Dobruška / Cape Town / Fineline Print Solutions in Cape Town is making news by being the first printer in Africa to install a KBA Performa 74 half-size press.

Jeff Cullis and Gary Lawrence are delighted with the new KBA Performa half-size press, and equally pleased with the service received from Thunderbolt's Cape Town office.

It was earlier this year that we reported on the company's major investment in a Luxel V-6 platesetter (Graphix, Jan06, p8). Now the company has ventured more capital -- this time investing in a brand-new KBA Performa 74 four-colour press, the first such press to be installed in South Africa. Indeed it is the first such press installed in Africa (the second is in Algeria). Established in Maitland, Cape Town, in 1989, Fineline Print Solutions focuses primarily on the short-run, high-quality offset litho market.Partners, Jeff Cullis and Gary Lawrence, explain that the new press has replaced two older presses (both two-colour Heidelberg 74s), considerably enhancing the company's capabilities. Additionally the new press complements another smaller-format Heidelberg Speedmaster 52 four-colour press.The Performa 74 -- produced by KBA subsidiary KBA-Graphitec in the Czech Republic -- offers excellent print quality (to FOGRA standards) and is suitable for printers such as Fineline, handling a variety of commercial and packaging work. In fact, packaging is one area that Jeff Cullis sees as a growth area for Fineline, following the installation of this new press.

'Thanks to its versatility, and its double cylinder, we can print anything from very thin stock up to 400g/m² board, which means we can address the sizeable B2 commercial market as well as the folding carton market,' Cullis confirms.This half-size machine, Lawrence maintains, puts the company on to a far more competitive footing; at the same time offering existing customers more options. 'Previously we were limited to A2 size. Now we can target the B2 market for both short and medium run work.'

The Performa 74 -- which can be configured with up to six printing units plus optional anilox coater with extension -- has a sheet format of 520 x 740mm, with a maximum output of 13 000 sheets/hour, and Fineline's press is also configured with a high-pile delivery system. It also features automatic washing and remote inking control, semi-automatic plate change, and integration into Fineline's CIP4 workflow. The new press ideally complements the new platesetter which offers B2, four-up plates. Additionally pleasing for Fineline's partners is its easy integration with the recently-installed CTP system, which means the ink profiles are set and make-ready is fast and easy.

By focusing on print quality, overall productivity and ease of operation, the KBA Performa 74 has been created as a budget-priced press suitable for a wide variety of print operations, from commercial and packaging to trade and fine art reproduction. Having fast makeready and a superb print quality, it has all the automation required to take Fineline into new markets.'It's a very high-tech machine,' confirms Gary Lawrence.

The Performa 74, manufactured by KBA-Grafitec, is an affordable tool for the mid-range market and completes KBA's innovative product portfolio in B2 format with the Rapida 74, Rapida 74 G (Gravuflow) and the DI press 74 Karat.

Great backing from Germany

'We decided to buy this particular press not only for its technology, but also because of the great backing we received from both KBA in Germany and from Thunderbolt locally. Another factor swaying our purchase decision was the fact that Thunderbolt is a fully BEE compliant company which, in turn, helps our own BEE rating.'A trip to KBA in Germany last October -- accompanied by Thunderbolt's Stuart Ridley -- led to the decision to purchase the Performa 74. Once the order was signed in December, it was an incredibly fast process to get the press up and running.

Although it was supposed to arrive in April, it actually arrived in Cape Town in February. Installation took just one week, and another week was spent on training; and then the new press swung into action. 'It was a fantastically smooth process,' comments Lawrence. 'Even the training was carried out on actual production work, so we lost hardly any time,' he adds, noting enormous help in this sphere from Thunderbolt's Des Oliver. 'It's already running a double shift,' he adds happily. The clear focus at Fineline is on fast turnaround times, and this is where the new press comes into its own. Although the accent is on short-run work, where Fineline has carved itself an enviable market niche, long-run work can now be increasingly offered, thanks to this new press.