By: E&P Staff News International's decision last year to install 22 MAN Colorman XXL presses in the U.K. means post-press equipment will need to handle more than 30 million newspaper copies per week if expected production speeds are to be achieved.
After researching mailroom suppliers and equipment for two years, News International chose Ferag UTR conveyor and MultiStack bundling units as the best way to meet a production requirement of as many as 90,000 copies per hour.
News International Manufacturing Director Brian McGee said that in contrast to his operations' current limit of 50% color, the triplewide MAN presses deliver not only high pagination, but also the capability of printing color on every page. Single presses running to one folder will be able to produce 120 tabloid pages in straight production mode. Two presses combined and running into one folder will be able to print up to 240 tabloid pages or 120 broadsheet pages in straight mode at speeds as high as 86,000 copies an hour.
As a result of the pagination rates and speeds, News International concentrated on conveying equipment rather than inserting equipment. Press installation is expected to be completed at the beginning of 2008. News International Manufacturing Director Brian McGee said in a statement that owing to "the formats and speeds we'll be running, we were particularly focused on the transfer from press to gripper and in to stackers, and found that the controlled and synchronized transfer of products to the UTR grippers was excellent."
The system also is capable of 1:1 and 2:1 gripping when transferring straight products, and gripping two offset products in one gripper, enabling production of bundles with odd numbers of copies. The grippers feature a large opening angle and swiveling range and a durable steel channel for operation at high speeds.
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