Expansion Sales and Start-up for Goss Presses

By: E&P Staff Goss International has sold another Newsliner in China, expanded a Community in Greece and seen the start-up of its first Uniliner in the United Kingdom.

Two months after announcing an order for an eight-unit shaftless Goss Newsliner press, central China's Xi'an Daily Printing Center has ordered a second, almost identical double-wide press line. Part of a pressroom modernization plan, the press is slated to go in next summer.

With increasing circulation of its flagship Xi'an Daily and Xi'an Evening News and a need for greater color capacity, the second press also will provide more versatility in producing up to 32 full-color broadsheet pages from either press in collect mode.

Like the initial order, the new 75,000-copy-per-hour Newsliner consists of two four-high towers, a 2:3:3 jaw folder and two load-bearing reelstands. The folder configuration will include a panorama gatefold capability. By shifting the doublewide web sideways instead of slitting, this system enables full pagewide gatefolds on one or both edges that can be folded in or outwards. The capability is expected to draw advertisers looking for new wide display opportunities, including additional center spreads and pull-out sections.

Naftemporiki P. Athanassiades & Co., a Goss customer since 1981, ordered tower additions and enhancements for its Goss Community pres to meet advertiser and contract print demands. The upgrade is to start in December in a modern plant in Koropi, east of Athens.

Circulating 23,000 copies daily, with an audited readership of 65,000 for its namesake flagship, Naftemporiki claims the number one position among Greece's financial newspapers. Adding two four-high towers to its three-tower Community will boost production capacity from 80 to 96 tabloid pages, including 40 in full-color, eight of which are heatset.

"In a country like Greece, where we have relatively small newspaper print volumes, the Community is the ideal choice," part owner and Production Manager Panos Raptis said in a statement, citing the singlewide's flexibility, ease of use and consistency. "We have also benefited from many technology enhancements over time, including motorized registration and spraybars."

Naftemporiki will enhance its 2-year-old equipment to reduce waste and enhance efficiencies with, among other features, motorized inking with presetting, motorized page compensators and spray bars, and an automatic web-break detection system. Like other Greek newspapers, cover pages are printed heatset, and the enhancement program also will retrofit additional drives to permit operate independent operation of the heatset tower.

Naftemporiki also contract prints a daily political newspaper and several local weeklies and monthlies. The latest investment concludes four years of production modernization by the company.

"With decreasing circulations but greater demand for color, we need to be agile, versatile and more efficient," said Raptis, adding that the towers and enhancements were specified to provide that, as well as the design expectations of a "highly educated readership in the age range of 25 to 44 years."

English independent printer and publisher Newbury Weekly News Group recently started production on the first Goss Uniliner in the United Kingdom, almost doubling capacity at its Newbury facility to meet increased demand for contract printing.

The plant prints the company's many titles, supplements, special publications and 30-plus contract titles. With the new press, several titles printed in Newbury were redesigned to take advantage of the print quality.

"The new press has generated a number of enquiries from customers regarding new product formats and reduced timeframes," Managing Director Adrian Martin said in a statement. "Publishers are working hard to stay competitive whilst providing the best possible product for readers, and are making the necessary changes to do it."

The doublewide Uniliner is installed at a right angle to a Goss Universal press bought in 2005. Configured as two four-high towers, two reelstands and a 2:3:3 jaw folder, Goss installers worked closely with the Newbury Weekly News Group to best use available space and achieve maximum productivity.

The Uniliner alone can print up to 64 full-color tabloid pages; combined with the Universal, capacity runs to 160 full-color pages, according to John Chambers, Goss sales director for the United Kingdom and Ireland.