CPCneutek Triples Production With New Koenig & Bauer Rapida 106 LED-UV Eight-Color Perfecting Press

As its customers seek increased brand awareness and maximum impact on store shelves, CPCneutek sought a new sheetfed press investment capable of delivering the highest quality, flexibility, and diversity to produce excellent commercial printing and packaging work that builds customer loyalty and captivates consumers. After careful evaluation, management made the key decision to select a new Koenig & Bauer Rapida 106 41-inch LED-UV eight-color perfector press for installation at its Grand Junction, CO location.

“Due to the diversity of our product mix, we needed a new press capable of handling fast changeovers—from commercial printing to heavy board substrates,” says Michael Antonucci, president of CPCneutek. “Since its installation, we’ve expanded production across a wide range of market segments and are now entering the synthetic and plastic markets. This investment is a direct response to our growing business, where clients demand shorter turnaround times along with the highest finishing quality. It is unlocking new opportunities for us and enabling productivity benchmarks.”

CPCneutek replaced two eight-color conventional perfecting presses with its new Koenig & Bauer Rapida 106 perfector. “When we ran our performance reports from the two presses [versus the Rapida], it was an easy decision for us to make,” says Antonucci. “We found that the new Rapida 106 press would outperform the two older presses combined 3 to 1.”

In the few short months of operation, the Rapida 106 has demonstrated a myriad of positive attributes, which include, much faster running speeds and ultra-fast change overs on all substrates, AI integration, Inline sheet inspection, real time performance reporting, and job planning software to maximize the firm’s throughput. All of these capabilities are enabling us to produce the widest array of printed products all on one press, notes Antonucci. But one of its fastest growing areas is embellishments. Prior to adding the Rapida press, CPCneutek produced many of its embellishments off-line; now it is capable of producing embellishments fully in-line.

While CPCneutek addressed many important industry trends in investing in its Rapida, the most significant advantage, according to Antonucci, is color repeatability. “In the folding carton space, our new Rapida press can scan and store all our PMS colors. For commercial work, the Rapida 106 produces exceptionally vibrant colors, particularly on matte or uncoated stocks, delivering results that rival our digital presses.”

“With the addition of our new Rapida 106, we’ve clearly elevated our position in the market,” says Antonucci. “We recognize Koenig & Bauer as the top tier press manufacturer, but after evaluating other options, our most decisive factors for choosing Koenig & Bauer were its service and its role as a trusted advisor. Their management team truly went the extra mile to earn our business. We believe this investment represents an important step forward in our ongoing commitment to quality, efficiency, and innovation.”