Many things have caught my eye in today's issue of PrintWeek, and apart from the sparkling editorial content and sharp new-look, it was a welcome boost to see so many adverts and indeed advertising spreads.

For a moment I felt like I had travelled back in time to the days of more plentiful promotional budgets (Ipex 98, Drupa 2000...). It goes without saying that we wordsmiths can't exist without the support of our commercial partners, so thanks, we really do appreciate it.

An ad spread certainly makes an impact, and I found myself drawn to some relatively small type on the KBA advertisement for its upcoming B2 open house in Dresden. The type in question says "from £5,995 pcm*" with an arrow pointing at a Rapida 75E. At the delivery end of the press we learn that web-to-print is in the package, too.

I haven't had time to trawl the entire PrintWeek archive in order to check, but I think this could be a first. This sort of monthly finance deal is of course familiar in the world of cars, sofas, or domestic appliances. And in our industry I recall similar options for smaller bits of finishing kit and digital presses. But I don't think I've seen anything so upfront attached to a more major piece of capex like a press.

There's some small print attached, of course, as the asterisk indicates. But not much.  

All-in-all it looks like a pretty smart idea, and a neat way for KBA to make a very public point about the [potential] affordability of the press. I imagine a printer or two will have their calculator out as a result.