Two new KBA presses for a French publisher are to be fitted with QuadTech’s digital inking system, based on technology it bought last year.

Popular daily Ouest-France has specified the inkers for the 84,000 cph double width presses being installed at its Rennes plant in Brittany. The new 48-page lines replace three Miller Nohab presses installed in the 1980s.

The gearless QuadTech system uses ink injectors that control ink flow and set image density by metering the ink volume of each key. The company says the system eliminates the need for setting fountain blades and pickup rollers, producing more consistent image density.

Ouest-France already has digital ink injection on its presses in Rennes, Angers and Nantes, made by CGI, the company whose technology QuadTech acquired in 2012.

Industrial director of Ouest-France Émile Hédan says installing the QuadTech system for the new KBA presses was “a natural choice”.

“Our people are familiar and skilled with the system, enabling us to smoothly transition to the new printing press without the need to retrain staff,” he says.

The company found the ability to inject the exact amount of ink required helped the press reach density targets very quickly as it accelerates. “It also maintains ink stability throughout the printing run,” he says. “This gives us reassurance of being able to achieve accurate color, with little need for manual press monitoring, even in situations of variable printing speeds.”

With 2.5 million daily readers – and a circulation of almost 800,000 – across Brittany, Normandy and Pays-de-la-Loire regions in France, Ouest-France claims to be the most widely-read French-language newspaper in the world. The Rennes plant publishes 53 localised weekday editions and 16 on Sundays.

• QuadTech has appointed Bent Sørensen’s BSTech ApS as exclusive agents for Denmark, Finland and Iceland.

Pictured: The digital ink system replaces fountains with computerised ink injectors

On our homepage: Émile Hédan with QuadTech regional sales manager Caroline Zimmer