Installing two interlocked offset presses alongside gravure at Prinovis in Dresden were a response to more diverse projects, the company's chief executive says.

Two interlocking short-grain 48-page manroland Lithoman S presses sourced from insolvent Adam Nord started up last month.

The setup with two webs, two reel splicers, ten printing couples and three folders make 96-page A4 production possible and is the only print configuration of this kind in the world.

Sourced from Adam Nord in Laage near Rostock, they complement existing gravure equipment, a process on which the company had previously focussed.

Chief executive Bertram Stausberg says many customers' projects are becoming more diverse in terms of print runs and formats: "Prinovis now has the speed and flexibility to meet these additional requirements even better," he says. Entering the web-offset printing sector means "a strategically important complement to our core business of gravure printing."

The Lithoman presses are intended to print products including top end supplements and magazines. manroland supported the project with technical expertise including familiarity with available production options. Teams from both companies worked in close collaboration in regular project sessions.

Installation was completed quicker than planned and the reassembled press has been running at full speed since January, with the first job a multi-language brochure for mail order company K-Mail Order (Klingel Group).

To emphasise the flexibility and new capability, a brochure produced for the Prinovis Media Day customer event in Dresden combined offset content with a gravure cover.