A new Koenig & Bauer Rapida 164 64-inch eight-color press with coating will be installed later this year at Huston Patterson’s 110,000 sq ft Decatur, Illinois facility. Huston Patterson specializes in providing offset and digitally printed top sheets and litho labels to the corrugated industry. The new press will provide additional capacity and boost capabilities, especially for the growing specialty coating market, and further fast-turnaround and flexibility. It will be installed alongside the firm’s existing Koenig & Bauer 64-inch seven-color with UV, 64-inch six-color, and 56-inch six-color as well as the Rapida 105 40-inch seven-color UV press at Sigma Graphics.
For added flexibility and speed, Huston Patterson specified the new Rapida 164 with UV and sidelay-free infeed DriveTronic SIS technology. The latter automatically aligns every single sheet calmly and effortlessly. With an additional press having UV capability, Huston Patterson can provide quicker turn times with fast instant cure UV drying as well as the flexibility to utilize those specialty value-added coatings, such as strike through, spot, soft touch, and gloss.
“The name of the game in our industry is to stand out on a store shelf,” said Joseph Morelli, Huston Patterson Vice President of Sales and Marketing. “We want to provide our clients with that ‘wow’ factor. If you’re going up against high quality well known brands, the way to get attention is to use specialty coating effects to draw a consumer’s eye to your products.”
An important capability is Huston Patterson’s ability to match its client’s specific brand colors on its printed jobs. The firm has achieved G7 Master Printer status in utilizing its technology from proof to press. Its clients benefit in cost savings, efficiency, and the reliability and quality in the best color management methods. The new Rapida 164 is equipped with QualiTronic ColorControl, a technology that utilizes a camera system installed after the last printing or coating unit and permits automatic measurements of optical density in the freshly printed color bars. These measurement values serve as a basis for fast dynamic inline control of the ink key settings.
Left to right: Zach Kowa, Director of Post Press Operations; Joseph R. Morelli, Vice President of Sales and Marketing; and Tonya S. Kowa-Morelli, President
