Australian converter brings printing in-house with KBA Rapida 105 investment

The sheet-fed offset press features an in-line coating tower and full equipment for UV production, and is raised on a 450mm plinth to accommodate higher piles. It can handle an enlarged sheet format of 78 x 105cm, multiple substrates and features in-line quality control with QualiTronic ColorControl.

Previously, Streamline Cartons has concentrated on the carton design, pre-press and conversion, with printing outsourced to local partners. As demand for finishing and product refinements increased, it became logical to bring the printing in-house, not least because that would also enable much quicker turnarounds. Streamline Cartons operations manager Joshua Harris explained: ‘We were finding that we also needed access to UV print and finishing. In this respect, the configuration of the Rapida 105 we ordered is tailored specifically to the needs of our customers.’

Joshua Harris, operations manager at Streamline Cartons, added: ‘We have informed our customers that we will in future be able to offer direct printing onto microflute board up to 1.6 mm, for example, and that has certainly caught their interest. In the past, this was simply not possible and we had to laminate instead.’

To create space for the new press, Streamline Cartons has built additional high-rack storage for 160 pallets. The company is also looking at further finishing options.