Web Offset61_v8:WO61_00196_v8
Transcription
Web Offset61_v8:WO61_00196_v8
WEBOFFSET ENGLISH WEBOFF SET WEB FFSE M A G A Z I N E Doing Things Differently INM Newry Sets New Benchmarks Non-stop Book Printing Transcontinental DigiRail Digital Inking Available for Commercial Presses ISSUE 61 WEBOFFSET WEBOFF WEB FFSE SET New York Times Colorliner Press Project Underway Installation of a new 12-tower Colorliner® press is on schedule at The New York Times facility in College Point, New York, U.S.A. Meanwhile, Goss International crews completed web-width reductions on 14 presses for The New York Times, allowing the publisher to begin realizing cost savings ahead of schedule. Site work for the Colorliner press began in June, with 12 Goss® Contiweb FD™ pasters arriving shortly thereafter. The first of 48 printing units were shipped from Dover, New Hampshire, U.S.A. in early August. The new 85,000-copies-per-hour press will go into production in March. Conversion of units, folders, RTPs and upper structures from 54-inch to 48-inch (1220 mm) web widths on 14 existing Goss presses allowed The New York Times to launch a slimmer format nationwide in August. The Times projects annual savings of $10 million as a result of the new format. “Thanks to the excellent level of support and communications between New York Times personnel and the Goss International teams, we were able to seamlessly convert five presses at the College Point location and nine presses at other sites throughout the country that print regional editions,” confirms Greg Blue, senior vice president for Goss International. World News Newsliner press for Guangdong Guangdong China Sunshine Media Co. Ltd, a subsidiary of leading Chinese newspaper media group, Guangzhou Daily, has invested in a Goss Newsliner® press. The fourtower press will increase color and pagination capacity, and its flexible configuration has been selected to provide Guangzhou Daily with greater opportunities to produce a more diverse range of newspaper products, especially for the contract printing market. Sheetfed printer will add first web press A Goss Sunday™ 2000 system will be the first web press for Boyd Brothers, Inc. in Florida (U.S.A.). The four-unit press will be a major step for the company, according to Jim Boyd, Jr., president. “We have maximized our potential with our sheetfed operations, and web offset represents a natural opportunity to better serve new and existing customers,” he explains. The 24-page Goss press will be installed in a new facility in early 2008. Tom Bayer and Ed Young of Goss International presented the Goss Power of Innovation trophy to Jim Boyd, Jr. and Jim Boyd, Sr. to recognize the gapless Sunday press order ISSUE NO. SIXTY ONE WEBOFFSET WEBOFF SET WEB FFSE Doing Things Differently INM, Newry Sets New Benchmarks The new printing operation set up by Independent News & Media in Newry, Northern Ireland, is unusual in a number of respects and not just because it has installed the first Goss FPS™ press. British trade magazine Production Journal visited the facility this summer, as the final installation phase was in progress, and published an article including the following extracts. When we visited Newry this summer five INM titles were being produced. The main title being printed at night was the Irish Star which has a run of between 130,000 and 150,000, six days a week. The Sunday World with a run of about 250,000 was also being printed, plus two Community Telegraph local area free sheets with runs of around 80,000 copies each. Consequently, between February when the press was started up, and the time of our visit, the press had printed some 14 million copies. Over the summer, the plan was to finish installing the ‘added value’ systems on to the already installed three four-page wide towers. As Alan Lambert, production director at INM Newry, explains, “Due to the very short time we had to install the press, we had to go for the ‘bread and butter’ issues first. This meant getting the basic press installed, settled and printing. All of the added value automation which is going on the press has been installed gradually since. “We are now at the point where it is all complete except for the fine tuning of the Goss Automatic Web Lead and the semi automatic plate loading systems. Having said that, the access to the press and the individual operator lifts are so revolutionary that loading and unloading plates manually is extremely fast. It’s really quite easy because the access is excellent. For instance, we can strip off two sides of a tower and replate it in about 20 minutes.” As Alan Lambert explains, it was the winning of the News International contract for printing its newspapers at Alan Lambert, production director at INM, Newry INM’s Belfast plant that triggered the Newry project. As the Belfast Telegraph site had no spare capacity, it was decided to go for a new press on a site which would be close enough to provide back-up as well as be well situated for distributing newspapers to southern Ireland. “Needing another press, meant us being quite tight on time,” says Lambert. “Obviously, we had a number of proposals on the table but the FPS best suited what we needed to do to achieve the end result.” Lambert adds that two of the main reasons for choosing the FPS were the speed and the quality it could produce. “When Goss designed this press, they tried to take out many of the issues that newspaper producers have with traditional presses such as the different web tensions because some webs are turned and others are not. The distance between the print couples has also been lowered so there is negligible paper stretch and its more squat construction makes for a very rigid press. WEBOFFSET WEBOFF SET WEB FFSE The world’s first FPS press is now in full operation at INM, with three coldset towers and two heatset towers. “As a result, the print quality is commercial quality. It will print very fine line screen and the register is incredibly good, as is the inking power and color reproduction. The primary comment we get from everyone that has seen the press is that the quality of the coldset is second to none. It is also very repeatable. What I am basically saying is that we have a heatset quality press printing coldset, not the other way round.” Goss® Ecocool® dryers and integrated chill rolls and a second 2:5:5 jaw folder plus two more reel-stands with automatic loading to handle the larger reel sizes. “The quality of the inking power and register of the machine are equivalent to that of a commercial press. The reason we have installed dryers is that we also want to print lightweight coated stock. We can print 64-page products and fold, saddle stitch and trim them in one pass and without having to do any inserting,” affirms Lambert. Tackling taboos “As well as choosing the press for the high speed and high quality, Independent News & Media has a history of doing new things, taking on the usual taboos. We are trying to do that a bit here,” explains Lambert. This is obvious when it comes to phase two of the project. Due to be up and running this autumn, this will enable the plant to offer both coldset and heatset production since – in addition to the three four-page wide printing towers, a 2:5:5 jaw folder and three Contiweb FD™ reel-stands which are already up and running – there will also be two five-page wide printing towers with Interestingly, the two five-page towers with the dryers can be used for both heatset and coldset operation enabling, for example, coldset newspapers to be printed at night and heatset magazines during the day. At least initially, this will be achieved by having separate pipe systems for the heatset and coldset inks. “In our negotiations with Goss, we specified motorized automatic valves as close to the ink trays as possible and tied into the software at the press desk. This will enable us to automatically switch from hot to cold or vice versa, and the purging process and changeover time will be minimal.” Compact benefits Lambert goes on to say that, although it was not the primary factor, the fact that the press could be installed in an existing standard industrial building was one of its plus points: previously, the ten meter high, 45 meter wide and 105 meter long single-story building was used as a warehouse. “With a new Greenfield site, we would have had to go for planning permission, and that could have taken 18 months. We altered the building and installed the press in a third of that time.” He adds, “We have had our challenges but with such a fast installation of a press which is in fact brand new, you have to expect that. The real issue is how quickly your supplier addresses and eliminates them. Certainly, Goss has pulled off an incredible feat by installing the press in such a short amount of time including in harsh winter conditions. As a result, we have printed 14 million papers since 20 February.” Another reason for the speedy installation was very careful planning. “Every power cable and pipe was set out in the structural engineers’ ISSUE NO. SIXTY ONE WEBOFFSET WEBOFF WEB FFSE SET drawings,” explains Lambert. “In a project such as this, there is a critical path. If you do not start each event at the right time, whether it be the building negotiations, installing the electricity and gas, or putting down the concrete floor, any one of them can stop the project finishing on time. You really have to go back to basics and spend a lot of time at the front end making sure this will not happen. That is what we did and it has worked despite the tight deadlines.” Multi-tasking The Newry installation is not just interesting due to the FPS™. It also has some innovative and unusual working practices. Currently, there are 18 people working at the plant working two shifts, four days on and four days off. “We all work as a team,” explains Lambert. “Our primary philosophy is to be function based and have no lines of demarcation whatsoever. We all have primary roles and primary areas for which we are responsible but we have been very careful to make sure that the jobs are not just limited to those primary roles. Everybody helps out anywhere in the plant when necessary. “There is no line in the factory which says this is ours and that’s yours. It is all ours. So at the interviews, we told everybody upfront exactly what the job entailed, the multi-functions, multi-roles and multi-responsibilities, as well as about the opportunity for them to learn to cross platforms. “While skills were important, our primary concern is to have people with the right attitude. Everyone here is a valued part of the production team and has the opportunity to grow by mixing what they do.” World News Magnum press paying off in Las Vegas Following an increase in the number of weekly regional newspapers being produced in the Las Vegas area, Creel Printing has invested in a Goss Magnum® 4 press. Increasing demand for higher print quality and more efficient press performance across a wide range of products and formats are cited as the primary reason for the investment. Creel Printing also added Sunday™ 2000 presses in 2003 and 2005 and a Pacesetter® saddlestitcher in 2005. Allan Creel, Jr., president, Creel Printing Universal appeal at Punch The PUNCH (Nigeria) Ltd of Lagos, Nigeria, has selected a nine-tower Goss Universal® 75 press to increase its overall print capacity and to open up new business opportunities. The press will be installed by the end of 2007 in a new purpose-built plant 20 miles from the publisher’s existing facility and will be one of the largest single-width presses on the continent. WEBOFFSET WEBOFF WEB FFSE SET Quad/Graphics Selects Goss Finishing Systems Quad/Graphics will add six new high-productivity Pacesetter® 2500 saddlestitchers and Universalbinder® adhesive binders at facilities across the United States in the next 12 months. “We are investing continuously in finishing operations to give our customers the fastest and most efficient technology available as well as unique opportunities to add value to their printed products,” explains Bill Graushar, vice president of finishing at Quad/Graphics. “We have a longstanding history of working with Pacesetter and Universalbinder systems, and the organization behind them, to achieve industry leading reliability, net productivity and selective finishing capabilities.” Quad/Graphics has installed more than 100 Pacesetter and Universalbinder finishing systems since 1980. 40 horizontal or vertical hoppers it can be equipped with a new high-speed Goss flying trimmer or Ferag SNT-U trimmer and uses a dual stitcher. The new 25,000 books-per-hour Pacesetter 2500 saddlestitchers at Quad/Graphics will be configured with Ferag forwarding stations, UTR gripper conveyors and SNT-U drum trimmers. “The new Pacesetter model runs faster and is easier to operate,” confirms Graushar. He notes that being able to interchange independentlydriven hoppers quickly will present valuable makeready advantages. The Pacesetter 2500 saddlestitcher was introduced in 2006. The system features servo-driven components, including newly designed hoppers that are easy to reposition within a system or among multiple systems. Available with up to “Instead of reconfiguring fixed-position hoppers according to the sequence of each new job, we will be able to reposition hoppers that have already been set up for a specific type of signature, product or gimmick,” he concludes. Bill Graushar, center, vice president of finishing at Quad/Graphics, says Pacesetter technology provides speed, efficiency and opportunities to add value to printed products. He is shown with Goss International vice president Toby Clarke (left) and sales manager Andy Thomas. ISSUE NO. SIXTY ONE WEBOFFSET WEBOFF SET WEB FFSE L’Union Invests in Two Uniliner ‘S’ Presses The French newspaper, part of Hersant Media, will add the shaftless 4x1 presses at its facility in Reims, increasing color capacity for a wide range of daily papers and regional free sheets. François Chaize, directeur industriel of Hersant Media Group, comments on the company’s decision for the investment. “As the Uniliner ‘S’ press is dedicated to straight production and in the double-width format, the press will offer us the opportunity to print 16 tabloid pages per web, instead of eight pages today, keeping the advantage of a four page jump. The free sheet Paru Vendu (80 tabloid pages in four color) will also be printed, “mixing” the two presses. “The 4x1 press also provides us with significant flexibility in pagination, section count and color. Because of this we feel it’s the best fit for our company where some of our titles have a great number of editions.” Each Uniliner press will be capable of printing up to 64 pages with 32 in full color. The press line will be configured as five eight-couple towers and one four-couple tower with a cut-off of 578 mm. The order also comprises semi-automatic plate loading to improve productivity during edition and job changeovers and two 2:3:3 jaw folders. Eight reelstands will be located at 90 degrees to the press line and at the same level as the Uniliner towers. Chaize continues, “The configuration of the press and the decision to have the reelstands located at 90 degrees to the press line provides us with numerous advantages. The investment costs for single level buildings are significantly less expensive than for a similar two level building which additionally reduces energy consumption. A single level configuration also optimizes manning by enhancing press crew efficiency and communication.” The Uniliner ‘S’ press combines proven Goss design and technology with a highly flexible 4x1 configuration designed to provide a costeffective solution for high volume production. Alain Calvet, area sales manager at Goss International concludes, “We are working closely with L’Union to deliver equipment that meets their exact specification in a time frame that will enable them to make the most of the additional capacity the press offers. The Uniliner ‘S’ press offers high print quality and automation which can help to support the long-term growth objectives of the company in the French market.” The six-tower Uniliner ‘S’ press at L’Union will feature a 4x1 format and pasters positioned at 90 degrees to the units. WEBOFFSET WEBOFF WEB FFSE SET Polish Web Offset Market It´s Booming! The print market in Poland has been growing steadily over recent years. The traditional sheetfed offset, packaging print and newspaper businesses have enjoyed some very pleasing growth rates, and the web offset market is flourishing too. Michael Seidl, managing editor of Print and Publishing International, reports on the increasing number of publishing houses appealing to a new information-hungry society. Explosive market growth “Since September 2006 we have witnessed an unbelievable growth in orders here,” exclaims Poland’s best-known printer, Tadeusz Winkowski. “You could almost call it a printing boom.” Growth rates of 20 percent or more are not rare among many operators. These are figures of which many colleagues in the western printing industry can only dream. Tadeusz Winkowski, owner, Winkowski S ometimes, it seems like the whole world is getting printing done in Poland nowadays. The reasons are interesting and no longer based on price alone, at least not for web offset printing. Rather, it is the flexibility, speed and professionalism of Polish web printers, coupled with a healthy dose of shrewd business sense that attract customers, particularly when unusual requirements need to be met, often at short notice. Many international clients have their products printed in Poland for these reasons. One thing in particular should be borne in mind. An original concern of many Western European printers – that the opening up of Eastern Europe would result in their markets being flooded with cheap publications – has not been realized. Eastern European printers tend rather to cover domestic needs, which have increased dramatically in recent times. The larger web offset printers are in quite another league and think globally anyway. Here, Winkowski is not only referring to his own company, but the entire industry. Hearing that printing is a prestige industry and the “in thing” in Poland is common. The image of the printer or someone who works in a printshop is held in high regard in this country. This can be explained by the fact that many companies in Poland invested directly in the latest technologies after the fall of communism, and therefore felt quickly at home in the digital world – digital being a byword for trendy, clean and high tech. Facts & figures Encapsulating the Polish print market into figures is relatively difficult. There are a great many companies involved in printing, according to official business registration statistics. These numbers continue to be cited even when the companies they refer to no longer exist or are operating in a different sector. Officially, there are around 13,300 companies calling themselves ‘printers’. Probably a third of that figure could be considered more accurate. The figure from the Central Polish Statistical Office of 115 printing works producing newspapers and magazines is more believable. In May of 2007, around 67,000 people were employed in the industry. Return on sales was 6.7 percent gross and 5.3 percent net. Sector volume quantification figures also make interesting reading. For example, ISSUE NO. SIXTY ONE WEBOFFSET WEBOFF SET WEB FFSE the value of newspapers, magazines and periodicals produced in Poland in 2005 amounted to the equivalent of € 718 million. The market volume of the entire “printing and sound media” sector amounted to €19.5 billion euros. FINLAND ESTONIA Setting the pace LATIVA The five largest commercial web offset printers in Poland – Winkowski, R.R. Donnelley, Eurodruk, Ortis and Zapolex – cover an estimated 80 percent of that market. These companies therefore have enormous power and dominance in their market. Winkowski, which has a partnership with U.S. based Quad/Graphics, and R.R. Donnelley’s Polish operations have long been acknowledged as the two market leaders in terms of sales volume. The newcomer, at least in terms of investment, is Eurodruk. In March of this year, its financial investor 3i took over all the web offset operations of the Passau publishing group. The Polish web printers, to meet the requirements of their clients, make the same demands on their printing press suppliers as their colleagues the world over. Flexibility, automation and reliability in production are the decisive factors. Being fast is a business asset in Poland, and for that very reason, over recent years some of the top companies have opted for Goss® press systems. Poland and the new EU countries In general, all print markets are growing in Central and Eastern Europe. However, the situation in these countries varies, and there is a distinction between EU members (Poland, Czech Republic, Slovak Republic, Hungary, Romania and Bulgaria) and the non-EU members (Croatia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Serbia and Montenegro in the Balkan States and Russia and the Ukraine). EU membership considerably reduces transaction costs in all operations and activities with the four freedoms (free movement of people, goods, services and capital – taking into account restrictions and transitional periods) and therefore facilitates all business in this area. The Communist background of some countries creates another point of LITHUANIA BALTIC SEA RUSSIA RUSSIA BELARUS POLAND GERMANY UKRAINE CZECH REP. SLOVAKIA AUSTRIA MOLDOVA HUNGARY SLOVENIA CROATIA ITALY BOSNIA & HERZEGOVINA ROMANIA SERBIA & MONTENEGRO BULGARIA MACEDONIA BLACK SEA ALBANIA GREECE distinction. In their former planned economies, these countries were required to produce services and goods as stipulated by the government. The result was a disparity in printing capabilities. The Czech Republic, as a country traditionally strong in mechanical engineering, extended its printing expertise and therefore has at its disposal a highly developed printing market. Poland, the largest CEE market, is also well developed in the printing sector. The Central and Eastern European Printing Scene Country Population Number of printing firms with more than 20 employees Average wage per hour [in Euros] Czech Republic 10 Million > 300 4.90 Poland 38 Million > 700 3.50 Slovak Rep. 5.4 Million Approx. 120 3.60 Hungary 10 Million Approx. 200 4.80 Romania 22.5 Million Approx. 140 1.50 Bulgaria 7.3 Million Approx. 50 1.20 Source: Statistik Austria, GC-Consult WEBOFFSET WEBOFF WEB FFSE SET Winkowski – the visionaries Tadeusz Winkowski is an entrepreneur par excellence. Unconventional, extremely fast and with vision is his management style for a company that is certainly set to play an important role in Europe in the future. The company’s meteoric rise began with the involvement of Quad/Graphics in 1998. The business started at the printing plant in Pila near Posen. Lack of space induced Winkowski to purchase former railway works buildings (Zakłady Taboru Kolejowego), in which the majority of the printing plant is now situated. The site is huge, and presses are now at work where once locomotives were repaired. No one can complain about lack of space here. Winkowski now has three sites: Piła, Radzymin and Wyskow, the newest and his most spectacular location yet in the workshops of a former Daewoo vehicle factory. Currently a total of 22 web presses are in 24-hour operation at Winkowski, producing titles such as Playboy, National Geographic, Newsweek, Elle and countless top Polish publications. “Everything under one roof” is the corporate strategy. Comprehensive customer service is therefore top priority. Winkowski himself is a proven fan of Goss® Sunday™ technology. For a long time, he has put his trust in the technology and production reliability of web offset presses from the Goss International organization. So it was not by chance that the Polish entrepreneur of the year 2005 invested with Goss once again for the new facility in Wyskow near Warsaw, this time in the form of two Sunday 3000/32 presses and two Sunday 4000 presses. With the new systems, the new production center has all the advantages of highly-automated gapless blanket technology. Winkowski has added three Sunday 3000 presses and three Sunday 4000 presses since 2005. The purchases were made in two instalments. In 2005 the first 32-page Sunday 3000 press with a PCF-3 pinless combination folder was installed along with a 40-page Sunday 4000 short-grain press with a PFJ-3 folder. Both systems included Goss Contiweb™ FD™ pasters and Ecocool® dryers with integrated chill rolls. The Sunday 3000 has a 565 mm cut-off and 1830 mm web-width, and the Sunday 4000 has a 445 mm cut-off and 1680 mm web-width. At the beginning of January 2006, two more orders were signed for an additional Sunday 3000/32 and a Sunday 4000 press. The second Sunday 3000/32 system is identical to the first, while the second Sunday 4000, with a 445 mm cut-off and 1980 mm web-width, will produce signatures with up to 48 pages. With its first investment in the short-grain printing presses, Winkowski has taken new market requirements into account such as, for example, the demand for pocket-sized magazines. The company has to date achieved a turnover of around €200 million this year, employs 1,600 people and its export quota is 40 percent. In 2004 this export rate was 30 percent. Great emphasis is placed on the company’s rapid but controlled development. Competitiveness is constantly being improved, the latest technologies invested in, and employees’ professional development encouraged by the company’s own training programs and courses. “We want partners and at the same time we want to be a printing house that enables clients to save over a wide range of production processes, as we are able to do everything under one roof,” confirms Winkowski. “We have several clients in Western Europe who came to us precisely for this reason. We offer a complete service with high value added.” Winkowski can see its business concept bearing fruits. For them, investments in presses and new technology are not everything. The most important thing is the people. “I started to be fascinated by people several years ago, and never stopped being fascinated. I really love working with people. For ISSUE NO. SIXTY ONE WEBOFFSET WEBOFF SET WEB FFSE me, it’s a great challenge and it is what really matters. It’s what I find attractive about business,” says Winkowski. “We also want to change Poland’s image abroad. We want to be treated as serious partners for many years to come, not as a cheap source of printing.” Looking around his office at the printed products that highly reputable clients have entrusted to the company, it is clear that mission is being fulfilled. Ortis – the epitome of efficiency throughput for small, high-quality print runs. Founded in 1990, the company has recorded rapid growth over the past ten years and now numbers more than 170 employees. The new press was installed in Torún, approximately 210 km away from the company’s sales offices in Warsaw. Zapolex owes its growth to one virtue: it observes the market very carefully and identifies emerging trends rapidly, translating the information into action. “We study the market very closely in order to identify and interpret signals from the printing Another good example of positive development on the web offset scene in Poland is the Ortis S.A. print works. This company, located in Bydgoszcz, was established 60 years ago and employs about 310 workers. Ortis is also the founder and one of the largest shareholders of Artis ID, the biggest manufacturer of plastic cards in Central and Eastern Europe. The company recently invested in a new Goss® M-600™ press to maximize productivity and increase efficiency. The new press is used to produce periodicals, catalogs, advertising materials and books for the domestic market as well as for various other European countries. “The competition in the commercial printing market is decidedly fierce, and understanding our customers’ particular challenges is the key to our success,” says CEO, Jadwiga Mojzesowicz-Bilewska. “Over the years, there has emerged a growing demand for small print runs with short lead times with, as always, excellent print quality.” Ortis chose the M-600 web offset press to be able to serve its clients better, and states that the tried and tested design was an influential factor in the decision. “The M-600 also enjoys an excellent reputation for reliability and print quality. The Autoplate™ plate changing system with its short setup times also means that we can deliver to our customers considerably faster,” claims MojzesowiczBilewska. The M-600 at Ortis prints up to 55,000 copies per hour and, with its extensive wastereduction functions, it is ideal for the economical production of shorter print runs. The press also came equipped with the Goss Ecocool® dryer, which improves print quality and web control and takes up considerably less space than a conventional dryer and chill roll section. The Ortis client list includes publishing houses such as Egmont and Edipresse, Kaufland, Metro, Aga Press and the international advertising agency McCann Erickson as well as numerous national retailers. Zapolex – the observers Zapolex Sp.zo.o also uses a Goss M-600 press. The four-unit system went into production in December of 2005 to meet increasing demand for faster Zapolex has relied on timely investments, including a new M-600 press, to gain a competitive edge. industry early. In this way we have noticed an increasing demand for short and medium-length print runs. We supply high print quality and rapid throughput,” says owner Jerzy Polkowski. “Timely investment in the right production systems have enabled us to stay one step ahead of our competition. We quickly realized that the M-600 press is ideal for these types of print jobs.” For Polkowski, adding the M-600 press was an integral part of Zapolex’s steady growth: “This machine has helped us extend our production profile and thereby our customer base while reducing production costs. Due to an automatic plate changing system and an automatic folder upgrade and additional product flexibility by the use of a PFF folder module, we have been able to improve the availability of our presses, resulting in further reductions in production costs.” Zapolex today offers a broad range of services including inserts, mailings and the production of brochures, posters, periodicals and also hardback and paperback books. WEBOFFSET WEBOFF SET WEB FFSE Quarterfolding with Goss Today, diversity of production is becoming the mantra for newspaper printers and publishers. Combined heatset/coldset products, lifestyle sections, different formats, cover wraps and special folds are all ways of gaining and holding the attention of potential readers. High speed quarterfolding adds value, allowing papers to differentiate, diversify and add semi-commercial work. Adding that capability without compromising the speed and reliability of the press is the key to its success. For this reason, Goss International has taken the ‘total solution’ approach to press design and the ancillaries that create the addedvalue print features that are rapidly becoming the norm. The challenges of dynamic imbalance With press operation of up to 100,000 copies per hour on daily production, it is difficult to assure that the wide variety of associated technologies can achieve the same production level. With quarterfolders this is due to the difference between the dynamics of the press and those of the folder. within one millionth of a revolution, gradually increase the tension throughout the press to ensure the stability of the web at all running speeds. In the folder, however, the dynamics, and hence the control, are much more complicated. Following the former fold, several interleaved webs are cut so that they become a stream of individual products, rather than a single entity. Now cutting, pinning and the dynamic action of the first cross fold interrupts their path, which has been relatively smooth, even over the former board. At the jaw cylinder, the mechanism not only pushes the spine into a set of jaws, but also changes the direction of the front pages of the product with an associated dynamic imbalance. Lastly, the product is folded again. Here the copy needs to be stopped before it changes direction, and with twice as many pages to fold, the quarterfold mechanism needs considerable force to be applied across the direction of the production stream. Once again the smooth momentum of continuous flow is interrupted. Folder dynamics are well understood by Goss. Considerable process knowledge gained through many years of research has led to a series of patented designs that overcome the effects of the ‘staccato’ workflow required for optimum precision. The focus has always been to match increasing press speeds, while combining highly accurate folding and the eliminating copy marking with ease-of-use, fast maintenance On the press, the web has a virtually continuous path, provided by a series of dynamically balanced cylinders and rollers. Apart from weaving its way around compensators and chill rolls, the web travels in a single direction, at the same speed, without interruption. This is not to say that the control of the web, in terms of tension, is not important. But the level of accuracy required can be delivered by techniques that have been pioneered and refined by Goss over a period of years. Individual cylinder and roller drives (shaftless drives), which can be controlled to Newspaper application for the quarterfold technology at IPS, France, on one of their Mainstream® presses. ISSUE NO. SIXTY ONE WEBOFFSET WEBOFF SET WEB FFSE and maximum reliability. Today, Goss is renowned for the advanced design of its newspaper and commercial press folders, which operate at up to 100,000 copies per hour on the company’s fastest newspaper presses. Dual-stream quarterfolding When it comes to newspaper quarterfolding, the R&D team at Goss has responded to the market needs to support a wider choice of products with a solution that enables presses to operate at speeds approaching their maximum. The dual quarterfold module splits the product stream into two. This sounds simple, but advanced and patented technologies are once again required. These technologies are illustrated opposite using the Goss 2:5:5 jaw folder, designed for high speed, high quality and high pagination. The quarterfold module handles 16-96 tabloid pages at 40-60,000 copies per hour with 1-6 webs entering the unit after the first fold at the former board. Many of its features have been derived from tried-and-tested technologies used in Goss® commercial press folders for over 20 years. Start-to-finish copy control Producing accurate quarterfolds puts the entire copy handling process of any folder under the microscope. Any errors made at the chopping or first cross-fold stage will be compounded when the copy is folded for the last time. Add to this the complexity of splitting and conveying the copies in a double delivery and the need for precision increases dramatically. For this reason, Goss uses positive control of copies throughout the entire process, starting with a positive release system for the jaw cylinder followed by patented tape technology which moves and controls copies throughout the rest of the folding process without marking. See image 1. the limitations on press speed imposed by conventional quarterfold systems. See images 2 and 3. Once again, Goss patented technology plays an important role in the process. Any diversion of high-speed copy streams has the potential for damage, especially if the diversion mechanism needs positive contact with the product to be activated. The Goss diverter uses two elliptical Image 1: Tape technology provides segmented cams to change the start-to-finish copy control position of the copy-carrier belts so that they positively collect consecutive signatures and take them on two separate paths. The elliptical cams are designed so that their surface speed is constant, but the height of the contact point with the copy varies. This enables them to gently push alternate copies, smoothly and carefully, until they engage with the correct set of delivery tapes. This design enables the stream to be split at a constant, controlled speed regardless of paper stock or product size. See diagram 1 on p14. Copy slow down Image 2: Top elliptical cam locates copy onto lower belt With an incoming stream of newspapers at full press speed, it is essential to reduce the speed of each copy so that it can be accurately quarterfolded. This is a complex issue for newspaper applications, as the coldset inks will still have a tendency to smear and mark easily at this stage. The Goss solution is a patented slowdown system as illustrated in image 4 (right), which combines eccentric rollers with positive contact to the copies. The eccentricity effect, slows down the copies by 45 percent, Image 3: Bottom elliptical cam locates without them sliding on any of the copy onto upper belt operating surfaces they touch. This prevents the damage and marking often caused by alternative mechanisms. Even at full operating press speeds, the slowdown mechanism enables a precise and constant head-to-tail spacing in the separated stream to further the accuracy of the second cross fold. Copy diverter The copy diverter splits the copies from the first cross-fold into two separate streams, virtually eliminating As the cylinder rotates, the speed of the surface that is in contact with the copy decelerates, due to the eccentricity of the shaft. The degree Image 4: Copy slow down showing eccentric rollers in operation WEBOFFSET WEBOFF WEB FFSE SET of eccentricity controls the level of slow down. A second eccentric motion keeps the surface of the cylinder at the same height, so that the copy contact with the tapes is controlled and consistent. Final fold Once decelerated the copies move to two separate chopper tables where they are pushed between two folding rollers by a blade in the normal way and then trimmed. The deliveries from these tables are kept separate as this provides the most access-friendly configuration. Production efficiency The folder is also distinguished by a modular design and cantilever-style tape rollers with self-adjusting prespliced belts. These features allow tapes to be replaced quickly and easily, reducing downtime and saving valuable operator time. Other features provided to maximize the folder’s efficiency include fully automatic or semi-automatic fold changeover, protection against paper jams, symmetrical rubber-to-rubber pinch rollers for optimum tension control and lateral fan adjustment for delivery. Folder performance is critical to the production efficiency and versatility of a web press. With the growing trend towards shorter runs, increased product variety and faster presses, the Goss double quarterfold module provides the perfect solution to maintain high press speeds. Based on tried-and-tested technologies, it combines quality folding with robust and reliable operation. Diagram 1: The Goss diverter uses two elliptical segmented cams to change the position of the copy-carrier belts so that they positively collect consecutive signatures and take them on two separate paths. World News U.S. newspaper rebuilds, upgrades and orders packaging systems to rebuild or replace, we decided that rebuilding was the best decision for us,” said Al Byrd, press operations manager. “We chose Goss International because of their price, overall strategy, and because they knew the press the best.” The Virginian-Pilot (Virginia, U.S.A.) has chosen Goss International to rebuild five Metroliner® presses and complete digital RTP upgrades on 30 pasters. The newspaper, which reaches a halfmillion adult readers daily, will also add three new shaftless Goss Magnapak® packaging systems. Byrd’s team took a unique approach for the RTP upgrade, asking Goss International and another vendor to each rebuild a single paster. After three months of head-to-head comparison, he says Goss International was the clear winner, based on performance. A comprehensive press audit by Goss International determined the precise scope of the press rebuild project. “After a thorough discussion about whether The three new Magnapak packaging systems will be installed at the Virginian-Pilot beginning in February, 2008. They will have a total of 90 hopper positions, and two systems will be equipped for polybagging. Rebuilding and upgrading of five Metroliner presses and 30 pasters is underway at the Virginian-Pilot, and new Goss Magnapak packaging systems will be installed beginning in early 2008. ISSUE NO. SIXTY ONE WEBOFFSET WEBOFF SET WEB FFSE Sunday Milestones With the 300th press installed and the 2,000th printing unit nearing completion, Sunday presses continue to build on the fundamental advantages of Goss® gapless blanket technology. ™ Continental Web will install a new Sunday 3000/32 press later this year in Walton, Kentucky in the U.S.A., which will include the 2,000th Sunday press unit ever manufactured. Meanwhile, on the other side of the Atlantic, Imprimerie Pollina in France has taken delivery of a 64-page Sunday 4000 press which is the 300th in operation worldwide. Sunday presses have now been installed in 23 countries since their introduction in 1993. Bill Scarpaci, chief operating officer at Continental Web's Walton facility, sees the installation of the milestone press as a gateway to new possibilities, “We look forward to the new opportunities the wider 2x8 press format will create for our customers. We have to continuously bring more value by producing a wider range of creative, high-impact products with faster turnaround times and lower costs,” he explains. “The latest Goss technology gives us unique capabilities and the highest possible levels of automation.” Continental Web operates three additional Sunday presses, six Goss M-1000™ presses and several Goss finishing systems to produce a diverse range of direct mail, catalog and publication work. According to Scarpaci, despite a long list of other features complementing the gapless platform, it is the gapless blanket itself that has kept the Sunday press at the top of many printers’ wish lists. “Gapless blanket technology truly revolutionized web printing, and we are impressed with the steps Goss Jim Arnold , (left) and Bill Scarpaci will bring the 2000th Sunday printing unit into production in early 2008 at Continental Web (U.S.A) Imprimerie Pollina (France) has installed the 300th Sunday press. International continues to take to build on the productivity advantages of the Sunday platform,” he confirms. Following the Sunday 3000 press the Sunday 2000 and 4000 models as well as the Mainstream® newspaper press subsequently expanded the application range for gapless technology. The doublecircumference Sunday 4000 is well-established on three continents and was the press of choice for Imprimerie Pollina when the company identified a need for a low-waste, high productivity solution. “We required an advanced press that would give us the flexibility to achieve rapid makereadies and low waste while increasing our productivity,” explains managing director Laurent Pollina. “We chose the Sunday 4000 system because it offers excellent print quality at high speeds and is designed to excel at both long and short runs. The advanced automation features, including the Autoplate™ automatic plate changing system, will enable us to substantially improve our production capacity and efficiency.” Pollina concluded, “We are impressed with the advantages Goss presses offer in the doublecircumference sector and are confident that our investment in the Sunday 4000 press will enable us to deliver what our customers are demanding.” WEBOFFSET WEBOFF SET WEB FFSE Schumann New and Improved Faced with the familiar choice of buying a new press or enhancing an existing one, Schumann Printers took a novel approach. The publication printing specialist did both, enhancing an M-1000™ press installed in 1995 and ordering a new 2x8 Sunday™ 3000 system along with a Goss® Pacesetter® saddlestitcher for its Fall River, Wisconsin (U.S.A.) facility. “Goss International has the most innovative press and finishing systems available, and our experience and relationship give us confidence to continue investing in that technology,” explains Jack Schumann, chairman, who founded the company in 1963 and now shares management duties with his sons Daniel Schumann, president, and Mark Schumann, vice president. The company produces 300 magazine titles regularly and installed a Sunday 2000 press with Autoplate™ technology in 2004. “Far beyond routine warranties and parts agreements, we know that Goss International provides a commitment to our success that we have not seen from other suppliers,” Daniel Schumann says. “We continue to be impressed with their proactive, collaborative approach to helping us improve our business and create new opportunities.” Innovative and responsive Those improvements and opportunities are tied closely to innovation and responsiveness, the factors Daniel Schumann says differentiate his company in a highly competitive publication printing market. “We are large enough to bring the advantages of the newest technology to our customers, but we are also a family Jack Schumann, chairman and founder, with sons Daniel Schumann, president (center) and Mark Schumann, vice president and plant manager. ISSUE NO. SIXTY ONE WEBOFFSET WEBOFF SET WEB FFSE business where the owners know every job and can be contacted by any customer, at any time,” he contends. Run lengths at Schumann Printers average 35,000 copies, a job mix that requires makereadies every 30 to 60 minutes and the technology to do them quickly and efficiently. “You have to invest in the automation, digital presetting and closed-loop technologies to squeeze every bit of waste and inefficiency out of the makeready process,” explains Jack Schumann. He says the company has brought the M-1000 press up to the same presetting standards as the new Sunday 3000/32 press to stay in-synch with the advanced digital workflows its customers rely on and to hold makeready averages to under ten minutes and 1,500 impressions. 2x8: The next logical step The new four-unit Sunday 3000/32 press with a pinless former folder will go into production in early 2008 at Schumann Printers. The wider 2x8 format represents what Jack Schumann calls the next logical step. “For us, getting 32 pages from a single-web press is preferable to 32 pages from a traditional two-web press,” he explains. “We will have half as many units, pasters and splices to deal with, and we will reduce our labor.” Schumann expects to operate the new press with a three-person crew, with a fourth person covering the delivery duties on both the new press and the existing Sunday 2000 press. He says a smaller non-print area with the gapless press also translates into a shorter cutoff and a significant paper savings advantage. The eight-pages-across Sunday 3000/32 press was introduced in 2003, with gapless blanket technology providing the cylinder stability for high-quality, high-speed printing with the wider, single-circumference format. Sunday 3000/32 presses print at up to 100,000 impressions per hour, delivering as many as 3.2 million magazine pages per hour in a single-web configuration. Extending the competitive life of an M-1000 of a UV coater. A formal press audit by Goss International provided the blueprint for the project, and the press is now used primarily for printing publication covers. “Instead of rebuilding to original capabilities, we upgraded with innovations that keep the press competitive and compatible with newer presses,” explains Mark Schumann. He claims that the specific experience of Goss International with the M-1000 press model was beneficial in meeting performance expectations and a tight schedule. “We have never seen such a professional and well prepared group,” Mark Schumann says. “When they hit the floor in our shop, everyone from the coordinator to the person cleaning parts knew exactly what had to be done. We feel that the original documentation backup that the technicians had was key to the success and an advantage we would not have had with a third-party rebuilder.” The recent M-1000 press upgrade at Schumann Printers included inker and control enhancements and the addition World News Community success in Latin America Venezuelan newspaper, El Informador, has invested in a 20-unit Goss Community® SSC press for its facility in Barquisimeto. Mauricio Gomez Sigala, owner of El Informador, predicts that the technological advances his company will gain by installing the new press will provide a more versatile, easy to maintain and user-friendly press. “We estimate an installed capacity rise of around 190 percent thanks mainly to the new printing speed. Color pagination will increase by a minimum of 60 percent, and we aim to reduce our current paper waste levels by 50 percent with the use of automatic splicers,” he confirms. Several Latin American newspaper publishers have visited the Goss International facility in Shanghai , where Community SSC presses are manufactured, to see their presses being staged. La Republica Leading Colombian financial daily, La Republica, has similarly invested in a new Community SSC press to improve color quality and capacity. Due to be installed by the end of this year, the press will be housed in a new building at the company’s facility in Bogotá and will be used to print the daily newspaper, La Republica, which has a circulation of 75,000 copies, as well as a range of semi-commercial inserts. According to Juan Carlos Hernandez, vice general manager at La Republica, “This new press will increase our color capacity by 70 percent and reduce our production time, making us more competitive in the marketplace and enabling us to offer more possibilities to our customers. We are confident that our investment will provide us with the flexibility we need to meet the changing demands of our customers and readers.” WEBOFFSET WEBOFF SET WEB FFSE Non-stop Book Printing With the world’s first eight-unit Automatic Transfer™ press producing four-color signatures continuously, without makereadies, Transcontinental is altering the competitive landscape in the global book printing market. Gerd Bergmann visited the Canadian facility, and published the following article in the German trade magazine Deutscher Drucker. Transcontinental Inc. was founded in 1976 and has its headquarters in Montreal. As Canada’s largest printer and the sixth largest in the U.S.A., it employs around 14,500 people in 60 printing plants. Two hours by car south east of Quebec, the capital of the French-speaking Canadian province of the same name, the small town of Beauceville (6,200 inhabitants) stands in an isolated and sparsely populated part of the country. It is here that Transcontinental Inc. operates the largest of its four printing plants exclusively dedicated to book production. Over the last year the four plants produced more than 50 million books. U.S. market crucial Senior vice president of the Book Group, Jacques Gregoire, has over two decades watched how a larger and larger share of world book production has come from China and it is with the Chinese that he competes for his most important market: U.S. publishers. Sixty percent of Transcontinental’s book production is destined for the U.S. and this is the reason for Beauceville. Though located in the Canadian wilds, it is prized by Gregoire for its pool of good labor and it lies only 63 km from the border with the U.S. From here there is good access to Boston and the other major cities of the East Coast with their assorted array of publishers. Jacques Gregoire, senior vice president, Transcontinental Book Group Time advantage This proximity is important. Short production time scales are a major reason why books, despite every possible price advantage, are not produced overseas. With school books, for example, the customer expects to be able to correct the contents until just before printing. According to Jacques Gregoire, “We realize that any publisher whose products are not time critical will grab the opportunity to produce in the Far East. Here, quality is no longer an issue.” Major leap The amount of hand work involved in a product is decisive in determining where it will be produced, and this is why children’s books are nearly all produced in the Far East. They are full of tipped on gimmicks and pop-ups that can only be done by hand. ‘Straight’ production that can be easily automated is Canada’s forte. As part of its constant efforts to achieve the highest possible level of automation, Transcontinental was the first company to install a Goss® Sunday™ 4000 64-page press with eight blanket-to-blanket units and Automatic Transfer technology. It was a major leap forward in a company whose classic means of production were M-1000™ web presses, which, with eight units and twin web operation, can deliver 32-page signatures. ISSUE NO. SIXTY ONE WEBOFFSET WEBOFF SET WEB FFSE Narrowing the gap Ultimately, it’s a question of reducing costs. Jacques Gregoire talks of Chinese printers producing 40-50 percent more cheaply, whilst on the other hand he is aware that the ‘Goodwill Margin’ of publishers – the additional price that they will pay for production in North America – is 15 or at most 20 percent. It is necessary to close the gap between these two percentages as far as possible, and this is only possible through root and branch changes in the workflow. Transcontinental operates the Goss Sunday 4000 with the same number of printers as a twin web M-1000 but even the elimination of all staff costs – which account for 23-25 percent of overall costs – would not be enough to close the gap. In contrast to the first user of Automatic Transfer technology, the French firm FOT, Transcontinental uses the Goss® technology for complete four-color job changes on the fly rather than just single-color language changes, and this is why Beauceville has the first Sunday 4000 AT™ with eight printing units. “An expensive press,” says Jacques Gregoire, who is nevertheless convinced that the investment is worth it. “Our runs in Canada are short anyway and in the U.S.A. they are getting shorter and shorter.” Run lengths with the new AT press at Transcontinental average 12,000 signatures and in answer to the question of where the bottom limit lies the head of the Book Group simply smiles and says, “Name a run and we will print it.” He explicitly describes 3,000 copies as a ‘web run’. AT delivers low-waste, fast turnarounds The Sunday 4000 AT press at Transcontinental started up in June of 2006. A typical job – 64-page World News signature on coated paper with demanding solids and advertisements – was completely changed on the fly during the visit of Deutscher Drucker to Beauceville with a wastage of 900 cut-offs. Shift leader Michel Giguère reckoned that was a ‘good figure’. Since, in many cases, the paper is provided by the publisher, reduced wastage goes down well with the customer, according to Jacques Gregoire. Beauceville has even higher hopes for faster job throughput resulting from non-stop-operation. “Usually the delivery time for books is three weeks,” explains Gregoire, and this is also true for our competitors. Someone who is able to deliver any job – whether softback or hardback – within ten days, could get out of the price war. “And will be the winner in the North American market.” M-600 press headed for California 22-unit Magnum press for Nanfang Californian based Southwest Offset Printing is adding its second highly automated Goss M-600™ press to meet the increasing volume demands of its customers. The press will offer superior waste reduction and makeready features and will also be equipped with Goss Autoplate™ fully automatic plate changing system and an Ecocool® dryer with integrated chill rolls. The Nanfang Daily Newspaper Group has bolstered its line-up of Goss presses by ordering eight Goss Magnum® 4 presses for its new stateof-the-art media center in the city of Nan Hai near its headquarters in Guangzhou, China. Ryan McDonald, director of manufacturing and Jennifer McDonald, chief operating officer, Southwest Offset Printing The eight new presses to be installed in two production lines will join 13 other Goss presses including Community®, Newsliner® and Magnum presses, and will consist of a total of 22 four-high towers, 30 reelstands and eight folders. WEBOFFSET WEBOFF SET WEB FFSE DigiRail Digital Inking for Commercial Web Presses The PIA/GATF InterTech™ award winning technology has been adapted for commercial applications DigiRail systems can be retrofitted onto some existing Goss presses and are an option on new Goss® M-600™ and gapless Sunday™ press models. The highly precise digital inking technology replaces traditional ‘open fountain’ ink delivery, reducing waste and ink consumption while improving print quality. “Bringing digital inking to commercial web applications is another Goss International R&D breakthrough,” confirms CEO, Bob Brown. He emphasized that DigiRail technology joins the Sunday press, Autoplate™, Automatic Transfer™, Ecocool® and other exclusive, integrated Goss innovations that make commercial web printers more successful and the web offset industry more competitive. The DigiRail system earned the PIA/GATF InterTech Award in 2003. The technology features digital ink packs housing low-torque, in-line gear pumps. The pumps feed ink pulses to the ink train through individual valves which are controlled digitally. More than 50,000 individual ink packs have been installed and are highly proven on Goss newspaper and insert presses worldwide. Digital control of ink flow complements digital workflow and presetting capabilities and offers several fundamental benefits, according to John Dowling, engineering director in the Goss International Research and Development Department. “Because ink is delivered to the ink train with more precision and with no contamination, presetting is faster and more accurate, start-up waste can be reduced, and ink density and color variation issues are minimized during operation,” explains Dowling. “After extensive testing on demanding Ink Rail Gear Pump Control Valve Ink Supply “on” “off” Fountain Roller technical forms, and minor modifications, DigiRail technology can now bring these same benefits to commercial presses printing at up to 100,000 impressions per hour,” he adds. The DigiRail system includes a series of ink packs mounted on an aluminum rail against the first ink roller. Each ink pack for commercial web applications has a synchronous AC motor and 12 individual ink metering valves which operate in a binary on/off fashion. The valves are each pulsed by separate digital signals, and varying the ‘on time’ of the pulses allows precise ink volumes to be delivered. The number of ink packs varies according to webwidth, with the individual valves covering zones equivalent to those of a traditional ink key. “The flow of ink to the metering valves is constant for a given press speed, and the amount of ink fed to each 40 mm zone across the web is adjusted to match ink coverage requirements by changing the digital on/off pulse rate of each valve,” Dowling explains. “As a result, ink adjustments can be made in increments as small as .1 percent, the response is predictable and repeatable, and the ink volume is not sensitive to temperature or viscosity.” He points out that excess ink is recirculated within the sealed system, reducing consumption and contamination from lint, paper dust or dampener solution. A white paper on Goss DigiRail technology is available for download from the Goss International website. bypass Goss DigiRail technology replaces ‘open-fountain’ inkers with ink packs that feed ink pulses to the ink train through individual valves which are controlled digitally. www.gossinternational.com Published by Goss International Corporation, © Goss International Corporation Fall 2007. All trademarks identified – except "InterTech" – are trademarks of Goss International Corporation. All rights reserved. "InterTech" is a trademark of PIA/GATF.