KBA North America, a global press manufacturer based in Williston, Vermont, and Dallas, Texas, announces that The Garvey Group, a network of advertising, marketing, print production, support, and fulfillment divisions located in the Midwest, is installing its second KBA Rapida 205 81-inch six-color sheetfed press at its Niles, Ill. facility. This second Rapida 205, being installed nearly 24 months after the first, is specially-configured with inline UV capabilities manufactured by AMS (Air Motion Systems), which will provide both production and environmental bonuses.
 
“Installing two 81-inch sheetfed presses, side-by-side, in our facility sets us apart from our competitors in many distinct ways,” says Joe Kulis, chief operating officer for The Garvey Group at its Niles location. “We are the only printer in the Midwest to own this distinction. These presses demonstrate to our customers the stability and commitment of our business. It allows our customers to come for a press approval and see their UV-printed job at their fingertips. From a practical point-of-view, having the two presses next to each other allows our company to streamline our paper delivery to both presses, helps our press crews move between the two presses, and gives us the flexibility to move jobs from one press to the other.”

While the initial KBA Rapida 205 is equipped with aqueous coating capabilities, the second press shares the distinction of being equipped with UV features that provide fast turnaround, specialty substrate printing, and environmental benefits.
 
“Over the years, our customers have become more familiar with the advantages of UV printing,” says Kulis. “Now, we’ll be able to print those 81-inch jobs inline with UV inks and coatings at a high rate of speed. We’ll be able to offer our customers the ability to print on a variety of synthetic substrates and/or produce sharp contrasts using UV techniques. Plus, the environmental aspects of UV printing were a consideration.  We are promoting our current UV systems as a way we can reduce the VOC’s that we emit during the printing and coating process.”
 
The new KBA Rapida 205 81-inc sheetfed press, awarded the prestigious PIA/GATF InterTech award, features a maximum sheet size of 59.5" x 81" running at a speed of 9,000 sheets per hour (sph). The second Rapida 205 will provide a range of features, such as a fully-automatic plate changer with lifting facility for loading and unloading of the plate holders on the tower guards, automatic blanket and impression cylinder washing systems, an in-line anilox coating system and IR, UV, or hybrid drying options. It also includes KBA's Densitronic quality control system. The ACR automatic camera register control system provides a simple method for operators to obtain fast color registration. The ACR uses a camera, an integrated PC and corresponding software. The camera is used to determine any register differences, and calculated correction values are then transmitted to the lateral, circumferential and diagonal register systems on the individual printing units.
 
“KBA has become a close partner with our company,” says Kulis. “Over the years, we’ve installed a number of their presses, including a Rapida 162 64-inch and a Rapida 142 56-inch, at our different facilities. In terms of after-sales support, KBA’s team of experts has always been extremely supportive. Choosing the Rapida 205 was an easy decision since KBA is the world leader in large format presses. When we installed our first Rapida 205, it gave us capabilities that drew new customers from all over the country and propelled our growth. We believe this second KBA Rapida 205 with UV capabilities will do the same.”
 
The Garvey Group won a coveted 2007 Premier Print Awards—the graphic arts industry’s largest and most prestigious worldwide printing competition–from Printing Industries of America in the Large-Format Printing category for its Dreamgirls movie poster printed on its original KBA Rapida 205. The company won the Benny Award because it “maintained a very tight tolerance for the flesh tones while printing a very heavy and bright background,” said Ed Garvey, president and owner of the company. “In addition, a very high gloss level for the UV coating had to be attained for this project. The 60 x 81” Rapida 205 press was critical in our success.”
 
The Garvey Group is a network of advertising, marketing, print production, support, and fulfillment divisions located in the Midwest and dedicated to the design, production, and distribution of graphic and electronic communication materials. Founded in 1919 and headquartered in Niles, Illinois, The Garvey Group has additional facilities in the Wisconsin cities of Sturtevant, Oak Creek, Racine, and Milwaukee. The Garvey Group’s growth has been driven by consistent ownership—three generations of Garveys—along with dedication to professionalism; utilization of the latest technologies; personal service; an eye for detail; and the quality, security, and accuracy of its work.