Print products with added value are a recipe for success Some 40 members of the KBA VSOP Club (= very smart offset printers), a union of Czech and Slovakian sheetfed offset printers, met for the fifth annual meeting in Radebeul, near Dresden, from 12 to 14 December.

Along with a visit to the world-famous Striezelmarkt Christmas market in Dresden, the Rapida users had a varied and practical agenda at the sheetfed offset plant in Radebeul.

After the visitors were welcomed by KBA CEE managing director Jan Korenc and sales director Sven Strzelczyk, Dirk Winkler head of the print technology department in Radebeul presented value-added strategies from KBA. A main topic of the event was high-quality inline finishing including value-enhancing effects delivered by the application of cold foil. A raft of finishing technologies were shown live during the practical part of the visit. These included finishes with textured coating and embossing effects with double coating technology, cold-foil finishing and the production of labels on a Rapida 106. In addition, high-quality cosmetic packaging and posters were printed with UV process colours and then finished with oil-based and UV varnish on a Rapida 76.

Following a tour of the plant, Martin Novotny publisher of the Czech periodic publication Newspaper for the print industry focused the guests’ attention on quality assurance in print firms. The visitors had the chance to exchange views over an evening meal in the old town of Dresden, along with tasting mulled wine and a tour of the city.