Goss Unveils Two-Around Magnum

By: E&P Staff Goss International of Bolingbrook, Ill., introduced its latest singlewide product, the Goss Magnum two-around press system, capable of printing up to 75,000 copies per hour and designed to meet requirements for increased color, speed, and automation.

The two-around Magnum was developed from features of the Goss Magnum one-around, as well as with experience from other Goss two-around and doublewide models. The Magnum family now comprises one- and two-around platforms and various folders for newspaper, coldset, and semi-commercial printers.

Designed for use as a new press or for tower additions to existing press lines, a key difference in the two-around Magnum is its H-type frame design -- keeping the press as low as possible while improving production flexibility and operability. Both operating- and drive-side bearings have oil lubrication for extended life. Rigid box-frame construction provides precise alignment, web tracking, and resistance to vibration, including seismic deflection.

The design, Goss Senior Vice President of Global Sales Dick Schultz said in a statement, "combines maximum flexibility with high output for a wide range of newspaper products." He added that the press is compatible with existing Urbanite- and Tribune-brand presses -- more than 7,000 of which are installed. Schultz added that the press allows production in collect mode and offers improved runnability and the accessibility of the H-type tower design and such automation features as remote inking, register, and dampening controls.

Features and options include shafted or shaftless drives, undershot open-fountain inking and spiral-brush or optional spray-bar dampening. The press is available with 21.5-inch, 22-inch and 22,75-inch cut-offs and web widths up to 33.8 inches at 75,000 copies per hour (36 inches at 60,000 cph). It is equipped with a modern control system that permits presets directly from computer-to-plate systems.

The new Magnum is available with a rotary Goss R2:1 folder or higher-specification Goss J 2:3:3 jaw folder for up to 96 pages broadsheet or 128 pages tabloid (running straight). Goss said that with the jaw folder, fast make-ready features and variable web-width options the press is "ideal for mid-sized printers requiring ultimate flexibility," including accurate quarterfolding.

Goss President Richard J. Sutis said the model "is aimed at the urban newspaper, regional newspaper and coldset markets worldwide that require modern press performance and ease of printer operation."

A Magnum figured in Houston-based ad publication Greensheet winning a contract to to print The New York Times, according to Operations Director Ted Stiles, whose facility prints and distributes 850,000 copies of Greensheet.

To meet Times requirements, Goss showed how to reconfigure the 20-unit Magnum press, which Greensheet ordered last June, by adding four Magnum units and an upper former, and completing installation by the end of 2005.

The new Magnum units will be added to Greensheet's original order to create a press consisting of four four-high and four two-high towers. Besides greater color capacity, the new press is expected to reduce waste and improve print quality, owing to adjustable registration controls. The new and automated equipment also is expected to double print speed, saving on labor and opening up new business opportunities.