Visy Glama – an amalgamation of six Visy specialty print, packaging and supply chain businesses – has commissioned what it claims to be the largest sheet fed offset press in the southern hemisphere. Carlos Martinez met with Geoff Laing, sales and business development manager for Visy Glama to find out what benefits accompanied the giant press
The $6m KBA 205 Rapida press, installed at the company’s Revesby facility in Sydney is able to print five colours as well as gloss and UV varnish and is equally capable of printing on plastic as it is on board and paper, according to the company.Visy Glama says the super large format printer can save its customers time and money by offering fast, high quality print solutions for point of purchase displays, posters, banners, signage and packaging.
Geoff Laing says Visy Glama was initially set up to supply packaging and point of sale printing to the Australian market, however the new KBA has added another dimension to the business, which is now moving in to large format commercial printing.
Laing says, “The press is diversifying the market for us and we are now stepping into the large format market, targeting outdoor advertising agencies as well as clients directly, to offer poster and banner printing.”
He continues, “The press prints to a maximum size of 2050 by 1500mm and has a quicker turnaround than a lot of our competition as well as an increased ability to print large format jobs in one sheet without cuts or joins.”
The Rapida is designed to run at speeds of 9,000 sheets per hour, with a short inking unit with just 16 rollers allowing for low wastage and short washing times. Visy Glama adds that the press also offers substrate flexibility, including a range of paper, board and metallised stocks from 0.1mm up to 1.2mm.
Laing continues that as well as the huge sheet size benefits include versatility of print surface that will enable the company to offer a lower cost alternative to existing large format print options.
He says, “Because the sheet size is so large, we can gang up jobs on to one sheet reducing cost and running time, which are savings we can pass on to the customer.” He adds, “The press has allowed us to differentiate ourselves from our competition and offer something that no one else can.”
Some of the major innovations on the Rapida 205 include inker declutching in every unit; automated make ready – including automatic plate changing, wash-up on blanket, plate and impression cylinders. According to Visy Glama, the press also has a complete UV system for printing on plastic and other specialty substrates.
The press also features a densotronic colour control system, which controls the ink density across the sheet, while the qualatronic colour control laser scans every sheet for consistency against the control sheet reducing print times.
The combination of these control systems reduces make ready and production waste, cutting overall product cost, according to Visy Glama. Other benefits include a faster cycle time, more consistency with longer runs, single source fulfilment for total job control and a full lithographic print option with print at 300 dpi.
Visy Glama is a collaboration of six Visy Group businesses including Visy Displays, Visy Specialties, GlamaPak, Ace Print & Displays, P & I and MPC Quikpak, which was established in 2008 in order to offer creative services, print and supply chain solutions for retail marketing and packaging customers.
The company – which has an annual turnover of $70m and has four facilities located throughout NSW, Vic and Auckland – says the KBA investment will expand its market share with the move into the commercial print segment.
Laing says while much of the packaging and point of sale print work set to be run on the new press is being sourced from existing customers of Visy Glama or of the broader Visy Group, many of the new commercial printing customers have been sourced by Visy Glama’s sales team.
He says, “We have been doing the hard yards approaching the outdoor and advertising markets and we have so far had a fantastic response with a lot of people putting quotes in. Now we want to convert that interest into sales.” Laing continues that as a true, single source provider, Visy Glama can competently manage all requirements from conceptual design, through to manufacturing, fulfilment and distribution.
As well its print and manufacturing services Visy Glama includes a creative portfolio, which offers conceptual, graphic and structural design services, sampling, mock-ups and prototyping as well as high-end visuals.
The company also includes warehousing, fulfilment and distribution solution with a focus on packaging and POS for market activation programs.
The service features secure warehousing across Vic and NSW, fulfilment services including pick & pack, assembly, stock filling and bonded packaging, national and trans-Tasman distribution network, on-line ordering and real-time inventory management and sophisticated reporting and project management systems.
Laing says “We offer a truly one stop shop solution from manufacture to market and our goal is to be a dominant force and leader of all our concerning markets.”
