It’s a sign of the times that some of the biggest newspaper orders at DRUPA this year are upgrades (writes Peter Coleman).
Goss International – which will upgrade three Colorliner presses at Star Malaysia – while manroland has two presses in the Netherlands to modernise and extend.
The Star presses, which were installed in 2002, will each get new Goss control and drive systems, and Baldwin spraybar upgrades and web cleaning devices. Automated colour register and cut-off systems with closed-loop fan-out control are also included in the project.
The Goss control upgrade will replace existing Honeywell systems including on-machine controls, control desks and management information systems, and will be phased to ensure that seven-day production is not interrupted. New systems bring the Colorliners into line with the latest Goss equipment, with hardware and software developed for Colorliner and FPS presses.
A key to the programme will be the ability to run individual towers and folders on the old Honeywell and new Goss platforms during the upgrade, with software structured to enable controls, external interfaces and management information systems to be replaced in a phased manner.
Drives will be upgraded to the latest energy saving IndraDrive technology at a cost Goss says is comparable with refurbishing the existing ten-year-old Indramat DIAX03 drives.
Star group business director Calvin Kan says Goss’s long-term Goss commitment to printed matter was an influence in the order decision: “We have confidence in their continued support for their in-house control upgrade,” he says. “Their project management was demonstrated on our original install, so their ability to manage the multiple vendors on this enhancement programme for our presses is well proven.”
‘Star’ is Malaysia's leading English newspaper with a daily circulation of over 300,000 copies. The company has two print plants in Shah Alam and Penang.
The order announced by manroland will see Cromoman single-width and Colorman double-width presses at Drukkerij Noordholland in Alkmaar refurbished.
Printing units, folders and controls will be upgraded, securing press availability for the next decade. One extra Colorman tower and two Cromoman towers are to be added to boost colour capacity.
The Colorman was installed in 2000, and the Cromoman in 2001.
Printing units and folders of the Cromoman will also get manroland’s PECOM control system, increasing performance and efficiency, and providing diagnostic facilities while assuring continued availability of spare parts.
The upgrades will be carried out by day, allowing production at night.
Says Jetze Talsma, managing director of Telegraaf Drukkerij group of which the Alkmaar site is a member: “The modern control technology will significantly improve the productivity of our presses, and having greater full colour printing capacity will enable us to react more flexibly to the wishes of our advertising customers.”
Pictured: Star Malaysia team members celebrate the order signing with Goss