Goss Builds 3x2 Unililner for Italian Publisher

Independent Italian publisher SEV (Società Editoriale Varesina) of Varese will install a Goss Uniliner two-around press with a 3x2 cylinder configuration later this year.

SEV will use the 3x2 Uniliner mostly to print its flagship title, La Prealpina, a tabloid daily with several editions circulated in the region of Lombardy. The newspaper has seen growing demand for color. It requires capacity for up to 72 pages, with 24 in full color for special editions. According to the publisher, the modularity and versatility of the Uniliner model and the three-page-across configuration provide a greater range of production options, while ensuring operating simplicity.

To be housed in a new plant near Milan, the Uniliner will replace a Super Gazette that delivers a maximum of 48 pages, with only six in color.

Explaining that conventional configurations are ill-suited for the pagination and 17.7x12.2-inch format, Jennifer N'Guyen, Goss International sales manager for Italy and Portugal, said in a statement, "To get 72 pages, a single-width, one-around press would require nine webs, creating a large footprint and pressure to increase the size of the existing press crew. A double-width, two-around solution would need five webs, each with a width of... 70.9 inches. In addition to the wasted capacity of an 80-page press, this scenario would mean a whole new learning curve for production staff."

The 3x2 Uniliner produces 50% more pages from a single web, enabling a two-tower press with three splicers to deliver the required 72 tabloid pages with the option to run up to 24 pages in full color.

Citing a need for versatility N'Guyen said the press also will print semi-commercial jobs and have a special folder arrangement enabling production of 12.2x12.2-inch products from 32 to 96 pages. It also will allow production of a tabloid of up to 48 pages with a height varying from 11.8 to 17.7 inches.