In Germany, 11.11.11 wasn’t just the start of the carnival season and a popular date for weddings, but also the production launch of a new large-format KBA Rapida 142 which Industriedruck fired up punctually at 11.11am in Ottendorf-Okrilla, near Dresden.

Managing director Klaus E Janssen took advantage of this memorable date to advance his medium-format print operation into the large-format league and introduce a new management team comprising an old hand, plant manager Eiko Hampe, along with Ralf Jülicher (finances) and Marcus Hütter (sales).

The new Rapida will serve a dual purpose by enabling the company to print an existing major product line – high-volume magazine covers – much faster and more efficiently, and add a new one: large-format packaging. The press boasts an array of special features, not least lightweight and heavy board capabilities for handling a broad range of stock from 40gsm to 1.4mm (16lb cover to 55pt carton). Others include nonstop systems at the feeder and infeed, sheet-run controls and additional mechanical guide bars etc to enhance flexibility and productivity, while to minimise job changes there are automatic plate and coating-plate changers and CleanTronic Syncro units for washing blankets and impression cylinders simultaneously, or blankets in half the time.

A central ink-pumping system linked to the console ensures a constant supply of fresh ink to the ducts. Environmental credentials include VariDryBLUE drying systems which direct unsaturated hot air from the first module into the third, thus reducing heating input per job by as much as 50 per cent compared to conventional systems. Provision has also been made for heat recovery with buffer storage.

To support the move into large format Industriedruck installed a new Agfa Avalon N16-50 platesetter, a heavy-duty Perfecta 168 TS guillotine plus additional pallets, pile turners and transport devices for the stores logistics system. The inauguration was followed by the acceptance test for the Rapida 142 to ISO 12647-2 specifications, with mechanical and technical acceptance by the Saxon Institute for Print Technology to BvDM/VDM specs.