Report 36 d,e,f,s,i.qxd:Report - KBA

Cutting-edge control technology makes life much easier for the press crew The Rapida 75’s compact footprint and low energy consumption make it the press of choice
for an increasing number of printers, both in western Europe and beyond
ida 75 perfector press in the town.
Says Arjan Vis: “We signed the contract
with Wifac in November
2008, when the crisis had already
broken. If we had to make a decision
today it would be no different.”
At that time Vis Offset employed
twelve staff, but this has since been
reduced to ten.
Daniel Vis explains: “A press operator
and a print finisher both
reached retirement age. We had
been printing on a mono press that
was almost twenty years old and on
a two-colour press that had served
us well for ten years or more. When
we came to take a closer look at our
order structure, we found that a
large proportion entailed two
passes, for recto and verso production.
Armed with this information
we set to work and came to the
conclusion that a four-colour press
with a perfecting capability would
be the best choice. In the end we
opted for the Rapida 75, largely because
what struck us particularly
about this press is that it can perfect
at maximum speed. Another
point in its favour is that job
changeovers are remarkably short
because the impression cylinders
and blankets can be washed simultaneously.”
Enhanced flexibility
Vis Offset generally runs just a day
shift, and management would like
to keep it that way. Says Arjan Vis:
Even though the print media are experiencing
a period of wrenching change, Vis Offset
management is confident that offset printing
has a promising future
“The Rapida prints up to 15,000
sheets per hour. But even more important
than its maximum speed is
the time required to prepare the
next job, and the speed with which
it runs up to colour. This is where
we save both time and waste. One
of our customers has his letterheads
printed with four PMS colours,
which means the press must be
cleaned as thoroughly yet as rapidly
as possible prior to impression. This
is one of the Rapida’s main
strengths, alongside extensive automation
with a CIP3 interface.”
But when a company replaces
two older presses with one single
new one, isn’t it taking a considerable
risk, like skating on thin ice?
Not unnaturally, the two cousins
devoted a great deal of thought to
this issue. “If a really serious problem
were to arise, we could always
turn to Wifac,” explains Daniel Vis.
“Much more important for us is the
enormous flexibility we have today,
which allows us to take on much
bigger contracts. An added advantage
is that the fast run-up to
saleable colour means there is very
little waste, so we can insert rush
jobs more easily into the production
schedule. Press operators don’t like
having to stop in the middle of one
job in order to do another, but with
the Rapida that’s no longer an
issue.”
Arjan Vis agrees: “Don’t forget
this press has twice the output of
the previous two combined. While
our sales figures have not yet doubled,
we have gained enormous
time savings. One press operator is
now doing the work of two.”
Holiday installation
Wifac and KBA’s specialist installation
team erected the Rapida during
the company’s summer break. “We
always close down for three weeks
in the summer. That may sound like
a luxury, but it means our staff can
take the number of days off that
they are legally entitled to, and we
have found that business is normally
slack at that time of year. The
old presses were dismantled and removed
on 17 July, and on 13 August
the Rapida printed its first job –
without a single hitch. Right from
the start we had complete confidence
that everything would run
smoothly. As a small-format offset
operation we were already well acquainted
with Wifac, and they have
never disappointed us.”
“Initially our press foreman
found that the Rapida 75 took some
getting used to – as soon as the machine
was up and running he had
virtually nothing more to do,” declares
Arjan Vis. “At times the press
crew still find this hard to believe,
but they are delighted with the Rapida’s
print quality. Regardless of
whether it is handling lightweight
paper or heavier grades, the results
are immaculate. On top of this its
ease of operation and practical level
of automation, with semi-automatic
plate changing and washing, save
our operators a lot of work. They
also reduce our consumption of
fount solution and cleaning cloths.”
Vis is a dedicated offset printer
and has no intention of changing.
“We print jobs for customers from
all over the country. I cannot believe
that a market with annual sales
worth 7.5 billion euros is in danger
of vanishing at a stroke. While we
are obviously aware of a shift towards
the internet and digital print
production, we certainly do not see
ourselves as the last of the Mohicans.
Our investment in the Rapida
75 is an investment in our future.”
Leon van Velzen
luc.van.den.boomen@wifac.nl
Report 36 | 2010 13