DALLAS , TEXAS—  Rapida sheetfed offset presses, those in the 3b format, are being configured with an increasing number of printing and finishing units. A combinations of printing, coating and drying units that would have been unthinkable in this form just a few years ago. All these presses are catering to the trend towards ever greater product refinement in the packaging industry. There is growing pressure to provide complex press solutions capable of printing exactly this type of highly finished products in a cost-effective process. A further objective in many cases is to use the printed and finished cartons as ecological primary packaging and to eliminate the need for additional plastic film materials. This trend has already become evident among the print companies that produce packaging for cigarettes for some years now. In the past, Koenig & Bauer has supplied sheetfed offset presses with 17, 18 or even 19 printing and finishing units and overall lengths of up to 35 metres for such special applications. And now other industry segments are also recognising the economic necessity of long, individually configured presses capable of handling a broad spectrum of inline product finishing.