KBA North America, a global press manufacturer based in Williston, Vermont, and Dallas, Texas, announces that MOSAIC, a carbon neutral waterless printing company specializing in commercial, digital, UV and waterless printing, has installed the first KBA Rapida 75 five-color 29-inch sheetfed press plus aqueous coater in the U.S. at its Cheverly, Maryland location. The firm took possession of the press in January 2009.
 
“Being a high quality print provider in the commercial sheetfed industry requires being resourceful and flexible,” says Joel Zelepsky, MOSAIC’s senior vice president of sales and marketing. “With its 23" x 29" footprint, the new KBA Rapida 75 compliments the many sizes of turnkey print solutions we provide our customers 24/7. Plus the new press is a faster and a more versatile upgrade to our KBA Karat 20x28-inch press, which over the years was a tremendous workhorse for us. This 23x29-inch size fills a need for our smaller-size projects, gives us the versatility to put much more suitable work on this press rather than our larger 40-inch sheetfed presses, while allowing us to enjoy the same modern marvels of print technology on our larger presses.”
 
Color control, waste reduction, high print quality
 
The KBA Rapida 75 five-color press is equipped with the popular KBA Densitronic full scanning densitometer and color control system as well as special cooling for waterless printing. These systems significantly reduce waste (water and paper) while maintaining the highest print quality.

Environmental awareness and responsibility is a key component of MOSAIC’s corporate climate leadership. Purchasing the Rapida 75 with its waterless printing technology and aqueous coater provide a perfect fit to MOSAIC’s family of existing sheetfed presses, says Zelepsky. “Although it is a smaller size, its environmental impact in using less water, paper, and VOCs fits right in with our corporate environmental direction,” he says.
 
While MOSAIC’s management did investigate presses from three other press manufacturers, its pre-existing relationship with KBA positively influenced its decision to purchase another KBA press. “KBA and MOSAIC are true business partners,” says Zelepsky. “From their service to their training they have positioned their interest in MOSAIC with vested responsiveness. KBA has a fine reputation for quality and innovation. We feel they signature their technology with cutting edge processes that translates into our being able to deliver a superior product.”

MOSAIC believes that with the acquisition of its 23x29-inch KBA Rapida 75 its market share of this size press jobs will continue to increase. “The increased speed and ease-of-use gives us a tremendous edge over our competitors,” says Zelepsky. “Being able to handle all different sizes in a turn-key format has always been a major prerequisite in purchasing equipment and technology at MOSAIC.”
 
Timing on installing the new KBA press was perfect for MOSAIC, as the firm was in the process of retiring one of its older presses. The space becoming available was a good fit for the incoming KBA Rapida 75 with room to spare.
 
“MOSAIC’s customer profile is its passion for printing, its innovative use of technology, its cutting-edge quality processes, and its environmental responsibility,” says Ed Heffernan, KBA district sales manager. “We are pleased to be true business partners with MOSAIC and continue their success with another fine press from KBA.”
 
Keys to success

“Being proactive, providing innovative alternative solutions and savings to our customers while maintaining a sense of urgency, especially in a down economy, is our key to success,” says Zelepsky. “MOSAIC builds partnerships with our customers one job at a time.”

MOSAIC is a premier print communication company specializing in Commercial, Digital, and Waterless Printing, Direct Mail Distribution and Web to Print Solutions. The company’s custom-designed eco-friendly facility is located in Cheverly, Maryland, just outside Washington, DC, and only 40 minutes outside the city of Baltimore. Since 1948, MOSAIC has provided unparalleled quality and service to advertising agencies, design firms, associations and corporations throughout the country. The 140-employee firm has steadily grown over the years and has been recognized by the Washington Business Journal as the fifth largest printing company in the Washington DC metro region.  MOSAIC is proud to be a six year recipient of the “Best Workplace in the Americas” Award by the PIA/GATF organizations.  In 2007, the firm was presented with the Art Directors Partnership Award by the ADCMW recognizing its involvement and contributions among the design community including its environmental initiatives.
 
KBA North America is a member of the KBA Group, a leading global supplier of sheetfed, webfed, and digital offset presses located in Williston, Vermont, and 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.