News

Size matters, especially in the web-offset market, where aggressive competition and overcapacity is driving development.

There is an increasing demand for bigger presses from publishers wanting to take advantage of their cost-saving benefits.

Goss has already introduced a 96pp web press to the market and MAN Roland plans to follow suit. The press giant said part of the new project included the Lithoman V (a 2.5m-wide 96pp short-grain press) and Lithoman IV (a 2.86m-wide 96pp long-grain press). KBA has also said it won’t rule out presses bigger than 80pp.

“The issue is not just capacity, but rather competitive capacity,” says Greg Norris, communications manager at Goss International. “Continuous advances are being made in press technology, allowing web printers to realise significant gains in productivity, efficiency and competitiveness, by replacing or upgrading outdated press capacity.”

Newspaper publishers are now producing magazine-type supplements and, while it’s not impacting on the volume of presses ordered, there is a preference for more versatile presses that can handle a wide range of commercial work.

Better technology
“There is an increasing demand for heatset capabilities, as well as technologies that make it easier for operators to achieve higher print quality and produce a wider range of product formats,” adds Norris.

Where printers and manufacturers see the bigger and faster web presses as respectable rivals to gravure, innovations focusing on higher pagination, faster makereadies and low waste have led industry experts to feel web-offset can also offer convincing advantages over long-run sheetfed too.

Web presses are also being used to produce short-run volumes in commercial work. Advances in technology, particularly in automated presetting and operation, is fuelling this. “Many commercial web printers now routinely complete multiple makereadies every hour and are competitive at run lengths well below 5,000 copies,” says Norris.

Automation, versatility, low waste and makeready speed are important issues, while manufacturers offer different capabilities in terms of inking, drying and transfer.

Norris adds: “Beyond technology, buyers should also be concerned with the supplier’s press support and cooperating with the printer to optimise performance.”

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WHAT'S NEW IN… WEB OFFSET PRESSES
• Ayrshire-based Ritchie expanded its narrow web press firepower with the installation of an Alprinta 74 from Muller Martini. The press is the centrepiece of a £4m investment in new equipment
• In September, MAN Roland unveiled a 32pp, 965mm heatset web press aimed at producing advertising supplements and telephone directories in areas including Latin America and Asia. The EuroMAN, also available in the UK, can produce up to 70,000 copies per hour
• MAN Roland executive board member Paul Steidle hinted the company may be launching a 2.86m-wide press in the “very near future”. Speaking at a pre-Drupa press conference, Steidle said: “There are more hurdles to overcome. It needs a six-tonne reel and there are questions as to whether the drying technology is good enough”
• Goss introduced the Sunday 5000, the world’s first 96pp web press, in 2007. Italian printer Grafiche Mazzucchelli is due to install the 4x12 format 2,860mm-wide machine later this year