An unusual five-tower offset press will replace flexo as a Venice publisher makes a commitment to the future of print.
Centro Stampa Veneto in Mestre will retire a 35-year-old flexo newspaper press when the new triple-wide KBA Commander comes on stream in summer 2017.
The press, which prints 80,000 four-colour tabloid newspapers an hour will be more than adequate for a workload which includes 90,000 newspapers will then be produced in seven different editions.
A market leader in northeast Italy, the Caltagirone group produces six newspapers in addition to Gazettino di Venezia, including Messagero di Roma, Mattino di Napoli, Corriere Adriatico di Ancona, Quotidiano di Puglia di Bari/Brindisi/Lecce and free newspaper Leggo.
The new Commander 3/2, with a web width of 1320 mm, will have its five floor-mounted towers and reelstands installed inline at right-angles, with the operator side to the right. Pastomat RC reelstands are to be supplied via automatic Patras A reel logistics system.
Web ribbons emerging from the towers are turned by 90° for forwarding to the folder, with turner-bar decks, folder superstructure - with two balloon formers - and KF 5 jaw folder are placed centrally behind the printing units. The press will also incorporate automatic roller locks, colour and cut-off register controls, blanket washing systems and pneumatic plate clamping. Two EAE consoles and a production planning and preset system will be equipped with the latest hardware and software.
Caltagirone publishing group president Azzurra Caltagirone says the company was looking for a partner it could rely on into the future making, she says, KBA "the obvious choice".
Pictured after the contract signing: (from left) Antonio Mastrodonato (technical director), Jochen Schwab (KBA sales manager), Dr Caltagirone, Thomas Potzkai (KBA Digital & Web head of service and project management), and Caltagirone managing director Albino Majore