Koenig & Bauer Live launch of new B1 Rapida 106

Koenig & Bauer renews commitment to drupa 2021

By
Naresh Khanna
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The 20,000 sheets an hour Rapida 106 x press unveiled at the Koenig & Bauer Live virtual event.
The 20,000 sheets an hour Rapida 106 x press unveiled at the Koenig & Bauer Live virtual event.

In its ongoing Koenig & Bauer Live event coinciding with the original dates for drupa 2020, the company has unveiled a new B1 press for the packaging and commercial markets, the Rapida 106 X. The K&B event is part of a series of virtual events that we are calling the zen drupa. The K&B Live streaming is showing and discussing the press K&B would have demonstrated at the postponed event. While the company has unveiled several products and technologies each working day last week and this week, it has also emphatically stated that it would take part in drupa 2021 on the new dates next June.

The Rapida 106 X was shown in a 7-color with double coater and an extra print unit configuration for packaging production earlier this week — a configuration that is becoming increasingly popular in monocarton packaging. An 8-color perfector with coater, for the commercial market, will be shown at the K&B Live event on Thursday, 25 June 2020. The Live events are at most 20 minutes and held three times a day, once in German and twice in English. 

Rapida 106 X presses on sale from November

Both the Rapida 106 X presses will be on general sale from November. Koenig & Bauer says the new 106 X press is a fresh development from the ground up, with a rated speed of 20,000 sheets an hour, claiming it to be the “The fastest packaging sheetfed press on the market.” The automation is claimed to save 25 minutes for each job change and make-ready.

The Job Optimizer software connects the printer’s MIS systems with the Koenig & Bauer Logotronic press management system, managing to tweak yet more efficiencies out of the make-ready process. The new Rapida 106 X accepts unbent plates, doing away with another step in pre-press, and its simultaneous roller wash works for UV inks as well as conventional inks. Inks can be changed in less than two minutes, thanks to upgraded ink ducts.

The Rapida 106 X has a new black and grey design with side panels made of illuminated glass. There are a new touchscreen operating panel and a press status display panel at the delivery end. An app for mobile devices gives details on the current job and the next in line. There is a new cold foil module with more efficient foil saving technology.

The KBA Live stream will show the new Rapida 106 X for commercial applications today 25 June at 10 am (1:30 pm India time) 1 pm and 4 pm (7:30 pm India time). The 10 am and 4 pm live streams will be in English while the 1 pm stream is in German. Click here to register. https://www.koenig-bauer.com/en/live/

2023 promises an interesting ride for print in India

Indian Printer and Publisher founded in 1979 is the oldest B2B trade publication in the multi-platform and multi-channel IPPGroup. While the print and packaging industries have been resilient in the past 33 months since the pandemic lockdown of 25 March 2020, the commercial printing and newspaper industries have yet to recover their pre-Covid trajectory.

The fragmented commercial printing industry faces substantial challenges as does the newspaper industry. While digital short-run printing and the signage industry seem to be recovering a bit faster, ultimately their growth will also be moderated by the progress of the overall economy. On the other hand book printing exports are doing well but they too face several supply-chain and logistics challenges.

The price of publication papers including newsprint has been high in the past year while availability is diminished by several mills shutting down their publication paper and newsprint machines in the past four years. Indian paper mills are also exporting many types of paper and have raised prices for Indian printers. To some extent, this has helped in the recovery of the digital printing industry with its on-demand short-run and low-wastage paradigm.

Ultimately digital print and other digital channels will help print grow in a country where we are still far behind in our paper and print consumption and where digital is a leapfrog technology that will only increase the demand for print in the foreseeable future. For instance, there is no alternative to a rise in textbook consumption but this segment will only reach normality in the next financial year beginning on 1 April 2023.

Thus while the new normal is a moving target and many commercial printers look to diversification, we believe that our target audiences may shift and change. Like them, we will also have to adapt with agility to keep up with their business and technical information needs.

Our 2023 media kit is ready, and it is the right time to take stock and reconnect with your potential markets and customers. Print is the glue for the growth of liberal education, new industry, and an emerging economy. We seek your participation in what promises to be an interesting ride.

– Naresh Khanna

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