Transcontinental Orders Triplewide KBA Commander CT Presses

By: E&P Staff Montreal-based printer and publisher Transcontinental has ordered four triplewide versions of the compact KBA Commander CT for plants in Toronto, Calgary and Vancouver. The presses will have a total of 16 towers, four single and two double folders and six heatset dryers. Installation of all presses will start in the first quarter of 2010.

The press selection was influenced by a potentially higher return on investment when factoring in the cost of infrastructure and buildings: the press takes up less space, consumes less energy and requires fewer personnel than other presses. The compact design minimizes fan-out. Optimized film inking units with three form rollers help deliver the quality required in a combined coldest-heatset operation.

The presses will be controlled by KBA ErgoTronic consoles and incorporate heatset dryers with auxiliaries, KF 5 single or double jaw folders and KBA Pastomat reelstands, embedded in Patras A automated reel-logistics systems. Each press line will have a maximum hourly output of 90,000 full-color newspapers, inserts or magazines with up to 48 broadsheet or 96 tabloid pages.

Transcontinental Print Sector President Brian Reid called his operation the first to use the Commander CT in "multiple press lines printing hybrid coldset/heatset products or coldset newspapers alongside heatset commercials." In addition to many features "for reducing operational and maintenance input," he said in a statement, "what impressed us most was the enormous flexibility displayed in customizing the press for our specific needs."