Goss Brings High-Automation Single-Wide Technology to World Publishing Expo 2013

Responding to growing demand for greater production efficiency and flexibility from among the shorter-run, multi-version newspaper printing community, Goss International turned the spotlight on its new Magnum Compact press at the World Publishing Expo in Berlin next week (Oct. 7-9). Underlining the high-automation credentials of the new press, the Goss stand featured demonstrations of the new simplified Autoplate plate changer – the first ever designed specifically for single-width production.

Launched in May this year, the Goss Magnum Compact press is an evolution of the Community/Magnum press platform. It has been designed to deliver the same user-friendly, long-term reliability of that world-leading single-wide press series, but with features and capabilities adapted to the shorter run/faster makeready requirements of today’s print environment.

“This press brings a new level of cost competitiveness to multi-product business models, both at traditional offset run lengths and for ultra-short runs,” said Eric Bell, director of marketing services for Goss International.

Targeting the three leading factors that impact on cost per copy today – labor, consumables and press downtime – Goss automatic plate changing is key among the range of technologies that contribute to the unique capabilities of the Magnum Compact press.

“We’ve chosen to show the new Goss Autoplate unit at WPE 2013 because it’s the powerhouse behind the Magnum Compact proposition, delivering the most significant advantage: the ability to change the plates in 30 seconds,” Bell continued. “Until now, it has always been accepted that fully automatic plate changing could only be justified in a higher-volume double-width newspaper press. We have developed a simplified, cost-effective system that brings the same advantages to the single-width sector, while also supporting the expanded application range of the press.”

According to Bell, the auto-plate loading design enabled Goss to significantly reduce the height of the unit, with associated benefits including better print quality, easier maintenance and operation, and faster press installation. Another advantage of the design is that the plates are not damaged during the unload process, so they can be reused.

“This is very important for book printers and to enable longer-run print jobs to be mixed with a series of short-run jobs, so it’s a crucial factor in making the press flexible enough to allow its wider application range,” Bell explained. “There is an increasingly critical difference between having press capacity and having the right press capacity. The Magnum Compact press offers a unique ability to maintain high levels of utilization by excelling across a wider range of newspaper, book and semi-commercial production.”

Multi-shaftless press drives as standard on every press mean that each cylinder level and inker module is driven totally independently, providing maximum flexibility and control over changeover waste. Along with full presetting, automatic web-up, optional color and cut-off registration and optional Goss DigiRail digital inking, the Magnum Compact press is positioned to improve the cost model substantially for short-run products, in run lengths as low as 500 copies.

“We currently have a wide spectrum of configurations in discussion as the press really seems to have stimulated imaginations, particularly among contract printers and publishers looking to diversify,” Bell said. “It makes sense, as these business people are already predisposed to exploiting new capabilities and are eager to keep their presses running productively, around the clock, earning money.”