Print Summit 2020: 151 years of KBA and still innovating

Recently, Albrecht Germann and Arndt Jentzsch, both former head designer in Würzburg and Radebeul, met in Radebeul again. Since they first met, 30 years ago, Koenig & Bauer Sheetfed has developed to one of the most important pillars of the company. Sascha Fischer, who is head of product management, at Koenig & Bauer Sheetfed AG, spoke about what the offset heavyweight is planning during the Drupa year during Print Summit 2020.

23 Jan 2020 | By Noel D'Cunha

Fischer highlighted technology which was trending at KBA in the past 12 months. This included new substrate packages mid format and in large format; VaryDry LED-UV dryers and new UV ink ducts; ErgoTronic AutoRun; QualiTronic Next Generation with PrintCheck and PDFCheck; unbent plates mid and soon large format; new plate changing times in all formats; optimised CX large format including new delivery; dryer and new production speeds; two-step activation of dampening unit; extended gamut printing; Rapida LiveApp family and QualiTronic SheetIdent and many more…

Sasha Fischer spoke about shorter makeready and higher speeds as well as safe processes plus less maintenance which has ensured productivity gains thanks to automation features like DriveTronic SPC plus inline coating facilities.

He said, with 149 days left, all eyes are on Drupa 2020. KBA's pre-Drupa event will be in Radebeul on 21 April, 2020. Drupa will be about live print shows and presentations with a focus on sheetfed offset technologies, full-process solutions for packaging production, innovative applications and digitalisation.

PrintWeek learnt from the KBA sources that for its growth offensive 2023, Koenig & Bauer is relying on innovative products such as the CI flexo printing press Evo XC which provides the customer with a measurable added value. Also at the prestigious pilot customer Klingele in Delmenhorst near Bremen, the production start of the CorruCUT for corrugated board printing and processing is in mid-November.

KBA trivia

  • Did you know that KBA's 30-m high bay warehouse in Würzburg has 54,000 storage places for parts up to 1-tonne?
  • The first issue of British daily newspaper The Times was printed using a Koenig & Bauer, steam-powered printing press, which could produce over a thousand un-perforated sheets per hour.
  • Did you know that in the 151-year history of KBA's on-site vocational school in Würzburg, 4,441 apprentices have completed their apprenticeship?
  • Three functions in one system. QualiTronic PDFCheck combines convenient inline colour control (QualiTronic ColorControl) with sheet inspection and the comparison of the sheets against the digital reference.
  • AniSleeve automates large-format anilox roller changes: the anilox roller sleeves of the Rapida 145 and Rapida 164 can be changed without tools in just two minutes to change the coating application quantity. All this can be done by a single operator.