KBA – set to install 11 digital imprinting systems at Axel Springer contractors – is strutting a track record with the technology going back to 1995.

That was the year the German press maker ran imprinting heads on an Express press at DRUPA, papering a wall of its stand with variable data samples – each front page with a different cartoon, printed at slightly reduced speed. The inkjet heads came from Scitex Digital Printing, the pioneer company subsequently acquired by Kodak to become its Versamark division.

Now KBA is installing Kodak’s Prosper S30 heads – which can print at up to 15 metres per second at 600 x 200 dpi resolution – using experience gained over the years. These include optimum positioning of printheads in the superstructure, the exact clearance between print heads and paper web, and precise setting of the web tension and cut-off register.

The company says retrofitting inkjet brings interesting new possibilities for users of older newspaper presses with low levels of automation and long makeready processes. “While many older KBA Journal, Colora, Express and Commander presses are still delivering good print quality in production all over the world, they are often unable to keep pace with today's demands in respect of makeready for ever smaller part editions,” says a spokesman.

“With inkjet imprinting, it becomes possible to produce title pages with corresponding regional headlines and content indexes both flexibly and without additional waste.” Frequently changing regional sections – in the majority of cases no more than four to six pages in part editions of 1000 to 10,000 copies – could be printed parallel to the main production on a high-volume inkjet web press such as KBA’s new RotaJet 76.

KBA’s press retrofit system integrates the Kodak components into the press superstructure with a camera for register control and a motor-adjusted crossbeam for exact positioning of the print head unit relative to the paper web. . Two or more print heads can be fitted to cater for a larger imprint area or higher production speeds.

The complete system is installed and commissioned by KBA with console integration available as an option.

At the Axel Springer contractor sites, 11 Prosper inkjet systems are being installed on KBA presses at seven locations in Germany, with completed set for mid-year.

Pictured: A crossbeam supports a single-head Kodak Prosper S30 inkjet imprinting system and cameras in the superstructure of a KBA offset press