features big press features in a smaller 6-up format," says Cummins. "Our press operators will be more efficient because we're reducing our press size from a 40-inch model to a 29-inch model and the Rapida 75 is seven feet shorter than a competitor's half-size press. Due to its smaller footprint, we will be creating less waste, using less paper, and in the end, we predict we'll significantly reduce our electricity usage."
 
Much care and thought went into the purchase of the new KBA Rapida 75 press. "We looked at three different press manufacturers including KBA," recalls Cummins. "While all of them had good quality, the Rapida 75 quickly stood out among the others with its superior print quality. We immediately ruled out one press manufacturer because the KBA model offered faster makeready and less paper usage. We felt that KBA had taken the b est facets of its large format presses and put those features on this half-size press. In the end, it was also the return-on-investment and cost of the press that swayed us in KBA's favor."
 
But as Cummins focused more closely on the KBA Rapida 75, he decided that this press rose above and beyond the other half-size models. Cummins visited the KBA production plant to see how the press is produced. He questioned five different printers in person who own the Rapida 75 press and could see first-hand that KBA's claims about the press's productivity and quality are true.
 
"The printing industry across the country is changing," says Cummins. "Paramount has been working diligently for more than five years to adapt and evolve. Our customers are looking for innovative solutions in this tight economy. We believe that in this current economic recession it is time to re-tool and become even more efficient so that we're ready when the economy picks back up. That's why we chose to install the Rapida 75 now."
 
Established in 1912, Paramount Printing grew to become one of Jacksonville's largest commercial printers. Late in 2008, after restructuring and expanding its technologies and services, the firm changed its name to Paramount Performance Marketing, reflecting the firm's new fully-integrated marketing solutions services. The 30-employee firm, located in a 20,000 sq ft facility, offers both digital and traditional offset printing, direct mail and fulfillment, and specialized services such as building corporate online storefronts.
 
KBA North America is a member of the KBA Group, a leading global supplier of sheetfed, webfed, and digital offset presses located in Dallas, Texas. KBA is dedicated to excellence in printing technology. The company's greatest satisfaction comes from helping its customers succeed by building presses that enable their businesses to prosper. From engineering through production, KBA's focus is on people, providing flexible technology, customized printing solutions, and personal service to help its partners differentiate themselves and be successful today and in the future.