Koenig & Bauer (KBA) first showcased its new 1060 x 1450mm (41.7 x 57in) large-format Rapida 145 before an audience of international print professionals at this year's Drupa. It is not just the maximum output of 17,000sph which makes the press so unique in this format, but also automation for fast job changes and much more.

These unique features make the large-format sheetfed offset press more efficient, enhance productivity and have proved popular with commercial, internet and packaging printers worldwide. This is reflected in the number of orders. By the end of the year more than 30 new-generation Rapida 145 presses with over 200 printing and coating units will be delivered to some 15 countries. Further shipments are scheduled for 2013. Alongside traditional large-format markets such as Germany, Italy, France, the UK, Poland, Portugal and the USA, orders are also coming from countries such as Thailand, Mexico and South Africa. Among these users are numerous new customers, which have switched to KBA from other vendors or are investing in large-format presses for the first time.

The new KBA Rapida 145 benefits from many automated elements featured in the medium-format world makeready champion, the Rapida 106. For example, DriveTronic SIS sidelay-free infeed only offered by KBA, DriveTronic SPC dedicated drive technology for simultaneous plate changes and the new DriveTronic SFC coater with simultaneous coating-forme changes. Additionally a raft of innovations will prove interesting for packaging printers, including Anisleeve anilox roller sleeves in the coater, which have been made lighter to enable a single operator to change the amount of coating applied quickly and easily as necessary, without even stopping the press. Along with enhanced productivity the new Rapida 145 is even easier to operate and features an all-new ErgoTronic console with a large, clearly structured wall screen.

A series of beta installations at selected commercial and packaging printers in Germany and abroad were tested in a pressroom environment and enabled the new large-format series to be optimised prior to its official market debut and production release at Drupa. Alongside classic four-colour press lines for commercial and online printers the presses delivered since the trade show have included a large number of six- and seven-colour coating or double-coating presses for the packaging industry, where traditionally the BO format is very popular. Many of these highly automated presses have up to ten printing and finishing units. KBA, as market leader in large-format sheetfed offset, has been a major vendor to the carton printing industry for decades. With the Rapida 145, the world's second largest sheetfed offset press manufacturer underscores its position as technological leader in this expanding market.