Santa Ana, California based Foster Printing, a large format trade packaging printer, announced investments in a new Koenig & Bauer Allpro 145 folder gluer and a Koenig & Bauer iPress 145 K PRO blanking die cutter to expand its capabilities into finishing for the folding carton market.
Foster’s corrugated finishers, mid-format printers, brokers, and print buyers look to the company as a one-stop-shop for their folding carton orders. After seeing a live demonstration at a Koenig & Bauer Dallas open house, the Southern California printer chose to the two new machines, which will be delivered in the spring of 2024.
Higher speeds, faster turnaround, extra capacity, versatility, and more efficiency are the capabilities that Foster anticipates it will gain.
Foster’s team was impressed with the versatility of the iPress to die-cut several types of substrates including paper, plastic, board and corrugated material. Kris Blackburn, Foster’s Vice President of Sales, says this will allow Foster to support its customers packaging needs to whatever extent they need and what its new equipment can handle. “All of our equipment in-house has newer automated technology, which allows for higher run speeds and to finish larger runs at a quicker pace,” he said.
“We have clients who have been pushing us to add post press equipment to become a ‘one-stop-shop’ in which we can print, die-cut, fold, glue, and finish their folding carton job all at our 46,000-square-foot facility in Santa Ana. We also service customers who have finishing capabilities on the corrugated side and now on the folding carton side. With our new equipment, we can be an asset to them and their overflow work. It’s an exciting time for us to open the door to a whole new market and to have the ability to print and finish in-house.”