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

Web Offset | Italy
The slim-line Compacta 818 is custom-configured for D’Auria’s production requirements
D’Auria Printing, Italy
Taking the high(-volume) road
with slim-line Compacta 818
When D’Auria Printing Group in Sant’Egidio alla Vibrata set out to raise its corporate profile in Italy’s fiercely
competitive high-volume commercial market, the press type and configuration it chose were anything but run-ofthe-mill.
The Darfin Partecipazioni subsidiary opted for a slim-line 64pp Compacta 818 with a maximum web width
of 1,680mm (66.14in) instead of the customary 1,905mm (75in). The new press rolled into action last September
and has fulfilled all expectations.
D’Auria Printing Group’s headquarters in Sant’Egidio alla Vibrata has over 12,000m 2
of production space
32 Report 36 | 2010
D’Auria Printing’s entry into
the high-volume league of
commercial printers at a time
when the Italian economy was reeling
from the global crisis was a bold
decision. In addition to the 48pp
and 56pp copies that dominate
D’Auria’s production schedule the
new 90,000cph double-circumference
press can print 64pp copies
with an untrimmed page format of
210 x 299mm (8.25 x 11.77in).
In opting for the Compacta
818, managing director Dr Cristiano
D’Auria continued an association
with Koenig & Bauer dating
back to the installation of a sheetfed
press in 1998. The choice of press
also reflected the firm’s unwavering
focus on customer-oriented growth:
“Just as in 2006, when we moved
into web offset with a 16-page
Compacta 215, our objective was to
signal to our customers that we
are aiming to expand our portfolio
while enhancing performance and
service on an ongoing basis.”
D’Auria Printing’s production
plant on the Destra Tronto industrial
estate has been steadily expanded
to its present capacity of
more than 12,000m²(130,000ft²).
Opting for the happy medium
Production manager Iolando De
Luca says: “We started planning the
next step in our development in
2008, just before Drupa. Initially
we were contemplating a 48-page
web press because a 32-page press
would have been too small and a
standard 64-page press would have
The Compacta 215 installed in 2006 is also embedded in the KBA Patras A automated
reel-logistics system