Koenig & Bauer Grows Commercial Print Market Share With Unique Presses

Custom configurations, diverse substrate packages, and flexible drying solutions allow printers to thrive

• Koenig & Bauer displays strong, dedicated commitment to the commercial printing market
• High growth in custom applications allow commercial printers to expand their portfolios
• Rapida presses offer innovative integrated smart software with automation and simultaneous systems to handle ultra-short runs to long runs

For more than 200 years, Koenig & Bauer has built a stellar reputation as the leading manufacturer of high-quality printing presses. Its extensive knowledge has allowed leading printers from segments such as commercial. envelope, label, litho laminate, and specialty markets to turn to Koenig & Bauer for the fastest, most automated machinery. In fact, more than 40% of its mid-sized presses are sold to these market segments.

“No matter what type of job mix your customer gives you, our Rapida presses allow you to say yes,” says Chris Travis, Director of Technology at Koenig & Bauer. “Our presses maximize the potential of any printer, providing them with dynamic solutions, and accelerating their business growth. Upon consultation with your team, our expert specialists can guide a company and determine which features and packages best suit their current and future needs. Our well-known commercial customers agree that Koenig & Bauer continues to demonstrate its strong and dedicated commitment to the commercial printing market.”

Koenig and Bauer’s time-honored philosophy is to not just build a printing press and sell it but rather consult directly with the customer and their complete organization to learn about the needs of their current customers while also focusing on their future vision as to potential new applications and markets. By investing in new technology, printers will improve their current efficiency and future-proof their capabilities to grow into new markets.

Commercial and specialty customers printing unique applications on a diverse range of substrates are being fueled by Koenig & Bauer’s technology that turns them into printing powerhouses.

Hederman Brothers, a commercial printer near Jackson, MS, is using its uniquely built Rapida 106 with LED lamps to process print and spot coat at 20,000 sph on all variations of paper stocks and substrates. “As a leading commercial printer in our region for more than a century, we are proud to have the Rapida 106 as our centerpiece,” says Doug Hederman, president and CEO of Hederman Brothers.

At Allied Printing Services, a leading commercial and packaging printer located in Manchester, CT, its newest Rapida 106 from Koenig & Bauer joined three additional six- and eight-color Rapida 41-inch presses last year. “All of our Rapida presses are running at 20,000 sph, the world’s fastest sheetfed press arsenal,” says John Sommers, president of CEO of Allied. “These presses and how we have specially configured them with their superior automation allow us to easily switch between commercial and packaging work on the fly.”

Kenmore Envelope, a premier leader in high-end direct mail that specializes in high-quality printing and converting envelopes, creates envelopes of all sizes from a variety of paper substrates decorated with specialty coatings, windows and other unique design elements. Kenmore is continually breaking production records with outstanding net throughput on its new Koenig & Bauer Rapida 106 LED-UV six-color press. “In today’s world, technology leads the way and our Rapida’s array is so impressive,” says Kristin Ogo, Chief Operating Officer at Kenmore. “We’ve addressed the need for speed and quick turnaround with DriveTronic SRW (simultaneous roller wash), which washes up PMS colors while the press is in operation. This allows us to run a new job while we are washing up the previous job at the exact same time. The roll to sheet feeder allows us to be more competitive on paper and feed the press from rolls or sheets. The color control system reads every sheet and controls color every tenth sheet. This allows us to secure consistent color for our clients from the first sheet to the last during production.”

Cedar Graphics, a high-end commercial printer located in Hiawatha, Iowa, uses its Koenig & Bauer Rapida 106 eight-color press for diverse jobs. “We are known for printing amazing products for innovative brands and creatives, as a result our customers are always looking for new substrates and pushing the envelope with eye-catching or tactile coatings and varnish combinations like soft touch, UV grit, or strike-throughs” says Justin McDonald, marketing solutions manager at Cedar Graphics. “We love partnering with these customers to experiment with these specialty substrates and unique coatings. Our new Koenig & Bauer press gives us the flexibility to easily move LED-UV lamps on press depending on these printing demands. This will help us to utilize all stock types including not only all common paper and board stocks, but also nonporous synthetic papers, foil laminated sheets and plastics. Having the ability to achieve faster makeready and less waste will reduce customer costs for these premium substrates and print effects.”

Leading printers seek out Koenig & Bauer for its prominent role as a custom press manufacturer that offers unique solutions and provides them with the flexibility of being able to print on the widest range of substrates. This yields untold benefits to printers of all sizes and ensures that they can continually grow their customer base by utilizing new drying packages and unique custom configurations.