KBA Sheetfed Solutions, a business unit of the Koenig & Bauer Group (KBA), and Xerox have announced a partnership to develop an industrial digital sheetfed press for the folding carton market and this has brought about the launch of new first-of-its-kind modular hybrid press VariJET 106, designed for folding carton printers that integrates KBA Rapida platform and Xerox inkjet technology.
The KBA VariJET 106 Powered by Xerox integrates Xerox Impika inkjet technology into the KBA Rapida 106 press platform. The modular KBA VariJET will permit the combination of conventional printing and finishing technologies with digital inkjet printing in a hybrid press. It can be configured with up to seven inkjet colors and it offers print speeds of up to 4,500 sph in 29.5 x 41.7 inches at 1,400 dpi per hour. Its modular concept enables the combination of digital inkjet printing with optional in-line capabilities such as printing units, coating, cold foil application, rotary die-cutting, creasing and perforating.
Digitally printed packaging worldwide will grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of roughly 16 percent between 2015 and 2020. Within that, digitally printed folding cartons will see a CAGR of 40 percent1. The KBA VariJET 106 Press brings the benefits of digital printing such as running multiple versions of the same carton as well as customized cartons, opening up new business opportunities for industrial production printers. Wide format cartons, for items like cosmetics, food and pharmaceutical products, until now has relied on traditional analog offset production printing.
