After highly successful presentations of the half-format press Rapida 75 in Germany, the KBA roadshow under the banner "Route 75" recently moved on to South America. The latest tour began at the end of June with a visit to packaging printers Grafijor Embalagens in the Brazilian city of Sao Paulo. A four-colour Rapida 75 coater has already been in production there for four months.

Sebastião J. Freitas, proprietor of Grafijor Embalagens and Artes Gráficas Ltda, first gave the 90 guests an overview of the history of his company and explained the reasons for choosing a Rapida 75. Robson Pádua from Global Sistemas Gráficos, the Brazilian sales agency for Rapida small-format presses, then outlined the services provided in the individual regions of the country by his team of over 20 sales representatives and technicians. Following a summary of technical information on the new Rapida 75E, KBA print instructor Benjamin Nelles printed three jobs on different substrates from lightweight paper to board. The outstanding print quality and fast makeready of the Rapida 75 left the audience visibly impressed. Wolfram Zehnle, head of the KBA customer centre in Radebeul, provided a commentary during the demonstrations and drew particular attention to the possibilities for inline coating effects.

Following the two-day event in Sao Paulo, a further open house was held at Ordem Rosa Cruz in Curitiba, where important production is entrusted to a four-colour Rapida 66. More than 50 print professionals from 20 companies in the region gathered to gain first-hand insights into print production on the smallest press of the Rapida family (format 48.5 x 66 cm). Here again, it was Benjamin Nelles and Wolfram Zehnle who took the stage, this time demonstrating the performance potential of the Rapida 66 and explaining some of the technical highlights of the Rapida 75E. The fantastic atmosphere persuaded many of the guests to remain long after the official close of the event to discuss current topics affecting the print industry with the specialists from KBA and Global Sistemas Gráficos.

The last stop on the tour was made at the print company Forma e Imagen in the Peruvian capital Lima. Some 20 guests from leading print providers in and around Lima were treated to a professionally prepared presentation on a five-colour Rapida 75 with inline coating. Key benefits of the press, for example the user-oriented automation, space-saving design and exemplary energy efficiency, were demonstrated admirably in both theory and practice.