a journal of the press institute of india - research...

A Journal of the Press Institute of India - Research Institute for Newspaper Development

June 2012 | Volume 33 | Issue 6 | Rs 40www.rindsurvey.com / www.pressinstitute.in

One word captures all the excitement: drupa

Jwalamukhi Mudranalaya: 60 • years of printing excellence

The specialty of book producer • fgb from Freiburg

drupa boost for KBA, manroland•

Newspaper of the future can be • built on variable content

Newsprint qualities that affect • print quality

Energy conservation is critical • to a printing press

Printnetwork: pressroom networking for effi cient workfl ows in web offset and digital printing. The operating system that helps optimise production was demonstrated at the manroland web systems stand at drupa.

1June 2012 SurveyRIND

FROM THE EDITOR

Sashi Nair [email protected]

drupa demonstrates that printing is as alive as ever

All eyes in the printing industry this year have been focused on drupa for quite a while now, with the zenith being reached during May 3-16 when the show actually unfolded. Significantly, India, with some 15000 visitors, ranked as the second largest visitor-nation after Germany (123000 visitors). Following in the country rankings were Belgium, France, the Netherlands, Great Britain, the USA, Switzerland and Italy. Most of the Indian visitors were from the technical side of the newspaper, commercial printing and packaging industries. Many had planned for the trip to Dusseldorf in advance, with specific investment intentions. A few I knew had triumphantly signed off in their emails, saying “meet you in drupa”. Besides a comprehensive press update for the Hindustan Times, manroland web systems booked the largest newspaper press order placed at drupa: The Times of India ordered seven REGIOMAN printing towers and three folders.

Overall, the event was a success, although it might not have chalked up record-breaking numbers (314500 experts from more than 130 countries came to drupa this year, 75500 less than in 2008). It was explained by Werner Matthias Dornscheidt, president & CEO of Messe Düsseldorf thus: “This drop does not come as a surprise for us and the sector as a whole. In Germany alone, the printing industry lost some 3900 operations with over 61000 employees between 2000 and 2011. In the USA over the same period more than 7700 printing operations closed.”

That drupa is one of the most important trade shows in the world was buttressed by the fact that there were about 2400 journalists present from 75 countries. In many ways it was a major PR exercise aimed at getting the print industry to move quickly forward. Some top companies who exhibited remarkable flair for PR and image-building harvested good results in terms of media mileage (you can see some of that in this issue). Whether all the razzmatazz will eventually translate into orders and more business for suppliers of printing equipment, we will have to wait and see. The final press release from drupa 2012 showed how its organisers were trying to send out key impulses for the worldwide print and media industry: “The most important signal: print has potential and the sector is investing heavily in its future. The trend was already visible at the event’s half-way point and exhibitors reported the conclusion of numerous deals all over the world.” “What the 1850 exhibitors presented here over the past two weeks will strengthen the development

potential of the print and media industry long term,” said Bernhard Schreier, president of drupa 2012 and Board chairman at Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG, summing up the drupa 2012 result. The dominating themes at drupa this year were automation, packaging printing, digital printing, hybrid technologies, web-to-print applications and environmentally sound printing. For instance, 40 per cent of visitors said they were interested in digital printing machinery and digital printing systems. Also attracting great attention was the future theme – printed electronics – which was highlighted at drupa in a variety of fields: at the drupa innovation park, drupa cube, and at the many stands of exhibitors. Indeed, most of the exciting new ideas, especially in the digital supplies sector, emerged at the drupa innovation park that hosted 130 exhibitors.

The overall experience was perhaps best summed up by Rolf Schwarz, president of the German Print and Media Association Bundesverband Druck und Medien, who said: “Technologically, drupa 2012 was a fair of superlatives. It demonstrated that printing is more alive than ever!” It may be a long wait till June 2, 2016 when the next edition of the world’s largest B2B trade fair in the print industry will open, but as all those who were fortunate to visit this year and earlier know, it will be well worth the wait.

2 June 2012SurveyRIND

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The printnetwork operating system from the manroland web systems stable lives up to its name – it handles a large amount of networking, control, and monitoring functions in the pressroom for the efficient application of resources.

New operating system optimises production


SurveyRINDFrom the Editor 1

Sixty years of delivering quality print products 8

Way to small, medium high-quality print runs 12

KBA sees pre-tax profit, thanks to drupa boost 16

manroland web systems bags orders worth 70m euros 20

Variable content to drive newspaper of the future 22

Newsprint properties influence print quality 26

Energy conservation is critical to a printing press 34

Industry Updates 36

General News 56

Calendar 58


MANROLAND WEB SYSTEMS’ PRINTNETWORK

New operating system optimises production

The printnetwork operating system from the manroland web systems stable lives up to its name – it handles a large amount of networking, control, and monitoring functions in the pressroom for the effi cient application of resources.

Printing press technology must be integrated into an effi cient workfl ow to utilise its full capacities. The completely new One Touch operating concept by manroland web systems contributes to the process. The cooperation with ABB and ppi Media creates

interfaces between order preparation, prepress, printing, and postpress operations. Other pioneering developments include printnetwork Bridge by manroland web systems and Océ – offering for the fi rst time a continuous digital printing workfl ow including a folding unit in the fi nishing stage.

Intelligent intuitive controlThe autoprint functions of manroland web

systems now have a new operating concept – One Touch is the general operating philosophy that guides the Web 2.0 generation of press operators. The operator receives all relevant information at a glance and works with intuitive touch control. The entire printing system is controlled from a central control console via touch-screen. Anytime and anywhere. This increases the control speed and taps productivity. The press operator is ultimately elevated to a production process and quality control manager. manroland developers focused on reducing complexity and creating fl exibility – the multi-touch operation of the ControlCenter, the MobilPad as an added mobile control console, and the UnitPad for operating printing units during service work on the presses come together to form an optimally aligned system. The printnetwork system and PECOM process electronics work in the background to create a highly automated printing process. The operating concept is future-proof – individual parts or the entire system can be retrofi tted onto older manroland webfed presses.

The press operator can control all aggregates with the ControlCenter. A single multi-touch-screen, the ControlPad, displays the current status of all integrated components in

The new One Touch control console – high-quality design, featuring ergonomic confi guration of its displays and operating elements.

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They automate plate changes and plate transport within the press and are fully configured, nearly eliminating the need for manual interference by the printer. APL logistics not only governs plate transport in the press, but also controls and coordinates the earlier stage of plate production. With APL sequence, the plates are exposed in the optimum sequence for transport and printing. The operator can also use the monitor to track plate transport using APL control and manually intervene in the process if necessary.

Nonstop material supplyTo function efficiently, autoprint automation

processes require fast paper supply. The modular AUROSYS system accelerates the material logistics in webfed offset printshops. Starting with automatic truck loading, the system’s performance range includes storage, unpacking, reel preparation for splicing, automatic reel splicer supply, as well as disposal of butt reels, sleeves, and waste. Palette handling can also be automated with AUROlog as the distribution center that networks the individual AUROSYS modules. The PECOM process control is also integrated, providing AUROSYS with the production information. Other integration stages include the networking with the workflow management system printnetwork and through interfaces with external systems such as finance tools or electronic trading systems. For status updates, tracking, and reporting of material logistics.

Everything on radar The networking software solutions by ABB or ppi

Media provide perfect interfaces. The partnerships with these providers resulted in the new printnetwork Cockpit. This tool assists in planning prepress and print jobs as well as finishing and postpress orders. With the Insert Manager module, the printnetwork Cockpit can also record supplement orders, take over the selection of distribution areas and target groups,

the printnetwork system. Settings can be adjusted directly on the touch-screen, saving time and reducing waste. A second ControlPad can be added for additional equipment. Two screens are optionally available to newspaper press operators for the Softproof display of newspaper pages, allowing the operator to choose between the PressProof screen for the content control of the newspaper product or the TrueColorProof screen for additional colour quality check. A special TrueColorProof solution is available for commercial printhouses. Quality management can rely on the SlidePad, the modern successor to keypad-based ink key positioning, which slides along a rail at the bottom of the ControlDesk. It allows the quick adjustment of all product-related register settings (colour, water, registers), reducing waste. The operation and display of further inline control systems can also be integrated in the SlidePad.

MobilPad is the control console for on-the-go use. A TabletPC is connected via WLAN to the control console PC. The operator can simply take it along for adjustment operations in the folder superstructure or on the folder. This saves time during production changeovers in the folder superstructure and reduces waste occurring when fine-tuning the folder quality at the delivery. The functions of the control keypads on the individual printing units are taken over by the portable UnitPad with touch-screen. The UnitPad is integrated in the printnetwork system via a data cable, allowing it to reliably receive WLAN signals between the printing units.

A world of full automationThe new operating concept improves the

utilisation of the autoprint functions by newspaper and commercial printhouses. Everything practically proceeds by itself in the autoprint mode, as the menu guides through the printing process like a navigation device. Background control processes are hidden; the operator can concentrate on controlling standardised product quality. Approximately 80 per cent of production runs at an autoprint newspaper publisher do not require any manual interventions. The press operator only optionally intervenes with the production parameters in the expert mode. APL and APL logistics are the basic modules for autoprint systems.

Quality management can rely on the SlidePad, which slides along a rail at the bottom of the ControlDesk.


as well as storage and supplement management. Based on current sales data, the DeliveryPlanner defines the order delivery and transport jobs. The system not only calculates availability, but other key parameters as well, such as the permissible loading weight of transport vehicles.

The printnetwork BridgeThe printnetwork Bridgefrom manroland web

systems and Océ is the solution for comprehensive digital printing networking. The workflow consistently automates the postpress process, by integrating, for example, one of the new book and signature folders or a digital pin folder by manroland web systems. The cornerstone of the Bridge concept are the automatic job transfer via JDF/JMF, testing these jobs, automatic adjustment of the folding components as well as in the future interfaces to postpress units of other manufacturers or MIS systems. Operation is via a user interface that can be intuitively controlled via touchscreen.

What takes place within the digital printing workflow? The Prisma software by Océ uses JDF to provide the printnetwork Bridge with order data including imposition patterns, folding information, print runs, etc. The Bridge software reviews the jobs, while constantly communicating with the workflow of the digital printing press and automatically adopts the settings of the folding system based on the job information. The open interface of the JDF communication offers the option of also integrating components by other manufacturers and offline finishing into the workflow in the future. Integrated tracking solutions will round off the automation process to include the post press stage. <

A new mailroom for the city of Mozart

After 19 years, the mailroom has undergone a complete update, with the Swiss mailroom s p e c i a l i s t seeing off the c o m p e t i t i o n thanks to high net output and flexibility. A comprehensive investment programme by the Salzburger Nachrichten had already begun in 2010, covering an update of all the technology in prepress, as well as the press hall and the mailroom. This national title thus underlines the status of the printed newspaper for the media house – in addition to a host of other activities. Since the start of 2012, a triple-width CT Commander press from KBA has been printing all titles. “With the printing machine, we can process grammages up to 120. We’ve also made sure we have several options that will enable us to offer the advertising industry special advertising forms that are new and attractive,” Salzburger Nachrichten CEO Roman Minimayr says.

Thanks to high net output as well as the XtraWin concept that gives the company access to functions like trimming and card gluing, Ferag has been able to see off the competition in the mailroom. “With the Ferag mailroom, we now have the resources we require to cope efficiently with production peaks, and in addition we are keeping all our options open for expanding the mailroom going forward,” says Minimayr. Inserting preprints and supplements is carried out with an MSD2-C inserting drum operating in combination with the RollStream pre-collecting system with a total of six hoppers. Here, too, the Salzburger Nachrichten reaps the benefits of the high net output of the inserting drum, which achieves 45000 copies an hour. In addition, it has been possible to give zoning a further boost. <

Zoning of the Salzburger Nachrichten has been taken a step forward with an MSD2-C inserting drum.


Sixty years of delivering quality print products

Jwalamukhi Mudranalaya, a leading print shop in Karnataka, now in its 60th year, has installed the fi rst Heidelberg Eurobind 600 in India. The company has seen a healthy annual growth of 10 per cent, on average. Much of the work comes from educational institutions, research journals, and large enterprises. About 10-12 per cent of the revenue comes from exports. The next move is likely to be into packaging and digital printing. It’s an inspiring story refl ecting a rare passion for printing

Even as the printing world was gearing up for the much-awaited drupa this year, Jwalamukhi Mudranalaya, a print shop based in Bangalore, Karnataka, was making space for the product they intended to purchase at the event – a Heidelberg SX 74

press with a coater. Today, Jwalamukhi is the fi rst print shop in India to have placed an order for the powerhorse from Heidelberg.

As a company that steadfastly believes in c o n t i n u o u s upgradation of technology and machinery for its s ta te-of- the-ar t press, the purchase is another evidence of a passion for printing excellence. C.S. Shivakumar, CEO, Jwalamukhi Mudranalaya, is a staunch follower of Advaita, the Hindu philosophy stream that expounds n o n - d u a l i s m . While non-dualism in Advaita refers

to the identifi cation of the Self to the Supreme, you could very well say that the approach is refl ective in Jwalamukhi’s undivided, single-minded focus on excellence. And for Shivakumar and his two brothers, C.S. Raviprasad and C.S. Shankar, who manage the company, excellence in business means partnering with the best. It is not limited to press solutions from Heidelberg – Jwalamukhi has Heidelberg solutions for all its operations – for pre-press, post-press and consumables.

C.S.Shiva Kumar with the recently installed Heidelberg Eurobind 600 binding equipment.


Jwalamukhis’ pre-press section has a Suprasetter A 105 with G&J processor and Prinect software, as well as a flatbed scanner. In the press division, Jwalamukhi has one MOV CPC Cptronics Alcolor Heidelberg four-colour press, purchased in 2002. It has an SORD AO size, single-colour press with Alcolor dampening, which was bought in 1991. In the post-press section, Jwalamukhi has been using the Stahlfolder 4KTL 28x40 format since 2006. Two Polar paper-cutting machines are part of this section of the press. The latest addition is the Heidelberg Eurobind 600 Perfect Binder with a gatefold wrapper-feeding attachment. Jwalamukhi has been using Saphira inks and rollers for their presses.

The name ‘Jwalamukhi’ means a volcano. Indeed, the company is a melting pot of printing excellence, complete with the latest technologies, sixty years of experience in delivering quality print products, and a huge wealth of knowledge agbout delivering the most complex projects without compromising on quality or timelines. Shivakumar and his brothers have been familiar with the printing press since childhood. They have seen the tedious, manual composing days. They fondly recount the mastery of technicians who handled manual plate making, and describe it as nothing less than an art form.

Interestingly, Jwalamukhi’s origins lie in the newspaper business. They have a weekly newspaper called Jwalamukhi published in Kannada. They started it 59 years ago in tabloid form, in black and white. Today, it’s a four-colour magazine that is distributed to its 8000-odd subscribers. Shivakumar’s brother Raviprasad looks after the magazine. Jwalamukhi also publishes its own books in English and Kannada. Jwalamukhi, the company, came into being to handle the printing of the newspaper in 1953 with a small letterpress unit. It was founded by Shivakumar’s grandfather C.S. Narayana Rao. Shivakumar attended the school of printing in 1971. In 1972-73, the press began taking up commercial jobs.

Things started changing in the 1980s when Jwalamukhi installed its first Macintosh system. Offset presses had started to make an appearance. Jwalamukhi initially outsourced offset printing. In 1984, it became one of the first few presses in India to purchase an indigenous single-colour offset press. “Since then, there was no looking back,” says Shivakumar. In 1989-90, a second single-colour

offset press was added. The first Heidelberg press arrived in 1991, a single-colour model. “By then we had developed a passion for Heidelberg technology,” says Shivakumar. The first Heidelberg four-colour GTO V came in 1994, which was replaced by a Heidelberg MOV model in 2002. As more offset presses were added, Jwalamukhi strengthened its pre-press with an A3-size laser printer and two Macintosh computers, a photo scanner, a Lithotex camera and an automatic plate processor.

In 2002-03, Jwalamukhi invested in the CtF technology from Heidelberg. The press moved to CtP in 2010 with Heidelberg technology. Finishing and post-press kept seeing additions such as an automatic paper cutting machine, an automatic folding machine, and a pinning machine, which were bought in 2002.

“Most printers like to focus on only the press aspect. But the pre-press and post-press equipment need to be of high quality, too,” says Shivakumar.

In December 2011, Jwalamukhi became the first print-shop in India to buy the Eurobind 600, Heidelberg’s speedy binder. “We bought a binding system back in 2002. But we wanted to have better finishing and needed some extra features. In 2006, we wanted to buy the Eurobind, but it was not available. So we had to buy a new model of the old binding system,“ he says, adding, “The Eurobind has increased our book production by 25 per cent in terms of speed. I am sure of getting at least 500 copies in an hour. So I can commit the time of delivery to my customer. It has also reduced our dependency on manpower. We used to have three people to manage the old binder but with the Eurobind we don’t need any special operator or as many people. The Eurobind uses a unique mechanism to apply a very thin film of glue for the spine of a book, and this saves us 10 per cent of Hotmelt Glue we use for each book. And we get a fine finish.“

The print-shop has an enviable portfolio. As Shivakumar and Shankar take turns to explain some of the jobs they have executed, it’s apparent that they have put their heart and soul into each of the jobs. For instance, they devised an ingenious way to get the Stahlfolder on to the second floor of the building by creating moveable floors and using a crane. “We are driven by ethics, powered by excellence and fuelled by the passion for service,” says Shivakumar. “Some of our customers have been with us for over 45 years. And tough jobs are routinely given to us.” <


Way to small, medium high-quality print runs

fgb and its predecessor, Herder-Druck, has been producing books since 1808, from pre-press to binding, all from one source. In 1974, fgb became an independent company within the Herder Group. With four sheet-fed offset printing presses, including a four-

colour machine and a five-colour machine, fgb has specialised in producing books in small and medium-sized print runs for years now.

Ready for use in no timeIn order to keep up with the latest technology, the innovative company invested in a digital

printing press, new thread-sewing machines and a Diamant MC Hybrid. With the bookline, the company can produce print runs of any size at low costs and with the highest level

Leo Lenschin (left) and Dieter Futterer (right), machine operators of the two hardcover booklines, together with the bookbinding manager Rolf Kanzler, in front of the Diamant MC Hybrid.

The book producer fgb from Freiburg specialises in producing high-quality small and medium-sized print runs at reasonable prices. In order to stand out in producing any print run size, the company recently invested in two new Ventura MC thread-sewing machines and a new Diamant MC Hybrid bookline


of quality. “We looked at exactly which bookline we wanted to invest in,” reports Rolf Kanzler, the bookbinding manager. “The top quality of the Diamant MC convinced us. We hardly waste paper anymore.” Since the machine was installed, Kanzler continues to be convinced in its daily operation. He enthusiastically explains how quickly the machine was ready after installation: “We were producing books with excellent quality only five working days after the Diamant MC was delivered.” And this continues to be the case. Since then, nothing but outstanding books has been produced with the Diamant MC.”

Fast changeover timefgb offers print runs of 30 to 5000 copies to

its customers. It means they often have to change formats as quickly as possible. The Diamant MC with its outstandingly short changeover times is the ideal machine for carrying out such jobs. Due to its high level of automation, the machine operator no longer has to take care of the machine settings, which are set automatically after just a few touches on the screen. Other devices, such as the double lining station, also ensure fast changeover times. Machine operator Dieter Futterer appreciates the clear and user-friendly machine controls of the Diamant MC. In addition, soon after commissioning, he was convinced by the tandem station and would not want to be without it. “On one of the lining stations, we have a wide-lined mill roll, on the other a compact mill roll. That allows

us not only to change jobs on the fly, but we no longer have to carry around heavy rolls. The tandem station really simplifies our work,” he reports.

Thread-sewn and perfectly boundApart from the Diamant MC, two new Ventura MC

thread-sewing machines were also installed. What is impressive is how easy it is to operate the machine thanks to its touch screen. “The Ventura MC is so much more comfortable to operate than the old machine,” Angelika Rusevljan, machine operator, exclaims happily. Her colleague, Sandra Bursomanno, adds that the Ventura MC runs very stable – even with difficult products.

Apart from the thread-sewing for hardcover and softcover books, fgb also offers perfect binding for books and brochures. The book blocks and brochures are produced on a Bolero perfect binder from Muller Martini. This range of high-quality processing for small print runs works very well for publishing houses. The fact that the prices are also right allows fgb to be able to produce jobs for companies from the Far East.

Roughly a third of the orders placed with fgb come from publishing houses of the Herder Group. Given its location in the tri-border area, the Freiburg company maintains good business relations with French and Swiss as well as Austrian companies. Another third of the print runs come from these countries. The books for customers on both sides of the border have been impressive. The awards that fgb has received for best designed books both in Germany as well as in Switzerland and Austria are testimony to that.

Machine operator Angelika Rusevljan at the delivery end of the Ventura MC thread-sewing machine.

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Rolf Kanzler, bookbinding manager and member of the board, in front of a selection of books produced


KBA sees pre-tax profi t, thanks to drupa boost

It’s feel-good time at KBA. Group sales are up 4%, an 8% increase in sheetfed orders has been recorded, the order backlog is 29% higher than last year, a pre-tax profi t has been recorded, new product launches have attracted keen market interest, and the outlook for 2012 is higher sales and earnings

Disclosing the fi rst-quarter fi gures for German press manufacturer Koenig & Bauer AG (KBA), president and CEO Claus Bolza-Schünemann gave an upbeat preliminary assessment of the group’s performance at drupa, the defi nitive trade fair for the print

media industry, which closed on 16th May. The high level of attendance at the KBA stand and the keen interest expressed in the raft of new product launches exceeded all expectations, which given the current economic issues in some key foreign markets, were modest. With customers coming from some 30 countries around the world, KBA booked a string of orders for sheetfed offset presses in all the formats offered, and also booked some web press orders from printers in Germany and elsewhere.

Bolza-Schünemann described the total value of the orders placed in Düsseldorf as highly satisfactory, but was unwilling to give specifi c fi gures because in many cases the fi nancing had not been fi nalised, particularly where leasing agreements are being negotiated. He said: “We have signed a lot of contracts with both existing and new customers. But it will be weeks, or even months,

before all the fi nancing has been clarifi ed, customer prepayments have been received and we and other exhibitors can assess our true performance at drupa 2012.”

A pre-tax profi tCFO Axel Kaufmann reported a divergence in key fi gures during the fi rst quarter. While

group sales climbed by 4% to €263.5m, the group order intake of €236.6m was well below the record level of €432.1m twelve months earlier, which had been boosted by major contracts for special presses. Fluctuations of this kind are not uncommon in the plant engineering industry, and can distort the picture. Bucking the industry trend, the backlog of unfi lled orders swelled

Well attended on all 14 days – KBA’s 3500m² stand at drupa, in Düsseldorf.


by 28.9% to €798.8m at the end of March. Typically for this sector, first-quarter sales were below target. Even so, the KBA group transformed an operating loss of €1.8m the year before into an operating profit of €2m. Following a financial loss of €1.8m it posted a pre-tax profit (EBT) of €0.2m (2011: a loss of €3.9m). A group net loss of €0.8m (2011: €5.8m loss) corresponds to earnings per share of –€0.05 (2011: –€0.35).

Sheetfed sales riseDespite a certain reluctance among printers to

invest in new kit ahead of the drupa trade fair, the influx of new orders for sheetfed offset presses rose by 8.1% to €152.9m (2011: €141.5m). This was partly attributable to a pre-Drupa event at KBA’s Radebeul operation in March, which drew

over 1,000 print professionals. Following a fourth-quarter dip in demand last year and some late orders that had not yet worked through to the bottom line, sales of sheetfed offset presses fell by 19.9% to €100.9m (2011: €126m).

Higher sales of web, special pressesAn absence of the major contracts that had

pushed up the prior-year figure sent the volume of new orders for web and special presses plunging by 70% from €290.6m to €83.7m. Sales, however, soared 27.7% to €162.6m (2011: €127.3m). At the end of March the order books showed an increase of 12.8% in contracts for sheetfed offset and of 35.4% for web and special presses.

Export level 90%A slide of around 17% in domestic sales raised

the export level to 89.2%. Sales to the rest of

Europe were well below the historic average following persistent weak demand in southern Europe, the UK and much of Eastern Europe. The volume of group sales attributable to Asia and the Pacific climbed from 24.3% to 30%, with China playing a major role. North American sales contributed 8.2% of the group total. The proportion of group sales generated in Africa and Latin America soared from 14.5% to 25.4%.

Cash flows shrinkDespite a perceptible drop in trade receivables,

the bigger inventories required for shipments in subsequent quarters sent cash flows from operating activities plunging to –€23.1m, well below the prior-year figure of €40.1m which had been bolstered in part by high customer prepayments. A scheduled post-Drupa increase in shipments will reduce inventories and improve the cash flow. The free cash flow was also negative (–€30m compared to €36.3m twelve months before). Funds came to €119m at the end of March, up from €145.6m at the end of December 2011. After

deducting bank loans totalling €36.1m net liquidity stood at €82.9m, and KBA has access to ample credit lines. At the end of the quarter equity was worth a good 38.6% of the balance sheet total.

Management reaffirms forecastGiven the group’s strong performance at drupa,

which exceeded expectations, KBA management reaffirmed its projected targets for 2012 of an increase in sales to over €1.2bn and higher pre-tax earnings compared to 2011 (€3.3m). These projections are based on the sizeable order backlog, which includes a large proportion of high-margin products, and on

A major attraction at the world’s biggest trade fair for the print media industry: KBA’s new RotaJET 76 digital inkjet press.

KBA’s highly automated 17000sph Rapida 145 – the biggest sheetfed offset press at drupa.


an anticipated business stimulus from drupa in the second and third quarters. Given the unsettled market climate, management is unwilling to offer a more detailed prognosis until the summer, when the fi gures for the trade fair will have been fi nalised and post-drupa business can be assessed more accurately.

Bolza-Schünemann is confi dent that a sound fi nancial base and healthy balance sheet, a uniquely diverse portfolio and innovative products enjoying a high level of market acceptance will enable the group to consolidate its standing as the world’s second-largest press vendor. He said: “We’ll continue to exploit the strategic options offered by consolidation in the sector. We have already introduced measures to strengthen our international sales and service network in markets where we see growth potential for KBA. We are also vigorously pursuing our strategic goal of expanding our product range for the key Chinese market by acquiring a stake in a domestic manufacturer.”

Kodak's take on preliminary fi ndings

1. We are disappointed in this preliminary determinati on. We are confi dent that aft er further investi gati on, the facts will be clear and the matt er will be resolved in our favour. In fact, because of the superior features of our products and our high level of customer service, our products have consistently enjoyed a price premium to other products in the market.

2. While surprised and disappointed with the preliminary determinati on, we will conti nue to cooperate fully with the DGAD authoriti es throughout the ongoing investi gati on. We will conti nue to supply plates to our customers while we explore opti ons to miti gate the impact. In the mean ti me, we may need to adjust pricing while the tariff is in eff ect in order to maintain profi tability.

3. It is important to note that Kodak does not just sell in India. We also invest here and manufacture here, and in the case of our digital plate products, we perform fi nishing operati ons at our plant in Goa. This ruling is a disservice to those employees and to our customers who have come to count on the superior features of our plate products.

(This is a reproducti on of a Kodak release.)

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Conference focuses on democracy, media

For the fi rst ti me in its history, the Insti tute of Journalism and Mass Communicati on of Mangalayatan University, Aligarh, organised a two-day Internati onal Conference on Civic Challenges, Democracy and Media in February. The main objecti ve was to provide a platf orm for research scholars, academicians, social acti vists, media professionals, thought leaders and students to discuss issues relevant to democracy, challenges faced by civic society and the role of media. About 220 research papers were received from across India, as well as 25 papers from 15 countries, including the US, the UK, China and Singapore. Fift een technical sessions were conducted. The event was sponsored by Indian Council of Social Science Research, Ministry of Human Resource and Development, Government of India.

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grassroots

grassrootsRs 15 June 15 , 2011 - Volume 3 Issue 6

I N S I D E

A journal from the Press Institute of India promoting reportage on the human condition

SAKUNTALA NARASIMHAN, Bangalore

Sitting by the wayside, in a corner of the pavement along a dusty stretch of a busy road

in south Bangalore, Karim stitches mattresses all day long. Stuffing cotton into rectangular sheaths that his colleague at the Fancy Mattress Store runs up on a sewing machine inside a roadside kiosk, Karim first beats the cotton stuffing with a stick to distribute it evenly, then covers the six-by-three mattress with long tacking stitches using a long, oversized needle to keep the cotton stuffing from bunching inside.

Sometimes, the mattresses are special orders for a bridal couple; the material is silk or brocade that he has to handle carefully, to prevent it from getting dusty on the footpath, and the mattress is extra thick, over six inches high. He spreads a sheet of tarpaulin to protect the material, but his own pants get filthy and caked with grime. By evening, his palm, thumb and forefinger are sore and swollen through long hours of pushing the needle in and out, his back aches from squatting and stooping, and the fine cotton fluff he breathes in brings on a dry, racking cough. For this work, eight to ten hours a day, seven days a week, he earns around Rs 3,000, just

parched, the crop is all withered, and he has run up a huge debt over the past year which he fears he will never be able to repay. Every south Indian family in the city needs dal for its daily meals, but Basappa who produces it, remains half-starved, due to poverty.

If these lowly workers who toil from dawn to dusk, stopped work even for a day, or withdrew their labour inputs for a couple of days, the economically well-off sections of the city will not be able to get on with their cushy lives – no fruit for the dinner table, no flyovers for the car-owning rich, no high-rise blocks for the affluent. Does that make sense, socially, morally or ethically – or even economically? Can a nation prosper and register ‘GDP growth’ if these sections of our productive labour are left behind by such ‘growth’?

There are hundreds and thousands of crores available, for building flyovers and glass-fronted malls, but not for ensuring a minimal roof-over-one’s-head-and-two-meals-a-day for those who don’t have the basic needs. We have state-of-the-art fancy hospitals that draw a ‘medical tourism’ influx from abroad, but not even simple healthcare centres where Asha Rani and her ilk can get treatment and medicines for their sick children. As one social economist put it, we are “planting fancy grass without roots in the name of beautification, not realising that it will only wither away and die if the roots are missing’.

It is the Karims, Asha Ranis, Champas, Seshammas and Basappas who symbolise the grass we need to nourish, nurture and tend, if we are to have greenery for our own enjoyment.

enough to keep him and his family fed. He lives in a tin-roofed one-room shed and the family sleeps on the floor – he cannot afford any of the cushy mattresses he stitches.

Across the road, along the opposite pavement, a new high-rise apartment block is coming up. Seshamma is one of the labourers the contractor has engaged on the site, to carry bricks and heavy pans of cement concrete mixture. In a sandy corner of the site, her nine-year-old son babysits his eight-month-old sibling, while the mother is at work. Once every three hours Seshamma is allowed ten minutes to breastfeed her child before returning to her load-carrying work. She and the children have no shelter, they sleep under a makeshift tent made out of a blue plastic sheet and a bamboo pole.

A short distance away, at the market that the city boasts as ‘one of the largest in the south’, 68-year-old Champa sits at the entrance selling bananas and guavas all day. Her daughter goes to work, so Champa keeps an eye on her three-year-old grandchild. Every now and then the child reaches out to grab a fruit to eat, but its hand is slapped away, and it starts howling. Bananas and guavas

are for selling, to eke out a living for the family of three – a deserted wife and a widowed daughter with a posthumous baby to feed – not for satisfying the hunger or cravings of the child.

Facing the west gate of the famous Lalbagh Gardens, one of the landmarks drawing foreign tourists to Bangalore, a new metro rail and flyover project is taking shape, and a family of migrant labourers is among the army of workers engaged on daily wages to clear the rubble and sweep and carry head-loads of mud dug up by mammoth machines. The flyover will facilitate the swift movement of the lakhs of cars that will speed that way.

Under the hot midday sun, I see Asha Rani who hails from Rajasthan, spreading her dupatta and reclining on it with her infant son beside her, during the short lunch break she gets. Dust raised by passing vehicles and the construction work bothers the child who frets and whines. “He has a persistent khaansee (cough),” she tells me, “but I can’t take time off to take him to a doctor.”

Beyond the city, Basappa grows togarebele (dal) on a small farm near Doddballapur. The field looks

Daring to dream, and then building a future .............. 2

At 6300 ft, a school opens out a whole new world, helps girls aim for the skies.............. 3

A woman of substance, poetry's child ....................... 4

A childhood spent rummaging through garbage bins......................... 5

Breaking the silence on HIV, and reaching out ...... 6

Every drop of water counts ....................................5

After 13 years, the Brus finally head home .............. 7

‘Planting fancy grass without roots’

Karim stitches mattresses but cannot afford one, Seshamma helps build multi-storey blocks but has no shelter of her own, Champa sells fruit but her own grandchild cannot eat any because she cannot afford it ... these and other heartrending stories from India’s heartland

Children of those selling fruit for the affluent cannot afford the pleasure of eating fruit themselves.

The rewards of empowering women can be priceless .......................... 8

Phot

o: S

akun

tala

Nar

asim

han


manroland web systems bags 70m-euro orders

“Our autoprint innovations for commercial and newspaper printing, the revolutionary operating concept, and the pressupdate portfolio have very obviously impressed customers all over the world. Our wide range of established and new products

has also played a signifi cant role,” is how Peter Kuisle, member of the Executive Board at manroland web systems, summarises the company’s success at drupa 2012 in Düsseldorf.

Kuisle goes on to say: “Our expectations have been met in full, the response of customers and their trust in manroland web systems is extremely high. For this we thank all our staff and services providers who have worked hard for our success at drupa 2012.” Numerous large customers signed contracts, among them Axel Springer, Kraft-Schlötels, and The Times of India, thus endorsing their further cooperation with manroland web systems. The Augsburg printing systems specialists have a long project list for the coming months, the order volume from drupa amounts to around 70 million euros.

Large orders for newspaper presses

The high performance of the products and high level of project expertise offered by manroland web systems was rewarded by numerous press sales, including the world’s largest commercial web offset printing system, a two web, 80-page LITHOMAN for Kraft-Schlötels. Further orders for commercial web presses prove the attractiveness of high-volume printing such as an 80-page LITHOMAN sold to a customer in Europe. Most visitors were impressed by the concepts precisely confi gured to meet the customers’ needs.

Besides a comprehensive pressupdate for the Hindustan Times, manroland web systems booked the largest newspaper press order placed at drupa. The Times of India ordered seven REGIOMAN printing towers and three folders. Great interest was also shown in the radically new operating concept with intuitive touch screen technology, which will fi rst be delivered in Europe with a COLORMAN, XXL. The COLORMAN e:line design, shown live for the fi rst time in Düsseldorf, was also widely admired.

The printservices portfolio from manroland web systems is playing an increasingly important role for increasing production effi ciency over the entire press life cycle. Whether in India, South Africa, the United Arab Emirates, the USA, or right across Europe, many printers and publishers rely on retrofi ts and upgrades from the manroland web systems printservices portfolio. A modular retrofi t signifi cantly increases the effi ciency of newspaper and commercial printers.

A successful partnership: The Times of India delegation at the manroland web systems stand at drupa.

<


MANROLAND SIGNS CONTRACT WITH RIVET PRESSE EDITION

Variable content to drive newspaper of the future

A revolution for newspapers in France where distribution-optimised newspapers in different formats will be produced digitally under a first agreement within the manroland and Océ strategic alliance has been unveiled by Rivet Presse Edition, an innovative contract printer. Under a project called Synapse, which has been developed in close cooperation with the publisher of the regional French daily L’Echo, in Limoges in the centre of France, a cutting-edge business model – a world-first for newspapers – has been established that will open up new editorial opportunities for publishers

National and regional daily newspapers, as well as foreign editions of titles, will be printed in the order they are required for delivery to outlets in a defined area around Limoges, which will be less than 90 minutes’ journey time from a new 960 square

metres production plant. An administration building with 1200 square meters will be built in the overall ten million euro investment – the majority of which will be on the new manroland and Océ production equipment – that will also market and showcase the potential value-added offering to open up digital printing opportunities for other publishers.

Thanks to the digital printing technology, the newspaper of the future can be built on variable content to create a “new and stronger” relationship with readers and help rebuild circulation and advertising revenues, as well as improve interaction between print and new media. Some of the leading names in France are expected to sign up for the commercial operation. In future, newspapers will still have the same core news and features, but readers can receive their own personal content according to their own specific interests or of their region of interest.

The new digital process for newspapers will offer a new economic model supporting “editorial innovation”, according to Christian Sirieix, the executive leading the project for Rivet Presse Edition. Central to the success will be using a cutting-edge production line consisting of integrated manroland and Océ equipment.

Printing will be done on two new Océ JetStream 4300 color inkjet presses with 30 inch reel widths that produce offset-like-quality digital newspapers at speeds of 200 metres per minute. manroland has devised a format-variable newspaper folding device to create the fully automated newspaper production lines that can produce up to 40000 newspapers in variable formats in five hours. Printing digitally on demand will offer publishers a new way of working and will enable costs of production and distribution to be reduced for publishers with a far greater flexibility in publishing practices, including the prospect of offering more highly targeted advertising. The fully variable digital manroland pin-type folder VPF 211 offers the possibility to produce broadsheet or tabloid newspapers in long grain and short grain with different structures and ensures with that maximum utilisation of the advantages of digital printing for newspapers, as well as commercial printing.


At the same time Rivet Presse Edition will start complementary printing activities during the day shift, which will be commercial applications based on variable data to help balance the business model.

Says Christian Sirieix, director of Rivet Presse Edition: “It is a unique project for newspapers anywhere in the world. On the same production line several different titles can be printed and released in the exact order required by the distributor. Better still, on the same basis, the production line will be able to publish newspapers “à la carte”, that is to say same having a common core of content where topics can be added or removed from one day to another according to the reading interests of each subscriber. This new process is revolutionary. We certainly don’t aim to limit competition but rather lead by example. We expect production costs and the distribution cost should be considerably lessened by the fact that national newspapers can now be printed at localised print plants for their local subscribers. manroland and Océ provided us with the best suitable solution by combining the advantages from the digital technology leader Océ and manroland as the leader of newspaper press manufacturing. They understood our needs; a full fl exibility in the folding technology to achieve sectionized broadsheets as well as the production of tabloids. For commercial production, the additional possibilities of a quarter fold are essential for us.”

Adds Peter Kuisle, executive vice president, Sales, Service, and Marketing, manroland web systems: “It’s exciting to see that our hard work in continuous research and development activities and our common expertise pays off in this future- oriented project which can change the way some newspapers will be printed and distributed in future.”

Sebastian Landesberger, executive vice president, Océ Printing Systems, expains: “Publishers across the world are increasingly looking to digital colour printing with all its effi ciency and costs benefi ts as a vehicle to produce additional income streams, particularly for advertising, in an increasingly tough marketplace. This is something the newspaper industry has been waiting for. It’s here, it’s now, and we’re right at the forefront of developments.”<

NELA system for GOSS Sunday 4000

In the course of a substantial extension of its Queienfeld print site in 2011, Inline Rollenoffset Ploch & Strube OHG have invested in two new GOSS Sunday 4000 presses. The plates for the new presses are precisely sheared and bent in a new NELA VCPevolution 2100 Vision-shearing and bending system. One of the two new GOSS Sunday 4000 / 48 presses with Autoplate system is already up and running, and the second line is currently being installed.

With the new presses, plate consumption will rise continually, which will again have dramatic effects on the pre-press department. This is the main reason why the customer has decided to invest in a second, fully automatic Ctp-line. The new plate production line is equipped with a NELA VCPevolution 2100 Vision-shearing and bending system and a NELA stacker and sorting station to achieve a high degree of automation. The new Ctp-line is mainly used for fully automatic production of plates for the new GOSS Sunday 4000 presses. The printing plates are vision-registered, sheared at the tail edge and then bent. This is to guarantee that the press-ready plates may be easily loaded into the presses’ Autoplate system, and that even the most sophisticated print jobs are produced in precise colour register.

One of the main goals of the project was to optimise pre-press processes in such a way that manual handling of plates is minimised as much as possible, and to shorten throughput times in the plate production. Press-ready plates can now be sorted in a special NELA stacker according to face and reverse printing (two plate trolleys). In addition to this, printing plates are “bundled” in the stacker according to print jobs. This enables press operators to immediately identify a stack of plates belonging to one print job. <


Newsprint properties affecting print quality

Various studies have been conducted on print quality and it has repeatedly been proved to be a complex issue when it comes to understanding the variability affecting print quality

Principally, there are two different approaches to assess print quality. The fi rst is by measurement, using

instruments to determine values for the various quality factors/variability. The second is based on observation, using psychophysical experiments to gather the judgement of human observers. For instance, the rank order method is a robust approach where observers are asked to rank the printed samples in order, from best to worst, along an attribute defi ned by the instructions, such as pleasantness. The method is based on Thurstone’s Law of Comparative Judgement. Considering the print quality evaluation in the study, both approaches have been applied, using quantitative analyses based on colour measurements,

and using psychophysical experiments. The elements that determine print quality are: print density, print contrast, evenness of ink coverage, dot defi nition, degree of print through and, for some, print gloss.

Although process control parameters for the production of half-tone colour separations, proofs and production prints, are clearly defi ned, often newspaper printing processes show signifi cant variations which affect the appearance of print. Essentially, there are two different approaches considering printing press convention, namely optimised or standardised press behaviour. A fully optimised press aims at maximising its capability in terms of lowest possible dot gain, highest ink densities and best contrast the individual printing press can achieve without being infl uenced by any external specifi cation or standard. Such individual parameters can create unique press conditions, which require custom ICC profi les to create the appropriate separations. Another approach is to make the press conform to a certain reference or standard such as ISO 12647-3:2005. By using the second approach and by standardising the behaviour of the press, industry standard ICC profi les can be used. In terms of aiming for a common print appearance across printing plants (form example, preserving print appearance of an ad campaign) the second approach, including consistency, will be the most suitable to ensure a predictable and equivalent print result.

A reel of newsprint.

(The writer is assistant general

manager-technical, The New Indian

Express, Chennai. After graduating

in Engineering (Printing Technology)

from the College of Engineering and Technology, Pune

University, he went on to obtain a post-graduate degree in Management from the Indira Gandhi

National Open University (IGNOU),

New Delhi. He has worked for the

Eenadu Newspaper Group, Hyderabad;

Thomson Press (India) Ltd.,

Faridabad/Okhla, New Delhi; and The Printers House Ltd.)

Manoj Mathew

Photo

s: M

M


The features of print quality are also determined by a combination of paper properties. The major ones which can be measured and which relate to web offset printing are: grammage, thickness, bulk, smoothness, brightness, gloss, opacity, absorbency and whiteness of the paper. Other contributing secondary properties which can affect the colour register are: dimensional stability, tensile strength

(due to its non-returnable stretch) and moisture content. The importance of the secondary properties is known to the newsprint manufacturer.

GrammageThe property has a decisive influence in print-

through, but of much importance is the limitation it places on the mineral filler content as pigment in the newsprint. The value of pigment for print quality cannot be overstated, because it has a greater affinity with printing ink than paper fibres. It not only accepts ink more readily, but also limits its lateral spread, thus improving the definition of half tone dots. In addition to the above benefits, mineral pigments improve smoothness, brightness, opacity and gloss.

Unit of measurement: Grams per square metre (g/m2)

Tolerances of +/- 5.0% on 40g/m2 and over, and +/- 7.5% under40g/m2

ThicknessIt influences opacity and print-through, and

the degree of compressibility that affects printing

smoothness.Units of measurement:

Micrometre Tolerances: A maximum

of +/- 10% for thickness up to and including 100 micrometre, and +/- 7.5% for thickness over 100 micrometres.

Bulk: The term expresses how thick a paper is for a particular weight, and is calculated by dividing the thickness in micrometres by the grammage. A difference in bulk of less than 0.1 is of little significance (In publishing, the term

“bulk’’ is used express the thickness of 14mm per

100 sheets of 100 g/m2 . A 15 volume would have a thickness of 15mm per 100 sheets of 100 g/m2). Bulk has an influence on smoothness, opacity and ink absorbency. Other things are being equal, high bulk reduces smoothness and increases ink absorbency.

SmoothnessIt improves area contact with the printing image. It

is most critical property for gravure and relief printing. While it is less important for offset printing generally, because of the offset blanket, smoothness is essential

for fine half-tone screen work. Factors in the making of paper that contribute to smoothness are the evenness

Calliper tester.

Smoothness and porosity tester.

GSM tester.


of the sheet’s formation (which is assisted by the use of short deciduous wood fibres) and the maximum amount of mineral pigment (consistent with the required strength properties).

Testing Equipment: There are several instruments for testing smoothness and generally all instruments allow air to flow across the surface of the substrate and measure the time for a known amount of air which takes to pass between the paper and the testing head. There are, however, smoothness and roughness testers both measuring the same property,

the former measures the time for a known amount of air takes to pass between the paper and testing head, and the latter measures how much air passes in a given time. In the first category is the Bekk smoothness tester, which expresses results in seconds, while the most commonly used roughness tester is the Bendsten roughness tester.

Unit of measurement: Bendsten Roughness: millilitre per minute (ml/min) with gloss coated paper covering a range of 3 to 30 ml/min. The bulky Newsprint may be 500 ml/min

Tolerances Up to 20ml/min – A 5 ml/min difference can

be significant20-50 ml/min – A 10 ml/min difference is

significantAt 100 ml/min – A 25 ml/min difference is

barely significantAt 500 ml/min – A 75 ml/min difference is

needed to be significant

OpacityIt influences show-through, one of the two

elements in print-through (the other being strike-through due to ink penetration). Opacity is determined by grammage, thickness, brightness, degree of finish. As far as the materials are concerned, short deciduous fibres give better opacity than long coniferous ones, while highly bleached fibres are detrimental to opacity. Opacity varies not only with the quantity of mineral pigment present, but also with the kind of pigments; for example, calcium carbonate gives better opacity than clay, and titanium dioxide is significantly better than both. Pigment coating improves opacity but some benefits can be lost by excessive amounts of adhesive.

Newsprint is normally printed with non-drying coldset offset inks and a balance is sought

between ink hold-out and penetration. The ink must remain on or near the surface of the paper to give a good colour density, but have sufficient surface penetration to prevent set-off and ink smearing. A cross-section through printed paper shows the ink situated in the surface pores. Fillers increase the opacity of the sheet and also change the pore structure (there is a higher proportion of small pores). It helps prevent ink from being seen from the reverse side of the sheet (print-through and show-through). Structured fillers generally give low print-through. Addition of fillers reduces the surface strength of the paper (as seen by pick and fibre rise). Coarse fillers tend to give less strength reduction than finer fillers. Aggregated fillers give worse surface strength, even when used at lower loading levels.

Testing equipment: There are two methods of measuring opacity, expressed as ‘printing opacity’ or ‘contrast ratio’. Printing opacity is the preferred method, defined as the ratio of the reflectance of a sample backed by black cavity, to its reflectance when backed with standard white surface. Results from the two methods vary very slightly, the difference depending on the level of the opacity.

Unit of measurement: Percentage (%) with a maximum opacity of 100%. To be at all satisfactory for general printing purposes, the opacity should be of the order of 90% or more.

At 96% and above a difference of two units between samples is not significant as far as eye is concerned, and the same difference is even less noticeable on low opacity substrates. However, at 90 to 95% opacity, a difference of 1 unit or sometimes less can have an impact on an experienced eye.

BrightnessThe property is important in relation to print

contrast – the difference in reflectance between the plain and printed areas of the sheet. High-print contrast enhances print quality and improves visual

Opacity, gloss and brightness tester.


impact. Brightness is influenced by the degree of bleaching of the fibres, and the amount and type of mineral pigment present in newsprint. Generally the greater the quantity of mineral pigment, the higher the brightness, but as with opacity, calcium carbonate produces better brightness than clay (for coated papers), and the highest brightness is obtained using titanium dioxide.

Brightness, as defined by the paper industry, is the per cent reflectance of blue light only, centring on the wavelength 457nm. (Measurements at this wavelength permit sensitive detection of blue and yellow tints, which are important to the human eye in assessing the whiteness of paper). Brightness differs from ‘whiteness’ in that the latter refers to the extent that paper diffusely reflects light at all wavelengths.

Super Calendaring lowers brightness as does excessive use of adhesive in the coating. Dyes can add brightness and optical bleaching agents are commonly used for the purpose, but they require ultraviolet in the lighting to be effective. Ironically, the same ultraviolet light reduces the effectiveness of the optical bleaching agent when exposed to it for quite a short period.

Testing Equipment: Reflectometer equipped for the measurement of the blue factor.

Unit of measurement: Percentage (%).

WhitenessColour is related to perception and, therefore,

measured or specified in terms of colour space. A commonly used system is the CIE L,a,b system. This is based on the idea of colour opposites.

L - measure of luminance and varies from 100 for perfect white to 0 for perfect black.a - redness to greenness.b - yellowness to blueness.

Whiteness is the extent to which paper diffusely reflects light of all wavelengths throughout the visible spectrum; that is, the magnitude and uniformity of spectral reflectance measured as the per cent light reflectance for the whole wavelength range.

GlossThe property is especially relevant when

assessing substrates with a high finish as produced by super-calendaring, gloss-calendaring or similar finishing methods. A shiny or lustrous appearance that reflects light has sales appeal in certain markets. It is often confused with smoothness, but quite

rough-coated, super-calendared surfaces can have high gloss, while some matt surfaces can be quite smooth. The gloss of a paper reflects to the amount of light reflected at a predetermined angle; if the angle is changed, the gloss value changes. Good gloss has 20 to 30% quantatities of mineral pigment. The type of pigment influences the degree of gloss.

The relationship between paper gloss and print gloss is not always as good as sometimes thought, for when using opaque inks the ink hold-out (print gloss minus paper gloss) is produced by the combined properties of ink and paper. With transparent inks, the ink hold-out factor is not so important since the gloss of the paper is permitted to shine through the ink film. The ink hold-out properties of a paper in super-calendared newsprint, because of its closeness of surface, can produce good hold-out and print gloss with the most opaque inks.

Testing Equipment: ReflectometerThere are several different instruments for measuring

gloss and they use varying angles for the light source, thus influencing the gloss value.

Unit of measurement: Percentage (%). With the angle of light at 75 degrees, a difference of five units between samples is probably meaningful, at all levels of gloss, to the experienced eye.

Ink absorbencyThe influence of paper on ink hold-out, the

importance of absorbency in a specification for print quality can be anticipated. It is the paper characteristic that determines the quantity of ink that will penetrate its surface, or the rate at which ink will penetrate a

paper's surface. The desired amount of ink absorbency (or its converse, ink hold-out) is dictated by the type of

Oil/ink absorbency tester.


ink used and the nature of the printing job itself. In high-quality printing, the paper must be absorbent enough to prevent ink set-off, yet not so absorbent, that ink that primarily dries by exposure to air is absorbed before it has a chance to dry. Ink hold-out is primarily responsible for printed gloss. Lack of printed gloss and even ink chalking can result if the ink vehicle is drained from the ink film by absorption. On the other hand, in high-speed web printing, fast ink vehicle absorption is necessary to prevent smudging. In newspaper printing, rapid absorption of the ink vehicle traps the pigment on the surface of the paper, which is why newspaper ink never dries enough to keep from blackening the reader's hands.

A variety of interrelated paper properties affect ink absorbency and ink holdout. Primary among them is porosity, or the size and quantity of tiny inter-fibre air spaces in paper. It is by capillary action that inks and other fluids are absorbed into paper. Various procedures, such as the refining of paper fibres, the addition of fillers, the degree of calendaring or super-calendaring, and the application of various types of coatings affect ink absorbency. Some tests that can determine the ink absorbency of paper are the Vanceometer Test and the K and N Ink Absorbency Test. The former measures a paper's ink absorbency, in which an oil is spread on the surface of a paper, imparting a certain level of gloss, and a gloss meter is used to measure the decrease in gloss as the oil is absorbed into the paper. The latter is used to quickly determine the degrees of ink absorbency for various papers, in which a non drying ink containing a soluble dye is thickly applied to several overlapped paper samples and allowed to sit for two minutes. The ink is then wiped off the samples, and when the different degrees of colour depth of the ink stains on the various samples are compared, the greater density of colour indicates the highest ink absorbency. <

Young academics at drupa

"What would you like to do for a living?" "Well, something with media." The printing industry profits from this definite-indefinite wish many young people have. Jobs in the media industry are attractive. At drupa in Hall 6 the five German universities for print and media technique (Berlin, Leipzig, Munich, Stuttgart, and Wuppertal) present themselves at a joint booth. Also, manroland web systems supports this initiative. The universities answer all questions about the different study programmes and competences.

Yet who could provide better information than the students themselves, such as Kerstin Draeger? After a graphic vocational training she is now studying book and media production at Leipzig University for Technique, Economy, and Culture. She’s always been fond of media, design, and printing, she’s really into the combination of media knowledge and print production. Most of all she is looking forward to the internship of the three-and-a-half-year bachelor study course. The German print and media education features a worldwide leading quality. To preserve and pass on this know-how is also something the universities are promoting.

Heiko Tennot, system administrator at Leipzig University:

"We teach everything from traditional hot type over crossmedia publishing up to media management. New media and print cross-fertilise each other and thus make the industry so interesting for the offspring."

Heiko Tennot and Ricarda Backhaus, HWTK Leipzig staff, and Kerstin Draeger, student at HWTK Leipzig.

manroland web systems and other industry leaders support the drupa 2012 performance of the German print and media universities.

<


Energy conservation is critical to a printing press

If you are managing or running a small or medium printing press, then it is a moral responsibility “to be the one who can do the best to improve the energy efficiency in our printing unit”; it is a socio-economic pledge we should all take. It is not only a matter of production, but also ‘perfection’ that must make you lead the whole process

Perfection comes from the management’s determination and the representation of employees in the daily the working system. If you are looking for ‘on time’ performance or high-quality achievements, then you should keep trying for perfection that can be

achieved by having a healthy work environment. The working system is healthy if the press equipment and machinery are thoroughly maintained and employees do their duties with sincerity and efficiency.

However, to determine the potential of saving energy, every manager must have the vision to search for an opportunity in energy saving. The manager should have the sole responsibility be able to focus his vision on the print unit to understand the losses being incurred on a daily basis. Losses have a direct impact on the performance of a printing unit; indeed, for the nation as well. Nowadays, there are huge challenges for a press

manager to optimise the overall unit running cost; a benchmark is the total cost of power consumed to print a million pages, the lower the figure, the better the plant performance and the energy efficiency.

The savings accumulated is directly proportionate to the stretch of the bow wire as the archer aims at the target’ the more the wire is stretched, the more the perfection. If we calculate the variable expenses in running a print unit, the cost of electrical power comes next to the cost of ink. Managements favour saving with low investment or look for high returns on investment in a short span of time. Efforts to save energy cannot be calculated so easily and often there is no one who can show the way.

The method usually adopted to determine success depends on available resources and practice. Preference is given to low-cost investment to make appropriate savings in a print unit, but managers forget to save energy by good practices. The energy saved by good

A well-designed power system helps in saving of electricity.

The writer is assistant

general manager – Engineering,

Technical Corporate, DB Corp (Dainik

Bhaskar Group), Jaipur.

Kapil K. Mathur

Photo

s: KK

M


<

practices does not require investment but results are admirable. It not only saves, but also increases the life of equipment, efficiency and reliability. And it is easy for any printing unit to adopt.

To understand better the savings without investment, draw an imaginary line bifurcating avoidable and non-avoidable power consumption. For avoidable power consumption the savings during the non-useful period can be achieved by switching off the general, press and office lights, computers, air conditioners, utilities and even pre-press and press equipment. Altogether, it may result in up to 12 per cent of saving on gross power consumption of the unit. It means that if you are consciously following good habits and an efficient system, then you are rewarded by good saving. Part of the data is represented here for reference – possible savings areas and energy units saved. The unit to have a simple single-width web offset indigenous printing machine for 5 webs, 30k IPH output capacity, with dual DC drive, machine utility system combined with office electrical load.

Four easy steps to ensure power saving by the good practices:

Identify all opportunity areas – press, pre-i)press, office, utility, etc

Prioritise and record action rationally; record ii)activities individually

Complete and analyse activities done; use iii)Excel sheet, plots, etc

Maintain and calculate results; calculate saving iv)or ROI

While analysing the results, it was found that one of the best practices contributed to savings of about 54 per cent in the print unit. The results recommended

that personnel at all levels should be aware of energy use and the goals for efficiency. Every staff member must be trained for skills as well as general approaches to energy efficiency in routine practices.

Low-cost energy management encourage the press management and staff to save energy with appropriate signage in work areas, illustrating examples and sharing results of savings with employees. Performance results should be regularly evaluated and communicated to all personnel; work of high achievers must be recognized and appreciated. Efforts must be made to raise employee awareness about energy conservation.

Collectively, the activities encourage companies to manage energy. You can imaging the savings in power in the country if all printing units adhere to a collective system of saving electricity. It also helps conserve natural resources. The most important aspect, however, is getting each and every person in the organisation involved.

The machinery in a printing unit has a major share in saving power.

Industry updates


manroland services business humming along

Commander web press for Times UnionHearst Corporation is bucking the trend in

the North American newspaper industry by reaffirming its commitment to print with a major investment in press technology from KBA. A Commander CL web press with four reelstands, four four-high towers and two folders will come on stream next year at the US media major’s upgraded plant in Albany printing the Times Union, the leading newspaper in New York state’s capital region. “The Times Union

has been the Capital Region’s most trusted source for news and information for more than 150 years,” said Hearst Corporation CEO, Frank A Bennack, Jr. “This announcement continues that mission for readers and advertisers, and greatly enhances the vibrancy of the newspaper. The capital investment affirms Hearst’s and the Times Union’s commitment to a printed newspaper while we invest in cutting-edge digital technologies at the same time.”

The trend towards retrofit and upgrade has been evident for a long time. Refurbishment, Retrofit, Reconfiguration and Upgrade are in demand from Luxembourg to India. Drupa saw large customers opting for the services offered by manroland web systems.

COLORMAN expansion at HT MediaHT Media, the leading Indian media house and publisher of the Hindustan Times, one of India’s largest read English daily newspapers, has expanded its Greater Noida facility by adding one tower and one balloon former to one of their three existing COLORMAN presslines installed in 2005. All three printing systems are configured with three towers and a 2-5-5 folder capable of printing up to 32 pages with 16 pages in full colour at a speed of 85000 copies an hour. In its current expansion order, HT Media has also purchased a service upgrade to increase the speed of all the towers in their COLORMAN presses to 90000 copies an hour. The enhanced speed will enable HT Media to meet its increasing circulation figures in New Delhi. HT Media publishes a wide range of media products including the Hindustan Times (English) and Hindustan (Hindi), which have a combined daily circulation of 2.25 million copies and a readership base of 12.4 million. In addition, HT Media also publishes a national business newspaper, Mint. HT Media operates 19 printing facilities across India with an installed capacity of 1.5 million copies an hour.

A COLORMAN retrofit The Luxemburger Wort is a newspaper that has been in the business for 164 years. The publishing house Imprimerie Saint Paul (ISP) Luxembourg is to refurbish its COLORMAN press line installed in 1997. It is equipped with five eight-couple towers, two folders, and a PECOM 95 system, and now the electronics are to be completely retrofitted in stages through until March 2013. The retrofit will start with audits to establish the actual status of the press line and in the next stage the section controls will be modified together with the shaft-less drive system, and the planning and control console level is to be modernised with new control consoles and touch-screen operation. Finally, the printing unit and folder computers will be refurbished and converted to the latest Ethernet network technology. The objective of the retrofits is to ensure ongoing availability of all electronic components. One of the advantages of the new system is that it is less complex due to the significant reduction in the number of components. Efficiency is increased by the latest software releases that improve the automation processes and as a result contribute to reducing paper waste.

Impressions Media upgrades Impressions Media in Wilkes Barre, Pennsylvania, USA, has ordered an electronic control system upgrade from manroland web systems for its 17-year-old GEOMAN. Installation of the upgrade will begin in the fourth quarter of 2012, and will initially include the folder controls. Upgrades to the printing units and press management consoles will be executed over time.

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June 2012 SurveyRIND

Rapida 145 for Druckhaus MainfrankenDruckhaus Mainfranken, one of the biggest litho

and internet print operations in Germany, signed up for another Rapida 145 at drupa. The company has four production plants: in Greussenheim and Marktheidenfeld (Bavaria), Klipphausen and Kesselsdorf (Saxony). It also owns a printshop, Thieme, in Meissen.

Production at Druckhaus Mainfranken is based on standardised processes and extensive automation. Most of the products printed are distributed by Flyeralarm, a fast-growing, highly successful online print portal. At present there are four large-format KBA Rapida 142 four-colour presses in operation at the Greussenheim plant. These will gradually be replaced by Rapida 145 press lines. A

beta version of the Rapida 145 with DriveTronic SPC simultaneous plate changing launched into action at the beginning of last year. As soon as the test phase was completed the company ordered a second Rapida 145, which will be installed in July. The next contract followed at Drupa. This was for a further Rapida 145 for Greussenheim and a Genius 52UV for Thieme. It will be the first KBA press in the Meissen printshop.

All Rapida 145 presses for Druckhaus Mainfranken have the same features. Alongside DriveTronic SPC dedicated drives they include inking-unit temperature control, non-stop facilities at the deliveries, new ErgoTronic Professional consoles with wall screens and QualiTronic inline colour control.

HP announced at drupa that it was working with one of Europe's leading book printers, Rotolito Lombarda S.p.A., and finishing equipment provider Muller Martini to produce a live Rotolito book order on-site in the HP exhibit in Hall 4. On drupa's opening day, 3 May, HP began printing 10 different Italian-language technical manuals using the HP T410 Color Inkjet Web Press, a high-speed 1,066-millimetre (42-inch) wide press. It was the first time HP completed an end-to-end commercial print job as part of its show exhibit, providing a real-world demonstration of the analogue-to-digital transformation in book printing. The book pages printed on the web press were

combined with top-quality colour book covers produced on an HP Indigo digital press. The Muller Martini SigmaLine inline digital book production system folded and collated the printed web pages into book blocks ready for binding. The Muller Martini system was fully-integrated with the HP T410, to create a high-productivity solution. The output of the first 42-inch wide format Muller Martini system was perfect-bound at the Muller Martini stand in Hall 14 on the new Alegro perfect binder. "This real-world showcase is a perfect demonstration of the potential our modular and integrated product portfolio offers," said Bruno Müller, chief executive officer, Muller Martini. "It allows customers to better understand how such

HP, Rotolito showcase book-printing productivityan application can be transferred one-to-one into their world."The job complete, HP

shipped the bound books from the drupa show floor to Rotolito's customer, Milan-based publisher Edizioni FAG S.r.l., for distribution to retail bookstores throughout Italy. "Instead of printing samples that would never be used, we decided to produce real books on our HP Inkjet Web Presses," said Aurelio Maruggi, vice president and general manager, Inkjet High-speed Production Solutions, HP. "It's the ultimate test of our reliability and efficiency to showcase our end-to-end publishing solution in such an open, public forum.""Today, inkjet printing is not only an efficient and reliable technology, but incorporates a new production model, which allows us to be more flexible and to better respond to market's needs. Thanks to our HP Inkjet Web Press installation, our customers are now able to place very frequent orders and in smaller quantities, saving money on warehouse and unsold, but with an economic advantage and an offset substitute quality," said Emanuele Bandecchi, digital business developer, Rotolito Lombarda.

HP was working with Rotolito and Muller Martini to produce a live book order on-site in the HP exhibit at drupa.

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Industry Updates

June 2012SurveyRIND

NEEF + STUMME to add Goss M-600 NEEF +

STUMME premium printing GmbH & Co KG has endorsed the make-ready advantages of the Goss M-600 model with an order placed at drupa. It invested in a 16-page Goss M-600 web press for its facility in Wittingen, Germany. The company specialises

in full-service print production for high-quality magazines, corporate publications and commercial

Andreas Bauer (left), president and managing partner of NEEF + STUMME premium printing GmbH & Co. KG, and Theo Buchmeyer, managing director for Goss International.

Bell & Bain in KBA Rapida hat-trick

Glasgow academic book and journal printer Bell & Bain has further strengthened its long term partnership with KBA by ordering its third Rapida 142 at drupa. The press will be commissioned in the fourth quarter of the year. The investment in a large-format eight-colour four-over-four perfecting press joins two four-colour perfecting

KBA UK managing director Christian Knapp with Bell & Bain factory manager Karen Baillie, sales director Steve Docherty and managing director Ian Walker.

products. Installation will begin in late 2012. Goss International will equip the system with an Ecocool dryer, JF65 folder and Goss Omnicon control and automation technology.

NEEF + STUMME currently operates four Goss M-600 presses. However, president and managing partner Andreas Bauer says choosing the Goss platform again was not an automatic decision as the company updates its web capacity. “Our team conducted a very methodical evaluation of all of the 16-page presses available, including visits to installation sites throughout Europe,” Bauer explains. “The technical specifi cations for the leading models proved to be nearly identical, but our study confi rmed that the Goss Autoplate advanced presetting and workfl ow features continue to give the latest M-600 model a clear edge in job-change speed and effi ciency.”

presses and will eventually replace one existing machine. Bell & Bain’s new high speed Rapida 142, with fully automatic plate-changing, will incorporate many of the unique features tried and tested on KBA’s fl agship Rapida 106, including its CleanTronic Synchro system which washes the inking rollers, blankets and impression cylinders simultaneously. The new Rapida 142 features KBA’s perfecting delivery for increased speed and performance.

KBA UK managing director Christian Knapp comments: “This is Bell & Bain’s third Rapida 142 press which comes with many of KBA’s high performing Tronic systems for increased automation and quality assurance.” Bell & Bain was founded in Glasgow by James Bell and Andrew Bain back in 1831. It has been an established and respected book printer for over 170 years and one of the few Scottish academic printers to have survived in today's ultra-competitive market. Today Bell & Bain employs over 80 people and has a turnover in excess of £8.5 million ($13.7m). The company enjoys a customer list of over 150 including most of the blue-chip names from international publishing.

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39

Industry Updates


Axel Springer, manroland tie up

KBA, RR Donnelley develop RotaJET 76 in record time

On 1 March last year, leading press manufacturer KBA and Chicago-based RR Donnelley & Sons Company, the world’s biggest print group, announced that they had entered a collaborative

A successful partnership: KBA president and CEO Claus Bolza-Schünemann, RR Donnelley president and CEO Thomas J Quinlan III, and KBA executive vice-president for web press sales Christoph Müller (l-r) at the RotaJET 76 inkjet web press that was created jointly in a matter of months.

Axel Springer AG and manroland web systems have concluded a long-term and extensive service agreement for the Berlin-based group’s printing plants. Says Peter Kuisle, member of the executive board at manroland web systems: “This is yet another important vote of confidence by a large customer in the new manroland web systems. The contract covers different services to safeguard the operational availability of Axel Springer’s manroland

newspaper printing presslines over the long term.” The contract includes agreements for spare parts, key sub-assemblies, and high-level services over the next five years. Axel Springer and manroland web systems have enjoyed a successful business relationship for decades. Numerous newspaper printing systems from Augsburg are produced in the plants in Berlin, Essen and Ahrensburg, including 15 COLORMAN presslines.

alliance to develop, manufacture and launch promising new digital printing systems. Just over 14 months later the product of the alliance – the RotaJET 76 – was received with keen interest when it made its debut at drupa. Built at KBA’s main production plant in Würzburg, the RotaJET 76 stands for quality, performance and cost efficiency in digital inkjet print production. It unites KBA’s unique know-how as the market leader in high-quality web offset press engineering with RRD’s in-depth expertise and longstanding experience in the development and industrial application of inkjet technology complete with the attendant hardware and workflows. The American-German partnership has enabled KBA to optimise digital technology that has already been successfully deployed by RR Donnelley, and to make it accessible to other users.

Posigraf orders Goss Sunday web pressGrafica e Editora Posigraf, one of the largest

printers in Latin America, ordered a new Goss Sunday 3000 web press at drupa. The four-unit gapless-blanket press featuring an 1830-millimeter (72-inch) web width and a two-pages-around by eight-pages-across format will be installed at one of the company’s facilities in Brazil in late 2012. With a Goss PCF-3 pinless combination folder, the

new Sunday press at Posigraf will produce magazine, tabloid, digest, delta-fold and slim-jim products at up to 15 metres per second (3000 feet per minute). Goss International will supply its Contiweb FD paster, Ecocool dryer with integrated chill rolls and Omnicon automated control technology with the new press system.

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Industry Updates

June 2012SurveyRIND

LEYKAM Let’s Print increases capacityThe LEYKAM Let’s Print Group is the largest

commercial heatset printer in Austria. LEYKAM is well known for high-quality magazines and inserts even overseas. The reliability and the quality of the commercial web presses made in Augsburg have a good share in the success of LEYKAM. Now the newly established manroland web systems GmbH has been rewarded again with the confi dence of the company and the confi rmation of their order for a 48-page LITHOMAN for short grain production. The press will be delivered in the second half of 2012 and will complement the capacity of LEYKAM with a new, highly effi cient alternative for print production.

The new LITHOMAN with an output of 70000 printed products per hour is to be installed at the high-volume plant in Müllendorf. Once the new LITHOMAN is installed, Müllendorf will have by far the most productive printing system in Austria.

“The excellent cooperation between manroland and LEYKAM Let’s Print that goes back many years, and our extreme satisfaction with the

manroland web systems, ABB strengthen bond

A new strategic partnership between manroland web systems GmbH and ABB Switzerland that has been agreed at drupa, gives the two companies a strong position in the future of the retrofi t business. The partners can now offer newspaper printing

A strategic partnership agreed at drupa (l-r): Boris Falk, head of Printing Sales, ABB Switzerland; Anton Hamm, head of Service manroland web systems; Christian Villiger, head of Printing, ABB Switzerland; Dieter Betzmeier, head of Order Processing and Technology, manroland web systems.

customers an ideal range of modular press retrofi t solutions that covers the areas of product planning, control consoles, press controls and reelstands.

The fi rst customer to be convinced of the value of the alliance is the Democrat & Chronicle in Rochester, New York. Here the partners will work together to overhaul a GEOMAN installed in 1996 with three press sections and 15 towers. Retrofi ts with manroland web systems and ABB – which are, of course, available as stand-alone solutions, too – provide long-term production stability. It is achieved by using modular industry-standard components that can be seamlessly integrated into proven press systems. The new solutions can be integrated into most newspaper printing systems. As a result, both the future-oriented ControlCenter of manroland web systems and the customised modern production management system from ABB are now available to new customer groups, too. The customer’s specifi c wishes will be implemented individually by the Augsburg and Swiss experts.

manroland web systems welcomes LEYKAM Let’s Print at drupa 2012 (l-r): Josef Aumiller, regional sales manager manroland web systems, Michael Steinwidder, CEO LEYKAM Let’s Print, Peter Kuisle, member of the Management Board manroland web systems, and LEYKAM Let’s Print works manager Franz Tinnacher.

performance of our existing manroland presses, were the decisive factors for us choosing manroland once again,” says Michael Steinwidder, CEO of LEYKAM Let’s Print. This group is already today the leading commercial web offset printer in Austria, and is among the top ten in this segment in Europe.

41

Industry Updates


Wastepaper savings, thanks to NELAFully automatic control

systems for printing processes have become essential in today’s printing industry. Thanks to modern LAN- and image-processing technology, such systems may also be easily retrofitted to existing presses, as shown by the example of Reiff

Zeitungsdruck in Offenburg, Germany. The printer doesn’t only produce the Offenburger Tageblatt and other regional dailies, but also catalogues, price lists, as well as weekly and Sunday newspapers. Depending on the product, pages are printed vertically or horizontally. Since the cut-off register system previously used by Reiff Zeitungsdruck was unable to detect horizontal pages, the main requirement for a new regulation system was the ability to control the circumference as well as the edge of the web.

Reiff ’s specific press configuration with 3 towers, 4 reel carriers, and 3 folders represented a certain challenge for NELA. The combination of 3 folders and 4 webs produces 12 control spots, and

Press Department manager Holl next to the NELA control screen.

at each of these NELA installed one OPRC-camera. Customizing the OPRC-system for the set-up meant that a large number of possible paper flows had to be considered. Due to the complexity of the set-up, NELA first of all developed a user concept in tight cooperation with the customer. The user-friendly operator interface makes control and adjustment functions very easy and intuitive. For the different products that are printed at Reiff Zeitungsdruck, there are different folding configurations (pre- and after fold), diverging tolerances, and various possible paper ways. All of the factors had to be considered when the OPRC-Software was customised.

NELA is the sole provider to offer know-how in register correction on printing plate and on the web. The NELA OPRC-system uses digital cameras with integrated control logic, they are installed directly at the monitoring spots at the register rollers. The system defines a fixed reference point for the black mark and then adjusts register in relation to this reference point. The camera lens is protected from dust by a foil and is, therefore, almost maintenance-free. The OPRC-system does not require a separate control cabinet, which makes it a very space-saving system.

Star, Malaysia upgrades Colorliner pressesGoss International has secured a contract to

upgrade three large Goss Colorliner double-width presses at the Star Publications in Malaysia. Goss International will retrofit the three presses, originally installed in 2002, with a complete new Goss control system, including a new drive system. Web cleaning devices and spraybar upgrades from Baldwin as well as automated color and cut-off register systems with closed-loop fan-out control will also be included in the project. The Goss control upgrade will replace the existing Honeywell control system in its entirety, including on-machine controls, control desks and management information systems. The upgrade will be carried out in a phased manner to ensure that full seven-day production is uninterrupted throughout the project.

The new Goss controls will utilize field-proven hardware and software developed for the latest Goss Colorliner presses, including the FPS model. Key to the program is the ability to run individual four-high towers and folders on different control platforms (the previous Honeywell and new Goss platforms) during the upgrade. The design of the Goss control system also allows an upgrade of the drive system to the latest generation, energy saving IndraDrive technology for a comparable price to refurbishing existing ten-year-old Indramat DIAX03 technology - a key advantage of the Goss system. The Star is Malaysia's leading English newspaper with a daily circulation of over 300000 copies. The company has two print plants in Shah Alam and Penang.

42

Industry Updates

June 2012SurveyRIND

World’s largest commercial web offset pressWKS Druckholding is going to invest in the

world’s largest commercial web offset press. Even for manroland web systems, the drupa booth in Hall 6 was something special: the two-web 80-page LITHOMAN project with a total of 4.5 metre web width comes up to a 160-page press. It was in Düsseldorf that WKS gave manroland web systems the commitment. Predominantly, the LITHOMAN will take over the production of magazines, catalogs, and supplements. It is going to replace a competitor’s press so that in the future there’ll be eight manroland rotary presses featuring 48 to 80 pages at the two WKS sites in Wassenberg and Essen/Germany. With this investment WKS Managing Director Dr. Ralph Dittmann is consequently aiming at technology leadership and once again puts his trust in Augsburg printing press technology. “For us the cooperation with manroland web systems paid off, the producing

Starting the project 'World’s largest commercial web offset press' at drupa 2012 (from left): Veit Müller, executive sales manager manroland web systems; Michael Viehof, managing partner Vibro group; Klaus Viehof, Managing Partner Vibro group; Peter Kuisle, member of the Management Board manroland web systems; Joachim Lusch, managing director Vibro group; Ralph Dittmann, managing director WKS.

QuadTech, System Brunner offer better colour balance

QuadTech and System Brunner now offer printers the ability to achieve more consistent colour fi delity by specifying a strategy for different quality targets and image-related criteria. QuadTech's Color Control System with SpectralCam, along with System Brunner's INSTRUMENT FLIGHT are already proven technology, with hundreds of web offset installations worldwide. SpectralCam

delivers a full range of print attribute data - including L*a*b* and TVI - for precise colour management. INSTRUMENT FLIGHT + L*a*b* software places priority on gray balance and TVI by taking more than 30 printing attributes into account. For the fi rst time, press operators can now choose between fi ve-colour balance-related control strategies through a simple drop-down menu during job set-up.

LITHOMAN presses have absolutely proven their worth in terms of printing stability, quality, and most of all productivity.”

B&K Offsetdruck orders KBA web pressB&K Offsetdruck in Ottersweier, Germany, has

placed an order with KBA for a new commercial web press. At drupa 2004, it had signed up for a brand-new high-performance 16-page Compacta 217; at drupa 2012 the press of choice was the 217’s successor, the KBA C16, which boasts the fastest plate changers on the market and a raft of other features that are unique in the 16-page sector. B&K Offsetdruck is no high-volume printer: on the contrary, its strengths lie in customisation from the initial consultation, pre-press input, design

and development to fi nal production. Since being established over 40 years ago this family enterprise has seen continuous healthy growth.

The new KBA C16 will be used to print upmarket magazines and journals, complete with their covers, to the highest quality standards. The fi ve printing units will have ultra-fast plate changers and are engineered for a maximum rated speed of 65000 iph. KBA imprinters in the fi rst printing units will allow fl ying imprints even in very short runs.

43

Industry Updates


UNISET launch at Prime PrintLocated approximately 500 kilometres south of

Moscow, the city of Voronezh has always been a high-tech and high-speed hub. The traditional space and air travel site already provided the Russian space pioneer Juri Gagarin with the required power to complete an orbit around the earth in 1961. Today, Prime Print Voronezh also expedited its newspaper production processes – in late January 2012, the company inaugurated its new UNISET printing press. The team of manroland und Prime Print successfully handled even unexpected challenges and met all deadlines; production commenced in December 2011.

In late 2010, Prime Print, which has six printing houses in different regions of Russia, called for tenders for a printing system to meet the increasingly complex requirements for newspaper production. Among other things, the contract printer produces an edition of Komsomolskaja Prawda, the largest circulation daily newspaper in Russia. Besides the technology, manroland’s service was an important factor, which includes production support for the first three months after the installation and six audits over the next two years. Prime Print decided against a single-circumference newspaper press in the lower price segment and chose the

New dimensions in newspaper printing: inauguration of the UNISET at Prime Print in Voronezh.

double-circumference UNISET, which has higher output on less floor space. Featuring two eight-couple towers, one H printing unit, two folders, an automatic webbing-up device, the cut-off register control InlineCutoff Control, automatic ink presetting with a CIP3 interface, as well as various printnet networking functions, the UNISET expands production capacity in Voronezh to 64 tabloid pages.

Prime Print belongs to the Norwegian media concern A-Pressen. John Kvadsheim, who is responsible for the international investments of the A-Pressen Group, thanked manroland, as a “large international business partner,” for its excellent project implementation.

Rob Stolk opts for KBA B2 press The first purchaser of the 530 x 750mm (20.87 x 29.5in) Rapida 76 KBA launched at drupa was Amsterdam-based Dutch print provider Rob Stolk. The two owners made a spontaneous decision on the KBA stand in favour of a five-colour version. The 18000 sph high-performance press will feature automatic plate changers, QualiTronic inline colour control and DriveTronic SIS no-sidelay in-feed adapted from the B1 (41in) Rapida 106 and unique in B2. The Rapida 76 will also be configured with VariDry HR UV curing systems, with one module inserted after the fifth printing unit, the second freely positionable according to production specs.

From left: Marcel Otto, CEO of KBA’s Dutch sales partner Wifac; Ralf Sammeck, KBA executive vice-president for sheetfed sales; and Tanneke Janssen and Jacqueline van As, owners of Rob Stolk, signing the contract at drupa

44

Industry Updates

June 2012SurveyRIND

KBA strengthens presence in Brazil Koenig & Bauer

AG has acquired a majority stake in a former sales agency, Deltagraf Representações Comerciais ltda. in São Paulo, in order to strengthen its presence in Brazil. It thus expands it own global sales network with a subsidiary in the biggest print market in Latin America. The new

company, which is to be renamed, will be headed by Deltagraf ’s existing managing director Luiz

L-r: Jan Drechsel, KBA sheetfed press sales director for Latin America; Ralf Sammeck, KBA executive vice-president for sheetfed presses; Luiz Cesar Dutra, managing director of Deltagraf; and Kai Trapp, KBA web press sales director for Latin America.

Cesar Dutra, who will be hiring additional personnel.Dutra, who has worked in Brazil’s graphic arts

industry for some 20 years, took over all sales and service activities for KBA web presses fi ve years ago, and added medium- and large-format Rapida litho presses in March 2009. Following the change of agency the active support of Dutra and his team enabled KBA to boost sales substantially, at fi rst mostly among Brazil’s leading commercial printers. Oceano, which is owned by Grupo Escala, and Editora Abril installed a number of 16- and 48-page Compacta presses alongside some single-width Comet newspaper presses with heatset capabilities.

Deltagraf ’s dedication and outstanding customer services are also evident in the rising sales of KBA sheetfed offset presses. In a relatively short period of time the company booked orders for Rapidas from several commercial, book and packaging printers, both ex-KBA and new customers.

KBA Rapida 105 for Zhengzhou Jinhui

On the fi rst day of drupa, show executives from Zhengzhou Jinhui Printing in China were among the customers who signed a contract on the KBA stand for a Rapida 105. Based in the capital of Henan province, the company previously

Han Han, general manager of Zhengzhou Jinhui Printing, and KBA sales director Dietmar Heyduck (left)) signing the contract for a medium-format Rapida 105 on the fi rst day of drupa.

specialised in commercial printing and is planning to use the medium-format press, which has been much in demand among Chinese printers since its premiere at the All in Print Shanghai trade fair in November 2011, to expand into the packaging sector. The fi ve-colour Rapida 105 ordered will be a fi ve-colour coater version with extended delivery, a board-handling capability, automatic plate changers, CIPLink networking with pre-press, nonstop facilities at the infeed and washing systems for the blankets and impression cylinders.

The extensive range of features chosen is unusual in the Chinese market. But general manager Han Han has clear ideas on what he is looking for in terms of effi ciency and economy. These have resulted in the adoption of digital workfl ows and MIS software at his factory. A fast turnaround is one of the company’s trademark. Production and delivery within 24 hours are routine. Zhengzhou Jinhui Printing was established nine years ago. Its existing fl eet comprises seven relatively unsophisticated Japanese four-colour presses.

46

Industry Updates

June 2012SurveyRIND

Niedermayr commissions 96-page LITHOMAN

Fr. Ant. Niedermayr, a Regensburg-based company established in 1801, has commissioned a 96-page LITHOMAN at its recently expanded production site. The printing system was the third

Johannes Helmberger, managing director of Fr. Ant. Niedermayr, Regensburg, Germany: “The processing possibilities of this press are unlike any other in the world.”

to be installed within a brief period from the same series by manroland web systems. With a ROTOMAN press, an 80-page LITHOMAN installed in 2007, and the new LITHOMAN, Niedermayr has boosted its daily production capacity to 200 million A4 pages. This is the equivalent of 250 to 350 tons of paper printed on a daily basis. The 96-page LITHOMAN produces nearly fi ve million pages an hour with a web width of 2860 millimeters. Not only the printing system’s impressive size, but especially its versatile folding technology creates added value. The unique confi guration of the press provides a competitive edge: in Regensburg, customers will now be able to obtain products that previously could not be produced in a single production step.

Niedermayr prints high-volume supplements for chain stores and catalogs, and has become a specialist for commercial advertising in recent years, including its own advertising agency, a photography and fi lm studio, and a whole host of Internet services.

New COLORMAN e:line impressesAt the stand of manroland web systems at

drupa, a fi rst design prototype of a covered COLORMAN e:line printing unit caught the eye. The design studio, The Kaikai Company, understood how to provide the groundbreaking technology from manroland web systems with a new appearance: the core elements of the design such as bright surfaces, striking interstices and emotion-arousing strip lights, are now part of reality. It is achieved through white protective covering that not only has a modern form but is also made of modern materials that provide a lot of advantages and added value. Accessibility and production effi ciency are focused on, as well as an intelligent and resource-conserving design. Thomas Böck, the draftsman responsible for the new COLORMAN e:line, puts it plainly: “We decided on the new design because it emphasises

the future-oriented technology of the press. With the integrated strip lights, we accentuate the functions. Changing colors show the printer the actual operating status of the press. If for instance the APL (Automatic Plate Loading) function is active, the lights are orange, and if the press is in production, the lights are blue.”

However, not only the design is impressive, also and especially are the internal features of the COLORMAN e:line. Functional improvements include further ergonomical innovations. Thanks to the new soundproofi ng system, the press runs much more quietly and the new printing plate lift enables the operator to load the plates for the entire tower from only one level. The fi rst of the new COLORMAN e:line presses is scheduled to start up in the production halls of the Allgäuer Zeitung in Germany at the end of this year. Preparation is already in full swing.

47

Industry Updates


QuadTech launches Service Advantage

QuadTech, the global supplier of press automation solutions, introduced Service Advantage with Proactive Care at drupa. The program enables printers to choose the level of service that best matches their needs based on installation, business, and budget. The two-tiered plan includes a wide range of services such as preventive maintenance, training, and technical support. "The instant a problem occurs on press, you start losing money," says Karl Fritchen, president of QuadTech. "Service Advantage with Proactive Care helps prevent problems before they start. You'll see a dramatic reduction in downtime, as well as a decrease in the need to troubleshoot and schedule service calls. Plus, you'll eliminate budgetary surprises such as additional service charges or the cost of software upgrades and replacement parts."

Service Advantage customers won't need to worry about how many times they call or if they'll need to pay for a new incident. For customers with remotely accessible equipment, remote servicing is often as good as having someone on-site. QuadTech support staff can connect to each machine and camera to diagnose problems. They can see the user screens, diagnostic warnings, and workfl ow as if they were on-site with operators and maintenance personnel. Whether it's job set-up questions or advanced diagnostics, a remote connection brings QuadTech support into the pressroom instantly at any time of day, no matter the location.

Technicians at the QuadTech U.S. headquarters monitor a printer's QuadTech equipment 24/7/365. Among the alerts that are constantly monitored are UPS battery life, RAID failures, hard disk life expectancy, press communication errors, PC restarts, and cabinet temperature. Other services available through the program include software upgrades, scanner replacements, and QuadTech's Printers' Edge training. Printers' Edge includes a range of training options: self-paced online tutorials, online 3-D simulators, and web-based, instructor-led training.

48

Industry Updates

June 2012SurveyRIND

5-colour KBA Rapida 162 goes live at STIGE Even in Italy’s crisis-buffeted publishing and

commercial sector there are signs of a recovery. At the end of last year a Rapida 162 fi ve-colour coater press went live at Turin-based Societa Torinese Industre Grafi che Editorial (STIGE), one of the biggest offset operations in Europe. While it is the company’s seventh Rapida since 2002, it is the fi rst KBA press to feature inline coating.

STIGE has high hopes of its new fl agship. Fierce competition from the Far East is forcing European publishing printers to redouble their efforts to enhance quality, effi ciency and

production fl exibility. There is a brisk demand for highly automated presses that trim set-up times – and thus production costs – by raising output, enabling printers to respond with agility to fl uctuations in run lengths and comply with international quality and environmental standards. Inline coating also enhances value added.

Since STIGE was founded in 1927 three generations of family management and entrepreneurial vision have seen it develop into a sizeable graphic enterprise. Its web and sheetfed offset operation in Turin meets international benchmarks. Cutting-edge production kit at its two 20,000 m² (215,000 ft²) and 15,000 m² (161,500 ft²) plants in San Mauro Torinese enable it to hold its own among the industry majors. President Giorgio Martano says: “The market for publishing products such as books, magazines and catalogues has changed perceptibly since 2008, and in some

sectors we have experienced price erosion and sliding sales. As a company we must enhance the appeal of our existing products on a sustainable basis, and develop new ones.”

Michele Santoro, head of STIGE’s sheetfed offset division, says: “We signed the contract for the Rapida 162 fi ve-colour coater press at MedPrint in Rome last year because we were persuaded that this new generation of large-format presses combined innovation and reliability. The press is very fast – it can

print 13,000 sheets per hour – and delivers substantial time savings through automatic plate changing and CleanTronic Synchro simultaneous washing. The inline coating option with acrylic and UV coatings saves us even more time and money because this work was previously outsourced.”

The large-format Rapidas at STIGE primarily print books along with magazine and catalogue covers.

Since 2002 STIGE has fi red up seven medium- and large-format KBA presses; the Rapida 162 fi ve-colour coater press is the new fl agship

The fl eet of Rapida 162 presses is the sheetfed offset division’s beating heart

Books, magazines, catalogues: a selection of STIGE’s extensive range of products for major European publishers and companies

Possehl, Langley tie up for sales, service The manroland web systems GmbH and

manroland sheetfed GmbH, the companies owned by the German Possehl group, and British industrialist Tony Langley, have announced global sales and service agreements. More than 40 sales and service companies were acquired along with the Langley deal, while subsidiaries in India and Australasia were acquired by Possehl. Peter Kuisle for manroland web systems GmbH and Rafael Penuela for manroland sheetfed GmbH jointly announced that they had agreed on a global sales and service cooperation.

manroland web systems GmbH have established subsidiaries in the United Kingdom, operating from Possehl premises near London, and in the United States. In the US, manroland web systems Inc began trading from the same premises in Chicago it now shares with manroland sheetfed Inc, and in the UK, manroland sheetfed (UK) continues to trade from

the premises in Mitcham. E l s e w h e r e , a g e n c y agreements are being agreed with sheetfed s u b s i d i a r i e s to represent m a n r o l a n d web systems in Mexico and South America (except Chile), in Ireland, Finland, Benelux, France, Italy, Spain, and Portugal, in Central and Eastern Europe (except Poland), and in Greater China (China, Hong Kong, Taiwan). manroland web systems subsidiaries in Australasia and India will continue to represent manroland sheetfed in these territories.

Global sales and service agreements between manroland web systems GmbH and manroland sheetfed GmbH look forward to continuing to support their global customers with the highest possible levels of service worldwide.

Industry Updates

50

Industry Updates

June 2012SurveyRIND

KBA strengthens presence in KoreaA l o n g s i d e

successful sales and service s u b s i d i a r i e s in Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Shanghai and Australia for Asia and the Pacifi c, at the end of last year Koenig & Bauer AG (KBA) set up

a new subsidiary, KBA Korea Co in Seoul, to cater to a further key industrial growth market in the Far East. Users of KBA presses are reaping the benefi ts, since they now have a direct line to the German manufacturing plant, a broader choice of service offerings, local spare-parts accessibility and the services of highly trained local personnel for installations and trouble shooting. There are also plans for a remote maintenance facility. Initially KBA Korea will handle all activities relating to sheetfed offset, commercial web offset and digital presses for the German parent. Sales of newspaper

presses will continued to be handled from Germany or by German staff in China.

With effect from 15 April the managing director of the new subsidiary is Kenneth Hansen (54), who has worked in the Asian graphic arts industry for 35 years, the last eight of them as CEO of manroland Northeast Asia in Korea and Japan. Korea is a key KBA market in Asia. Customer expectations in terms of reliability, performance and quality are particularly high, and KBA is now better placed to address these demands. Most sales to date were of medium-format litho presses plus a few big newspaper press installations and some commercial web presses. They included a Rapida 106 ten-colour perfector for Komsco (Korea Minting & Security Printing) in Daejon and a fi ve-colour Rapida 105 with DriveTronic SIS no-sidelay infeed installed in 2010 at Gomundang Printing in Daegu-Si, which will shortly be joined by six-colour Rapida 105 coater press with automatic plate changing and a board-handling capability.

Sun-Yoon Chang (l), managing director of Gomundang, and KBA sales director Dietmar Heyduck signing a contract for a Rapida 105 six-colour coater press at the offi cial opening of KBA Korea at the beginning of March.

With effect from 15 April the managing director of KBA Korea is Kenneth Hansen.

Muller Martini, Sitma seal partnership

Machine manufacturers Muller Martini (Switzerland) and Sitma (Italy) have signed a business cooperation agreement. Graphic arts

From left: Lamberto Tassi (president, Sitma S.p.A.), Aris Ballestrazzi (president, Sitma Machinery S.p.A.), Felix Stirnimann (Muller Martini Corporate Management) and Alois Hochstrasser (managing director of Muller Martini Marketing AG) sign the cooperation agreement between Muller Martini and Sitma.

industries will now benefi t from a wide range of systems for inserting and for single-copy fi lm-wrapping as well as comprehensive technical support. The markets for both inserts and individual fi lm-wrapped publications are growing worldwide. Film-wrapping provides a high level of protection in transport and ensures that printed products, along with inserts, gadgets and coupons, reach the reader in a compact package and in excellent quality. In addition, contrary to paper wrapping, fi lm-wrapping has a proven extra environmental bonus. Several countries require subscription magazines to be fi lm-wrapped for delivery by mail. More and more companies within the graphic arts are investing in in-line and off-line systems to enhance their saddle stitchers and perfect binders.

51

Industry Updates


WoodWing supports Adobe Creative Suite 6WoodWing Software, a leading supplier of

innovative workflow solutions for efficient multi-channel publishing, has announced that its flagship product Enterprise, including the Digital Publishing Tools, will soon support the new version 6 of Adobe´s Creative Suite. "Adobe InDesign CS6 is the first major update of InDesign in the tablet publishing age, and users will benefit from new digital publishing fundamentals in the core of InDesign,” says Erik Schut, president of WoodWing Software. “These additions also allow us to further raise the level of efficiency in our Enterprise multi-channel publishing system. CS6 has been a major driver behind WoodWing's strategic DPS partnership with Adobe, and as a result, we can now take maximum advantage of this new Digital Publishing foundation."

Adobe Creative Suite 6 offers features such as Alternate Layout, Liquid Layout and Linked

Content in InDesign CS6. Thanks to the innovations, publishers that need to create content for multiple devices with different screen sizes and ratios will save a considerable amount of time. Liquid Layout, for example, enables designers to define how the layout will behave when a complete page is being rescaled. Designers can choose whether all or only certain objects will rescale or not, whether their position is fixed or “fluid” in relation to the page edge, when additional columns will automatically be added to a text frame when rescaling, and more.

Early May, WoodWing will provide a pre-release version of Enterprise 8 and its content management application Content Station, both supporting the new Adobe CS6. Release of Enterprise 8 as well as CS6 support for WoodWing´s renowned productivity plug-ins for InDesign, such as Smart Styles, is planned for early summer.

manroland web systems, Melchers Techexport ink sales-service partner agreement

The manroland web systems GmbH and Melchers Techexport GmbH with headquarters in Bremen, signed a Sales and Service Partner agreement for Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, South Korea and Thailand.“Customer proximity and local presence are

important principles of our corporate philosophy,” says Peter Kuisle, executive vice president, Sales, Service and Marketing at manroland web systems.

“To realise this strategy successfully, we are very happy to win Melchers Group as our sales and service partner for Southeast Asia. We are convinced that this cooperation – with a partner who has been very familiar with the region for many decades and is intensively committed to it – makes sure we can provide our customers with the high support quality they are used to by manroland web systems and expecting for the future.”“With our many years of experience and our

commitment to after sales service and a team of qualified professionals we are glad to represent

Total customer care for manroland’s Southeast Asian customers (from left to right): Timothy Ruth, vice president, Sales & Service, manroland web systems; Nicolas Helms, managing partner, Melchers Group; Peter Kuisle, executive vice president, Sales, Service, and Marketing, manroland web systems; and Matthias Jacobi, ,anaging director, Melchers Techexport, concluding the agency agreement in April in Augsburg.

a strong market leader in the region. We offer the manroland web systems customers an excellent infrastructure and spirit of partnership in Asia,” says Nicolas Helms, managing partner at Melchers Group.

52

Industry Updates

June 2012SurveyRIND

Goss press goes live at Centro Stampa FriuliItalian publisher Loghicon srl of Pordenone,

northeast Italy, has gone on-edition with a new 16-unit Goss Community SSC press at its new print facility, Centro Stampa Friuli. The press was procured to improve quality, shorten production timescales and reduce costs, according to Simone Saletti, owner, who adds that the company also expects to expand its business with the additional print capacity, potentially into new geographical areas. "Our two key titles, Città Nostra and La Gazzetta Immobiliare, are high-quality advertising newspapers for the northeastern region of Italy. Although the market is extremely competitive - even overcrowded - there is still room for good quality publications. It's very important to invest, particularly when times are tough, to differentiate your product. We expect the new Community SSC press to help us claim a leadership position

for our titles, differentiated by quality in a market that has become fl ooded with low-grade products," Saletti explains.

The new Goss Community SSC press, comprising four four-high towers, has an SSC 1:2 jaw folder with quarterfold capability, a 578 mm cut-off and runs at speeds up to 35,000 iph. Capable of outputting 32 tabloid pages in full-color, the press went on-edition as the fi rst phase of a two-part project for Loghicon.

Established in 1992 with the purchase of free newspaper Città Nostra, Loghicon is a family-run publisher with headquarters in Pordenone and its printing facility, Centro Stampa Friuli, in nearby Zoppola. Total production and distribution of its main titles La Gazzeta Immobiliare, printed in magazine format, and the tabloid publication Città Nostra touches 8000000 copies per year.

New ROTOMAN DirectDrive sets benchmarksJust in time for drupa, Drukkerij Moderna

in Paal, Belgium, started up a brand-new ROTOMAN DirectDrive from manroland web systems. The company prints magazines, cataloguess, and advertising supplements in both large and small print runs. The new ROTOMAN with DynaChange fl ying imprint change function will mainly be used for the production of 16-page signatures.

Drukkerij Moderna in Paal, in the Belgian province of Limburg, is one of the ten largest printing companies in Belgium and internationally renowned as a specialist for full-service, high-quality printing with rapid throughput times. The company’s extensive expertise is perhaps best demonstrated in small heatset print runs. Founded in 1947, the print house has extensive state-of-the-art equipment for both sheetfed and webfed printing, as well as prepress and fi nishing.

Two LITHOMANs and a ten-color ROLAND 700 press were already operating in Paal. Now, the Paal-based printer has chosen manroland web

systems once again as its partner for webfed printing in the future. For the production of covers and 16-page signatures, the owners ordered a brand-new, highly automated ROTOMAN DirectDrive, equipped with the DynaChange imprint function and additional autoprint features. Operating at 65000 revolutions per hour, the extremely productive press with fi ve printing units, in 620 x 965 millimeter format, was commissioned just in time for drupa and replaces older presses from other manufacturers. The ROTOMAN press will primarily be used for the production of 16-page signatures. Equipped with plow folds and a pin folder in a 1:3:3 system, the confi guration is also designed for high-quality cover printing.

Additional convincing features of the ROTOMAN were its sophisticated ergonomic control and DynaChange, the superior, elegant solution for fl ying job changes. The ROTOMAN switches imprints automatically on both sides at high speeds. The web is guided through the printing units without contact or diversions.

53

Industry Updates


WoodWing, 65bit announce partnershipWoodWing Software, supplier of innovative

workflow solutions for efficient multi-channel publishing, and 65bit Ltd., developer of high-quality InDesign plug-ins, announced today that the two companies are teaming up to further streamline the publishing of data-rich content. Publishers of TV guides, financial reports, catalogues, pricelists and more will benefit from the integration of EasyCatalog and Enterprise, yielding improvements in efficiency and accuracy, all while reducing errors when creating data-rich publications.

65bit´s flagship product, EasyCatalog, is used by thousands of users in more than 30 countries around the world. EasyCatalog allows users to link InDesign layouts to structured data such as Excel files or databases. When working in InDesign, designers can select the data source, filter the results, and place and format data and images

automatically. Updating layouts with new data from the source is as easy as clicking the update button, and it’s even possible to push changes made in the InDesign documents back to the original source.

Not only does EasyCatalog integrate with WoodWing, it can also be extended with several other modules. ODBC Data Provider enables linking to MySQL, SQL Server, Oracle and FileMaker databases. With XML Data Provider, EasyCatalog is able to import data directly from XML files. Publishers who need to combine data from multiple sources can rely on Relational Module. 65bit also offers modules for pagination and scripting. WoodWing and 65bit will offer existing customers of Smart Catalog a free migration to a comparable version of EasyCatalog. 65bit supports all versions of the Adobe Creative Suite. The CS6 version will be available around the ship date of InDesign CS6.

DriveSys drives now also for newspaper pressesAfter years of reliable service in commercial

printing, they are now ready to enter the world of newspapers: DriveSys drives, developed by manroland web systems in intense cooperation with Siemens. They will be used for the first time at DHO (Druckzentrum Hohenlohe-Ostalb) in Crailsheim, Germany, where a COLORMAN autoprint press has been running smoothly since December 2011. The 48-page printing system with three printing towers in satellite design operates at a speed of 45000 cylinder revolutions per hour, producing 90000 newspaper copies for the region each day – including six daily editions and numerous advertising journals.

The new motion control and drive system DriveSys is a key contributor to the efficiency and productivity. It offers numerous advantages: its open, modular design makes it easy and efficient to add extensions or introduce new features. What’s more, the system is energy-efficient and thus cost-effective; its flexibility ensures optimum usage and capacity utilization of the presses. DriveSys

also provides an impressive diagnostic system that speeds up both commissioning and troubleshooting. It masters even the most complex systems from c o m m i s s i o n i n g and operation to maintenance, and ensures excellent availability. One of manroland’s main objectives as well as the biggest d e v e l o p m e n t challenge was to enable high-speed recording, storage, bundling, processing, visualization, and analysis of large quantities of press and drive data.

The COLORMAN autoprint of manroland web systems moved into the new Druckzentrum Hohenlohe-Ostalb (DHO) in Crailsheim, Germany.

54

Industry Updates

June 2012SurveyRIND

Fujian Daily Group orders new GEOMAN press For their new print production centre in

Xiamen, the Fujian Daily Group ordered a new GEOMAN press from manroland web systems. The contract was signed in March and the press will be delivered in the fourth quarter of 2012. The 16-page GEOMAN is a globally well-known and successful newspaper production press series of manroland web systems. With the new double-width, double-circumference press, the Fujian Daily Group will expand its printing capacity and make a big jump forward in production technology and productivity. The press will have a lighthouse effect for the company, the printers in the city of Xiamen, and in the region of Fujian.

The new GEOMAN consists of two eight-couple towers in blanket-to-blanket design, two reel splicers, and a PFN-23 folder in the cylinder ratio of 2:3:3. The press with a web width of 1562 millimetres and a cylinder circumference of 1092 millimetres can produce up to 75000 32-page broadsheet newspaper copies per hour in excellent full-color quality. In tabloid format up to 150000 copies are possible. The movable formers in the folder superstructure also allow production with web widths of 1440 millimetres and 1360

millimetres respectively. The main products will include the daily Haixia Doushi Bao and other major newspapers of the Fujian Daily Group.

The GEOMAN is a compact 16-page press in 4-2 design. With the performance-optimised design of its components and its highly standardised confi guration and layout, it personifi es a very effi cient press system which guarantees short production cycles and quick installation. Thus, it is suitable for printing companies which would like to achieve optimal cost per copy. For hybrid production concepts special confi gurations are possible. The series was permanently improved in the previous years and in daily production at printing houses of various sizes in countries like Brazil, the US, and in Germany.

The GEOMAN is a successful newspaper press series of manroland web systems.

Strong growth leads Glunz & Jensen to ChinaGlunz & Jensen are establishing a new production

facility, Glunz & Jensen Asia, in the Suzhou region of China, approximately 80 km west of Shanghai. The new facility will open in June this year and will expand on the company’s existing production facilities in Slovakia and USA, delivering Glunz & Jensen products to the Chinese and south-east Asian markets. “Growth in the Asian region is a strategic aim of Glunz & Jensen,“ says CEO Keld Thorsen, “With the new facility, Glunz & Jensen will be closer to our customers and the Asian market, enabling us to respond much more quickly to market needs within commercial, newspaper and packing printing.”

Initially, Glunz & Jensen Asia will carry out assembly and completion of products from sub-elements produced at Glunz & Jensen’s factory in Slovakia, though the ambition is to progress towards full Chinese production and local sourcing over the coming year. Glunz & Jensen has more than 30 years been represented in China through distributors and currently has approximately 10 per cent of the market for offset processing equipment. With the new facilities, Glunz & Jensen will be closer to the market and have the opportunity to improve customer service and after-sales service for both distributors and customers, which should lead to an increasing market share.

55

Industry Updates


Two Goss web presses for Hong Bo Hao Tian

Hong Bo Hao Tian Technology Company chose drupa to place an order for two new Goss M-600 web offset presses. The presses, which will be installed into a brand new printing facility currently under construction in Beijing, China, were chosen for their proven efficiency and print stability. The investment by Hong Bo is part of a strategic business plan to maintain present rates of growth by building its portfolio of advanced technology. The two M-600 presses will extend the company’s capabilities in high-quality consumer magazine and brochure production, according to Zhang Lin Gui, managing director.

The two 16-page Goss M-600 presses to be installed later this year will operate at speeds of up to 61000 impressions per hour. They have been

Executives from Hong Bo and Goss International at drupa with the Goss M-600 unit.

YopSkor opts for Ferag mailroom technologyTopSkor published by

Trio Warna Gempita is the most widely read sports newspaper in Indonesia. Production runs between Mondays and Saturdays with a daily circulation of 150000 copies and a reach of 800000 readers. Up until the end of 2011, TopSkor circulations were produced externally. However, company founder

and owner Entong Nursanto wishes to provide an even better service to the market and initiate further growth for Trio Warna and its newspaper.

When equipping his printing house, Entong Nursanto is putting his trust in none other than one of the best partners in the marketplace.

specified with latest-generation automation including enhanced Goss Omnicon controls with Omni Presetting and Omni Makeready software. The Omni Makeready function will further enhance efficiency for Hong Bo by using presets and software algorithms to get from one job to the next faster, with minimal waste copies and minimal operator effort.

Specialising in the production of high-quality magazines and publications for large commercial publishing houses, book publishers and the government, Hong Bo is subject to market dynamics that are in evidence worldwide, according to Gui. “As the market is evolving and reading habits change, the print runs for some publications are getting shorter, but the number of specialised magazines and titles is increasing. At the same time, we are experiencing demand for higher quality printing, shorter lead times and better overall service,” he explains. “The M-600 technology will provide much higher levels of automation, making us more efficient and better able to maintain our competitive edge.”

Hong Bo Hao Tian Technology Company has a subsidiary in Beijing with approximately 500 employees where it operates three commercial web presses, ten sheetfed presses, three perfect binder machines, and three stitchers with annual turnover of RMB 300 million (approximately USD 48 million).

So he took the logical step and invested in in-house production capacity incorporating a newspaper press and state-of-the-art mailroom technology from Ferag.

There’s talk of further plans to get the production equipment working with greater versatility, although Nursanto is not letting too much out of the bag. One thing is clear: the current Ferag system has a lot of development potential and the decision in favour of the technology from Hinwil can also be interpreted from this strategic perspective. The Ferag concept certainly gives Trio Warna Gempita a sound basis to achieve greater value creation in the commercial market as well.


General NewsGeneral News

Reshuffle at Indian Express…At the Indian Express Group, there have been

some internal changes. Y.P. Rajesh, resident editor, Mumbai, since 2008, moves to New Delhi as associate editor. Deputy editor P. Vaidyanathan Iyer moves to Mumbai as resident editor; he was deputy resident editor and then resident editor, Financial Express, in New Delhi. More recently, he was national business editor of the Indian Express. “I think it brings more focus and puts a lot more energy behind the editorial ideas and concepts that we are working on,” said Shekhar Gupta, editor-in-chief, Indian Express. Readers can expect some changes –more analyses, in-depth stories, and long-format stories. The changes include Subhomoy Bhattacharya, executive editor (News), Financial Express moving to the Indian Express as deputy editor. He will take charge of the national economy and business bureau. Sunil Jain, opinion editor, Financial Express, will now be the assistant managing editor (Opinion and Policy). Shobhana Subramanian, resident editor, Financial Express, Mumbai, moves to New Delhi as assistant managing editor (News).

… and at The HinduThe Hindu has reshuffled roles of some of its

senior executives to consolidate the events and the Business Line vertical. K Ravichandran, erstwhile vertical head, Sales, has been appointed general manager, Events. The company has appointed L Sridhar, earlier deputy regional general manager, Mumbai, as general manager, Ad-Sales, Business Line. His responsibilities include growing the Business Line ad revenue as well as events nationally. A new role has been created for R. Diwakar as general manager, Alliances – to manage partnerships with other media companies such as HT and Eenadu. Ravichandran, Sridhar and Diwakar will report to Suresh Srinivasan, the vice president.

Hyper-local TOI supplement in Pune

The Times of India has intensified its coverage of local news with the launch of a new weekly supplement

in Pune. This media vehicle targets sectors that thrive in hyper-local communities and covers advertisers such as mom-and-pop stores, restaurants, health centres, florists, banquet halls and furniture shops. Such businesses have traditionally kept away from extensively consuming space in the print media, due to deterrents such as price and circulation. Currently, the hyper-local supplement covers the Aundh, Baner and Kondhwa areas; there are plans to launch five editions in Pune over a period of time.

Says Arunabh Das Sharma,president, TOI: “This project will be a local product with cities being divided into 6-20 zones depending on the size and population. Each edition of the supplement would carry content dependent on the relevance to the area/zone. Hyper-local businesses in the zone are invited to communicate to the relevant audiences in that area through various promotional and interacting activities.” The differentiators will be user-generated content and innovative advertising solutions. The ad-edit ratio will be 50:50. “This project will leverage the concept of user-generated content by inviting readers to be citizen journalists for The Times of India. Readers will play an active role in the process of collecting, reporting, analysing and disseminating news and information. Anyone with a mobile phone or Internet connection can publish content. They will be able to upload content to a social media site which is used by us to create multiple hyper local publications,” adds Sharma. The supplement will be circulated free with the main paper every Friday. It is being promoted through different mediums such as print, radio and the Internet. Meanwhile, a Facebook page has been designed to interact with the readers and enable them to post their stories and comments.

Forbes India turns threeForbes India has completed three years of its

existence in India. The magazine was launched in 2009. Talking to exchange4media, Gurmeet Singh, CEO, Forbes India said, “There was no magazine for business leaders and entrepreneurs that would give them access to Indian and global news they want to read. Forbes India has changed that. It gives them global stories with the Indian lens and vice versa.” To mark the three years, Forbes India has planned a

57

General News


360-degree promotion in which various contests and discounts are being offered. The magazine is already promoting itself on TV channel, CNBC TV18. With a fortnightly circulation of 75,000, Forbes India plans to launch iPad and mobile apps for the magazine as they are already present on the web and social networking sites.

Hindi Chhota Bheem launchedJunior Diamond has announced the launch of

Chhota Bheem comics in Hindi. Chhota Bheem is a much-loved cartoon character among children. Talking to exchange4media, Manish Verma, director, Marketing, Junior Diamond said, “The clear cut objective to launch the comic is to capitalise on the popularity of Chhota Bheem. We understand that there is a gap in the market as far as the current entertaining reading options for kids are concerned.” Talking further about the promotion strategy, he added, “We are using platforms such as television, print, internet and book stalls to market the new offering. Content has been given more priority and minimal advertisement will be present. Children-related products will be the main advertisers. The print-run will be one lakh. Chhota Bheem is available in English and Bengali.

Nav Bihar Times to have 10 new editions

Aurangabad-based Nav Bihar Times is all set to launch 10 new editions in different cities of Bihar, Jharkhand, Delhi and Uttar Pradesh. The expansion will start from Bokaro followed by Gaya, Lucknow, Kanpur, Saharanpur, Delhi, Patna, Ranchi and Jamshedpur. The newspaper will have an initial print-run of 21000 copies and be priced at Rs 2. The paper will offer education and entertainment supplement every Monday.

Magazine industry worth Rs 1150 cr

The Pitch Madison Media Advertising Outlook 2012, after revising its figures for the magazine industry, has estimated the ad revenues for the

industry at Rs 1149.5 crore. Put together, the India Today Group, World Wide Media, Outlook Group, Delhi Press and Malayala Manorama Group, command almost 45 per cent of the magazine pie. Some other big players include Spenta Multimedia, Infomedia18 and Condé Nast India But overall, considering the slowdown in the economy, revenue growth for magazine publishers, especially English remained flat. The months November and December of 2011, followed by the first three months of 2012 have been bad.

Pheroza Bilimoria steps down as MD of Business India

After spending more than three decades with the Business India Group, Pheroza Bilimoria has stepped down as the company’s managing director. Billimoria continues to be associated with the company as director for now, but she will relinquish the post soon. Ashok Advani, founder publisher, Business India Group, is now overseeing most of the tasks that Billimoria was handling. It is understood that the company will announce a succession plan soon. Billimoria began her journey with the Business India Group in 1978, when she had taken the responsibility to look after the advertisement and circulation sales for the magazine. Recalling her journey at the company so far, Billimoria said, “It’s difficult to pinpoint specific landmarks; there are far too many. The first taste of success was when in October of 1978 we put Business India magazine on the media map. Setting up our cable TV business, restructuring the debt created by BITV and then paying most of the debt in the last decade were some memorable milestones. Last but not the least was becoming the first women president of the Ad Club Mumbai.”


EVENTS CALENDAR

June

July

August

September

June 5-8, organised by Ipex, in Hanoi, Vietnam: Print & Label

June 11-15, organised by WAN-IFRA, in Chennai: Summer School – Newspaper Production; for students of Printing Technology, the programme will introduce the latest technologies and the concept of newspaper production to the participants and make them industry ready. More details from Anandaramakrishnan Srinivasan, research engineer, WAN-IFRA South Asia ([email protected])

June 12-13, organised by WAN-IFRA, in Stuttgart, Germany: Zeitung Digital 2012 (in German); more details from Raquel Meikle, programme manager ([email protected])

June 15-17, organised by IPAMA at the Gujarat University Exhibition Hall, Ahmedabad: India Print Expo

June 19-20, organised by WAN-IFRA, in Turin, Italy: WAN-IFRA Italia. The programme will focus on the industrial as well as the publishing side - newsrooms, redesign, management. More details from Sergio de Oliveira, programme manager, Events ([email protected])

June 22-24, organised by Ipex, in Chennai at the Chennai Trade and Convention Centre: Print Expo India / South India Printers Meet

June 25-29, organised by WAN-IFRA, in London, Paris, Berlin: Key Lessons for Digital Growth. The study tour is for managers in charge of current business development as well as those responsible for future digital strategies. More details from Valerie Arnould, senior editor ([email protected])

June 27, organised by WAN-IFRA, in Madrid, Spain: Human Resources and Organisational Strategies in Media. More details from Raquel González Benítez ([email protected])

July 6-8, organised by IPAMA, in Chennai, at the Chennai Trade and Convention Centre: Sign India

July 10-11, organised by WAN-IFRA, in Bangkok, Thailand: Young Reader Summit Asia Pacific. The summit will look into successful, award-winning young reader initiatives of newspapers in Asia and abroad. It will provide insights into attracting young readers to newspapers. Contact: Gilles Demptos, director, Publications & Events, WAN IFRA Asia Pacific ([email protected])

July 18-21, organised by Ipex in Sao Paulo, Brazil: Serigrafia 2012, covering screen printing, visual communication, digital signage; more details from ([email protected])

August 27-30, organised by WAN-IFRA, in Stockholm and Helsinki: Study Tour – Digital Winners Scaling Up. Nordic media companies have led the way in developing mature digital platforms and content. What are the tips for success? More details from Nick Tjaardstra, executive programmes manager ([email protected])

September 2-5, organised by WAN-IFRA, in Kiev, Ukraine: Info Services Expo will offer a chance to meet leading suppliers to the newspaper industry and discover cutting-edge products, services and technologies. Will showcase the latest trends in tablet publishing, editorial systems, digital services, offerings from content providers/news agencies. More details from Mandy Hay, Exhibition manager ([email protected])

September 2-5, organised by WAN-IFRA, in Kiev, Ukraine: 64th World Newspaper Conference, 19th World Editors Forum. The role of a free press in a society undergoing transition will be one of the key discussion points at this year's Congress and Forum, which will have the theme, Shaping the Future of the Newspaper. More details from Iona Strater, executive


EVENTS CALENDAR

director, Pubishing & Advertising, WAN-IFRA ([email protected])

September 3-4, organised by Ipex, in London: Cross Media 2012. In addition to over 100 leading exhibiting companies, there will be features designed to update visitors on the latest industry developments, trends and discoveries

September 23-25, organised by Ipex, in Dubai: Paper Arabia

September 26-27, organised by WAN-IFRA, in Pune: WAN-IFRA India 2012, the twentieth annual conference of WAN-IFRA South Asia

September 26-27, organised by Ipex, in Berlin: EcoPrint Live

October

7-10, organised by Ipex, in Chicago, USA: Graph Expo

October 8-12, organised by WAN-IFRA, in New York, Boston: Study Tour: New Media, New Challenges, New Business. More details from Nick Tjaardstra, executive programmes manager, Digital Media ([email protected])

October 9-12, organised by Ipex, in Moscow, Russia: Polygraphinte

October 24-25, organised by Ipex, in Birmingham, UK: Print Ireland

October 24-27, organised by Ipex, in Saigon, Vietnam: Vietnam International Print & Label Graphic

October 29-31, organised by WAN-IFRA, in Madrid, Spain: Media Port 2012 / World Publishing Expo 2012 / 5th Tablet & App Summit / Advertising Summit 2012. More details from Bettina Falk, advertising manager ([email protected]); Mandy Hay, exhibition manager ([email protected]); Priel Manes, event manager ([email protected]); Claudia Wilke, programme manager, Events ([email protected])


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Yes, digital publishing is here to stay

Tablets might still be a niche market in India, but they are a rapidly growing and promising new media channel for newspaper publishers. Digital publishing to tablets is another step in the ongoing evolution of the media industry. This change forces publishers to define an effective multi-channel publishing strategy, enabling them to effortlessly address any channel and to monetise new channels such as tablets successfully. A special report by Stefan Horst >>> more

Dinamalar surges forward on the new media front

A 60-year-old newspaper has adapted and moved with the times, and moved quickly. Its Web site attracts more than two million unique visitors and more than 190 million page views a month; its iPhone, iPod and iPad applications have recorded a substantial number of downloads and page views, with various apps being made available on the Android platform as well. All run and managed by a small team that is highly focused on delivering value to users as well as clients, and it has paid off well. Sashi Nair reports on the Dinamalar new media success story

>>> more

Director V. Murali

[email protected] 93131

EditorSashi Nair

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Assistant Manager / LibrarianR. Geetha

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Printed by V.B.S. Moni and published by V. Murali on behalf of The Press Institute of India - Research Institute for Newspaper Development, from RIND premises, Second Main Road, Taramani CPT Campus, Chennai 600 113 and printed at Print Shop Private Limited, 4/310 Gandhi Street, Kottivakkam, Old Mahabalipuram Road, Chennai 600 096. Editor: Sashi Nair

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A Journal of the Press Institute of India - Research Institute for Newspaper Development

June 2012 | Volume 33 | Issue 6 | Rs 40www.rindsurvey.com / www.pressinstitute.in

One word captures all the excitement: drupa

Jwalamukhi Mudranalaya: 60 years of printing excellence

The specialty of book producer fgb from Freiburg

drupa boost for KBA, manroland

Newspaper of the future can be built on variable content

Newsprint qualities that affect print quality

Energy conservation is critical to a printing press

Printnetwork: pressroom networking for effi cient workfl ows in web offset and digital printing. The operating system that helps optimise production was demonstrated at the manroland web systems stand at drupa.

Registered with the Registrar of Newspapers for India under 33715/80. Postal Registration No. TN/CC(S)Dn//203/12-14Licenced to post without prepayment under WPP Licence No. TN/PMG (CCR)/WPP-615/12-14

Date of Publication: 3rd and 4th of every month

a journal of the press institute of india - research...

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