Greg Smith, who is operating Printed Specialties, a successful $14m folding carton printing company in Carrollton, GA, places a high premium on speed and quality. That is why he chose a Koenig & Bauer Rapida 106 six-color plus coater for his pressroom.
“One of our biggest goals was to enhance reliability and uptime, decrease waste, and increase quality and capacity,” says Smith. “Koenig & Bauer invited us for a press demo to print some of our toughest jobs using files that give our current press a hard-to-impossible time to complete. The Rapida 106 ran these jobs with fantastic quality. We were impressed with the inline quality inspections, the measurements, and the data collection features that are very important to us and our customers.”
Greg Smith, center, along with the brew crew team, is proud of his CMYK beers and his new Koenig & Bauer Rapida 106 six-color plus coater press.
Printed Specialties specializes in UV printing of high-value folding cartons for industries like retail, food, beverages, and healthcare. Its services range from package design and UV printing to specialty coatings, foil stamping, embossing, die-cutting, assembly, fulfillment, and more. About 98% of the company’s work is package printing, Customer demand is rising for unique packaging involving foil and foil boards. While the company’s current press is equipped with UV and it runs quite a bit of foil board, Smith would like to pursue cold foil. Purchasing the Koenig & Bauer press gives the firm a solid foundation to add that special capability down the line.
Smith estimates that the new Koenig & Bauer Rapida will add 50% to capacity, in which two current presses will be replaced with the speed and quality of the new Rapida. By increasing capacity, they will be better able to utilize existing finishing equipment, thus reducing lead times.
“Being a small company, it’s important to find vendors that align with your own values,” says Smith, who can trace his printing roots back to his great grandfather’s Pennsylvania printing business 113 years ago. “For us, that is service, quality, and accountability. When we got serious about purchasing a new press, I saw and felt the commitment from Koenig & Bauer to us, it felt that we were going to mean something beyond just a sale. Koenig & Bauer secured our business because they showed me that they cared about who we are and that we were important to them.”
As the converter enters its 43rd year, Smith remains committed to his grandfather’s emphasis on passion. “We take our job very seriously and partner with our customers,” he says. “We love to help them succeed in their packaging projects. We are passionate about doing great work for great brands. And that’s what helps to set us apart.”
