Lebanese print company invests in another Rapida 106

• Four-colour Rapida 106 with inline coating and perfecting went into production in January
• Regular investments in sheetfed offset technology from Koenig & Bauer
• Certification to international standards
• Efficient production and high ecological standards

Arab Printing Press in the industrial city of Sid El Bauchrieh near Beirut has been using Koenig & Bauer technology for decades. At the beginning of 2019, another press joined the growing list – a Rapida 106 with four printing units, inline coater, extended delivery and a perfecting unit for 2/2 production. Given the positive experience with the predecessor press, an eight-colour Rapida 106 for 4-over-4 perfecting installed in 2014, and in particular the extremely efficient and cost-effective production enjoyed ever since, it was only logical that the company chose this high-performance medium-format press again.

Arab Printing Press was founded in 1968 and today counts 110 employees. The product portfolio covers books (e.g. text books), labels, packaging and commercial work of all kinds. The demands placed on the company’s machinery base are correspondingly diverse. Alongside the aforementioned eight-colour Rapida 106, the press hall also accommodates a two-colour Rapida 104 and a five-colour Rapida 105. The new Rapida 106 is thus the fourth medium-format press. Its enormous productivity enables the replacement of two older presses.

Fast job changeover with DriveTronic SPC

The Rapida 106 is designed to handle substrates from 0.04 to 1.2 mm at production speeds up to 18,000 sheets/hr. As was already the case with the previous eight-colour model, the new press is able to change all the plates simultaneously thanks to DriveTronic SPC. Further outstanding automation features are DriveTronic Plate Ident and CleanTronic washing systems for the blankets, impression cylinders and rollers. Mention must also be made of EES (Emission Extraction System) and energy-saving VariDryBlue IR/hot-air dryers in the delivery and extended delivery. To manage print quality, the Rapida 106 is equipped with ErgoTronic ColorControl, where the use of narrow colour bars with a height of just 3 mm enables optimum utilisation of the sheet format. Register control is realised with ErgoTronic ICR.

Arab Printing Press produces for local and international markets. The company operates through several subsidiaries, including a sales office in Great Britain and two further printing facilities. Production is organised very efficiently and complies with numerous international standards. Arab Printing Press is certified to ISO 9001:2015, ISO 14001:2015, FSC, UN Global Compact and SEDEX.

Ecological production
Besides quality, ecological aspects are priority concerns for Arab Printing Press, which was one of the first industrial companies in Lebanon to install solar panels on its hall roof. Ecological considerations were already placed in the foreground ahead of the installation of the eight-colour press five years ago. Criteria for the purchase were its minimised environmental impact, low powder and alcohol consumption, and quiet running. Energy consumption was reduced by 45 per cent compared to the predecessor press. That translates to an annual cost saving of almost €25,000 ($28,000) and a reduction of 118 tonnes in CO2 emissions.

Arab Printing Press is active not only in sheetfed offset, but also in digital and 3D printing. The total production space in Sid El Bauchrieh amounts to 5,500 m2. In future, too, the prime objective for the Lebanese print specialists is to combine production efficiency with the highest possible ecological standards.

Nabil Asmar (left), chairman and general manager of RAK Paper & Board, Koenig & Bauer’s sales partner in Lebanon, handed the new Rapida 106 over the Elie Raphaël, chairman and general manager of Arab Printing Press.