A Goss Metro with no four-highs is being upgraded with closed-loop registration and colour density in a new US project.

DCOS Automation has signed with the Charleston Post and Courier in South Carolina for a new controls system integration for their 108 Goss digital page packs including ink preset and a new closed-loop color registration/ink density system replacement to their existing CC1 register system.

Sales director Ron Ehrhardt says it's an exciting opportunity to demonstrate the system's waste-saving, usability and quality benefits on a Metro consisting only of mono units and colour decks.

"While the more traditional 'old school Goss Metro' base has shrunk somewhat over the last few years, there are still quite a few out there," he said. "It's also nice to see newspapers making investments during this current COVID-19 economic situation."

Charleston Post and Courier production manager Sidney Stover said the project started last year when the current system failed, leaving them without ink presetting capabilities for two weeks. "Our IT department was able to restore the system, but it was only a matter of time before it will fail and not be recoverable."

An upgrade originally planned "was not going to fix the issues we were having" so the publisher started researching ink presetting system vendors.

"We are making a financial investment in our printing equipment to maintain and even improve the quality for our customers and readers," he said.
Ehrhardt says the project will provide an opportunity for DCOS to gain experience on a double-width press equipped with a Digital Page Pack inking system. "We have installed our closed loop ink density inspection equipment on just about every type of press in operation and this order moves us into a new market," he said.

The contract was signed in July, with installation scheduled for the end of this year.

Pictured: Sid Stover (right) with Ron Ehrhardt