Platinum Press, Inc. (PPI) – a leading provider of printed packaging solutions for the pharmaceutical, natural health and consumer products industries specializing in labels, folding cartons, leaflets, foil lidding and flexible packaging – has commenced large-scale production runs on two new Rapida 106 X Printing Presses from prominent equipment provider Koenig & Bauer. Now fully integrated into the company’s recently expanded, 220,000-square-foot facility in Fort Worth, Texas, the state-of-the-art perfector presses are among the first two of their kind operating in the United States.
Capable of running an exceptionally wide variety of materials – from 24# leaflet stock to 32-point carton stock – the Rapida 106 X presses can produce up to 18,000 sheets per hour, making them the fastest, most efficient in their category. To accommodate comparably dense carton printing jobs, Platinum Press has raised its eight-color Rapida several feet off the ground for streamlined end-of-line handling.
Both presses offer several standout attributes. For starters, both feature a 100% vision inspection system that scans both sides of each printed sheet in real-time, to detect even the slightest printing defect. This enables automatic rejection that prevents out-of-spec materials from progressing downstream – a safeguard that significantly diminishes chances for human error, and supports the heightened quality control demanded in the pharmaceuticals and medical device segments.
The presses’ cold foil capabilities are equally impressive. A refreshing departure from conventional “blanket” application, the Rapida 106 X employs a next-generation digital process for precision foil placement and dramatically reduced material use. The result is bespoke metallic embellishments without the elevated cost and carbon footprint of full-surface foiling. The cold foil system’s digital technology also reduces setup times, further mitigating cost and energy.
Of course, the presses’ cornerstone is a marriage of throughput speed and printing precision. Both feature exacting QualiTronic ColorControl and QualiTronic PDFCheck systems for on-press, automated color measurement and correction, helping ensure consistency across even large-volume runs. These in-line, real-time tools maintain brand persistence, help guarantee regulatory compliance, and minimize downstream waste – all without slowing down production.
Roll-fed to prevent sheet misfeeds, the Rapida 106 X boasts a seven-minute changeover that makes it suitable for short, customized runs as well as lengthy robust ones; to maximize efficiency, setup is streamlined through a DriveTronic SIS sensoric infeed system yielding sidelay-free sheet alignment and fully automatic plate changes. For printed assets requiring coating, the Rapida 106 X presses feature coater units with automated changes, affording diverse finishing options and enhanced visual appeal.
Notably, the Rapida 106 X is utilized to produce all U.S. paper currency and over 90% of the world’s banknotes, underscoring its unsurpassed precision and reliability.
“As we continue to expand capacity and extend our capabilities across several product categories, our two newly minted Rapida 106 X presses help us deliver high-quality, secure, and efficient printing solutions,” said Andrew Vale, Vice President of Platinum Press. “For our pharma, med device and healthcare customers, the presses reaffirm and bolster our commitments to superior print products, expedient delivery times, and cutting-edge, future-ready technology.”
