When the next generation Koenig & Bauer Rapida 145 eight-color press plus coater arrived on the pressroom floor at Calumet Carton, the South Holland, IL manufacturer fulfilled one of its primary goals to continually reinvest in today’s most modern state-of-the-art equipment for its valued well-known customers.
“We are proud to be operating this next generation offset press from Koenig & Bauer,” says Gina Inwood, vice president, Calumet Carton. “In today’s competitive marketplace, we need to provide the utmost speed, automation, and efficiency for our packaging customers, allowing them to offer color consistent eye-popping packaging within tight deadlines. This press, one of the first in North America, sets us apart from our competition, creating additional opportunities and offering lightning-fast production speeds.”
Calumet’s management team – in close partnership with Koenig & Bauer – ensured that the new Rapida is configured with features for fast job changeovers and non-stop production. Its patented Koenig & Bauer sidelay-free infeed DriveTronic Sensoric Infeed System maintains maximum print speeds throughout the entire run.
The new Rapida 145 is designed to meet Calumet’s ultra-fast turnaround and short makeready times with the most advanced systems. These include fully automatic plate changers, CleanTronic Multi washing system, and DriveTronic SRW for simultaneous roller washing for unused printing units while the press is in production mode.
To ensure the highest accuracy of color reproducation and register for its packaging customers, Calumet’s Rapida 145 is equipped with built-in color and register management technology, including ErgoTronic Color Control, ErgoTronic LAB, and ErgoTonic Color Check, all that deliver robust, consistent color results more efficiently with a higher level of automation. ErgoTronic ICR (Integrated Camera Register) also plays a key role in providing automatic register measurement from the ErgoTronic Central Command Console. Of key importance is that the press is equipped with the Qualitronic Inline Color Control feature, which utilizes an inline camera for complete color measurement of each and every sheet for a closed loop system.
Calumet’s press operators are pleased with the Rapida’s enhanced automation including a wall screen for control and visualization of all press processes. The operators additionally appreciate the Rapida’s feeder and delivery equipped with a complete automated logistics system that provides a fully automated production environment for the fastest job throughput.
“This Koenig & Bauer offset press is an exciting addition to our pressroom,” says Inwood. “It will be operating at the highest level of automation, providing the utmost performance to make us more efficient, delivering the highest print quality, with the lowest makeready times, for fast job turnarounds. We chose Koenig & Bauer because it is the market leader in large-format presses. The Rapida 145 is the industry benchmark in its format with its high production speeds, innovative automation, and precise inline quality control systems.”
Steve Korn, Director of National and Key Accounts, Koenig & Bauer, adds, “This new generation Rapida 145 press investment made by Calumet Carton signals that one of the Midwest’s largest independent packaging printers in the U.S. has chosen to once again invest with Koenig & Bauer to provide access to higher technology for its existing and growing roster of clients. We are most appreciative of the strong partnership that we have forged together with Calumet Carton and the Inwood family over the years as we worked together closely on this important capital investment project. We congratulate Calumet Carton and the Inwood family and their entire team on what they have accomplished, their remarkable growth in sales, and most importantly on their extremely talented production team who focus on customer satisfaction each and every day. The new Rapida 145 press will efficiently drive more jobs and volume through Calumet Carton production facilities, thus supporting their ongoing growth.”
