to 81" in one location will be crucial to meeting those requirements.” The KBA Rapida 205, which is custom built in Germany, is a (L to r): Brothers Kelly Webb, Executive VP, and Travers revolutionary piece of Webb, President, of Burlington-based Meredith-Webb equipment that prints Printing stand beside their KBA Rapida sheetfed press. sheets up to 80.7x59.5". The press produces extra-large format, high-quality products in a highly cost efficient manner. This press is the first of its size to offer a wide range of automated technologies that provide for extremely high print quality and low makeready times with the addition of UV drying capabilities. Currently Meredith-Webb’s pressroom is equipped with three high-performance KBA presses: a KBA Rapida 164 64" six-color 10-unit press with double coaters and UV; a Rapida162a 64" seven-color press with coater and UV; and a KBA Rapida 106 41" six-color 10-unit press with double coaters and UV. “We have formed a strong partnership with KBA over the last five years,” says Webb. “This unique large format press from KBA will provide us with an unprecedented level of speed and capacity and set us apart in the marketplace.” The 105-employee firm has earned the chain-of-custody certifications endorsed by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI), and the Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification Schemes (PEFC) as part of the company’s commitment to achieve its environmental initiatives. Meredith-Webb also earned the G7 Master qualification, the “seal of approval” from the IDEAlliance as a G7 Master Printer, which proves that the firm possesses the technology and tools to consistently deliver the highest quality printing in the world, based on the most stringent international standards. Introducing the newly redesigned mPOWER™ i-SERIES CAD design and prepress in the same location, we have built a company that is committed to providing the fastest speed-to-market service in the industry. Flexibility of four different press sizes from 41" YOU ASKED, WE LISTENED! • New and improved design • Enhanced performance and stability • Industrial grade quality • New network and rip automated features SEE OUR PRINTER IN ACTION AT SEPT. 13–16 | CHICAGO, IL | BOOTH # 660 ↘ anajet.com ↘ 855.863.1638 Meredith-Webb Invests and Differentiates With New KBA Rapida 205 81" Press In October 2015, Meredith-Webb Printing Company, a Burlington, NC printer, will be installing a new KBA (Booth 213) Rapida 205 81" six-color press, its fourth KBA press in five years. Due to customer demand and strong growth, the firm has invested more than $9 million to bring this first-of-its-kind offset press and auxiliary equipment to North Carolina. This purchase represents a combined press equipment investment with KBA North America of more than $20 million over the past five years as part of a company-wide effort to add capacity. “We’re eagerly anticipating the arrival of this giant 81" press from KBA,” says Kelly Webb, Executive Vice President at Meredith-Webb. “Currently, our company’s capabilities are limited to printing products up to 65". Our new Rapida 205 press will have the capability of printing display and packaging graphics for the corrugated industry, point-of-sale signage for the retail environment, and sublimation materials for the garment and fashion industries. With six colors and inter-station drying combined with end-of-press aqueous/UV coating capabilities, we plan to introduce our unique printing capabilities to an even larger portion of the sheetfed market. Our existing and potential customer base is excited to have Meredith-Webb’s high-end graphics and coating capabilities at a much larger sheet size.” “We are excited to combine the new press with our in-house sheeting, finishing, direct mail, fulfillment, and logistical capabilities,” says G. Travers Webb, III, President. “With Inkjet in the In-Plant World Bank’s in-house print facility features new HP production inkjet and SHunkeler finishing installations ix months ago, at the inaugural JetComm user group held in conjunction with DscoopX, attendees had the opportunity to tour the World Bank Group’s (WBG) print production facility in Landover, MD. WBG added an HP (Booth 1202) T230 Color Inkjet Web Press in 2013 and has saved about 20% in costs while capturing work it previously could not handle in house, notes InfoTrends Group Director Barb Pellow. With the installation of its HP T230 and nearline finishing from Standard Horizon and Hunkeler, the team at WBG can handle up to 250,000 page run lengths with a 24-hour turnaround, according to Pat McGrew, Inkjet Evangelist for HP Inkjet High-speed Production Solutions. The speed of the new press means that book production that used to take eight hours can now be completed in just 40 minutes. Today the print team has the first “right of refusal” for any print job required by the World Bank. According to Jimmy Vainstein, Senior Project Manager, “Our move to production inkjet has positioned us for continued growth. We can now produce longer runs, a broader array of applications, and have added significant value to our Bank Group clients.” To the summit At the third annual Inkjet Summit, organized by nGage Events and NAPCO Media, a dozen in-plant managers were among the 100 or so printers in attendance, including representatives from Yale University, Briggs & Stratton, Pennsylvania State-University, OGE Energy, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Louisiana, Transamerica Life & Protection, Washington State University, Fidelity Investments, Urban Lending Solutions, U.S. Bank, the LDS Church, and the University of Texas at Austin. Technology advances and substrate improvements in recent years have led to a steady increase in inkjet press users; already 390 billion pages have been printed on inkjet presses, proclaimed Conference Chair Marco Boer, VP of IT Strategies. “There’s probably no better market to be in than this production inkjet market,” Boer told the packed auditorium in his opening keynote. In 2014 alone, he said, 164 billion pages were printed on inkjet presses. Boer noted that R&D investments in inkjet have been substantial—more than $10 billion since 2008—resulting in very reliable presses. Printhead life now averages 18 months and substrate options have blossomed over the past few years. He did note that ink prices are unlikely to decrease dramatically due to high development cost and a lack of economies of scale, since production inkjet accounts for a mere 0.001% of the ink market. But he expected inkjet treated paper to reach price parity with offset paper in four or five years. One In-Plant Manager, Brett Birky, of Urban Lending Solutions, recounted how his company decided to stop using outside print vendors, add inkjet presses and bring all printing in-house. The company built a 25,000 sqft production facility near the Denver International Airport, where it installed two Ricoh (Booth 1231) InfoPrint 5000 GP inkjet presses. Running 24 hours a day, seven days a week, the in-plant now prints 1.8 million inkjet pages a day. Official Show Daily | PrintingNews.com GRAPH EXPO | September 16, 2015 | 53
GraphExpo Show Daily September 16, 2015
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