I have approximately 3+ years experience working on a high speed 6 Color KBA 105. This printing press had an additional unit for aqueous coatings. We print anything from 1 page brochures to 6 color front and backs. Below is the some information on the company I worked at and their purchase of the KBA 105.

The Pond-Ekberg Company, a Chicopee, Mass. commercial printer and finisher, has installed a new KBA Rapida 105 41" six-color sheetfed press with inline aqueous coating. The new press, which was installed in early January, is equipped with semi-automatic plate changers, CIP3/4 digital interface, automatic blanket and roller washers along with the KBA closed loop spectrophotometry system.

"We purchased the new KBA Rapida 105 for a number of reasons," says Jonathan Kratovil, president of The Pond-Ekberg Company. ?First, we are using a Rapida sheetfed seven color perfector and we were pleased with the print quality and its performance. Second, our company is growing in many areas and for capacity reasons, we needed another press to fullfill that anticipated growth. Third, the Rapida offers a 41 1/2" sheet sizeā€“that was an enormous selling point for our sales and marketing staff. We presently have established a 24 x 41" print market and we use our Rapida presses to print edge to edge on many types of stocks. The Rapida 105 also offers us the capability of a markless sheet transfer with full sheet ink coverage without streaking or marking issues.?

"While many of us suffered and felt the crunch of an economic slowdown in 2001, especially after 9/11, the decision was made to continue forward with the Rapida 105 purchase," says Kratovil. "We did not want to wait until the economy made a turnaround. We wanted an established head start on our competition and the expected economic turnaround." Kratovil was impressed by KBA's smooth installation of the new press. "KBA performed a flawless installation of the Rapida 105," he says. "They sent a factory representative from Germany who were directly responsible for building the press to oversee the installation. It was one of the best installations we've ever had."

Founded in 1918 by John Pond and Carl Ekberg as a small letterpress and typesetting shop, The Pond-Ekberg Company is a 70-employee privately-owned firm headquartered in a 52,000 sq ft facility. In addition to the new Rapida 105 41" and the Rapida 104 presses, it also has additional six-color 40" and coating capabilities along with a two-color 40" press and some smaller format presses. A third KBA Rapida sheetfed press, either another six or eight color with UV capabilities, is planned in the near future. The Massachusetts firm also has the distinction and reputation of having one of the largest and most diversified finishing operations in New England. The firm can foil stamp, emboss, die-cut, and thermo-cut on various stock sizes and substrates up to a 49" press sheet.

"We look forward to continuing our successful partnership with The Pond-Ekberg Company in their growing business," says Bob McKinney, director of marketing at KBA. "Our Rapida 105 will allow Pond-Ekberg to continue its rapid growth in the many areas of the commercial and specialty markets they serve."

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