Newspaper & Mailroom
Baldwin Webcatchers Reduce Press Downtime By Half After Web Breaks At Japanese Newspaper Iwate Nichi-Nichi Shimbun
Thursday 03. January 2008 - Iwate Nichi-Nichi Shimbun is a daily newspaper published in the city of Ichinoseki in the north-eastern part of Honshu, Japan's main island.
The decision to equip a TKS (Tokyo Kikai Seisakusho) web offset press with five Baldwin WebCatcher systems has reduced by half the press downtime experienced after web breaks at the Higashidai print shop.
The single-width TKS Color Top 3500CMUD, which has a maximum web width of 1,100 mm, was commissioned in June 2006. The combined heatset/coldset press offers a high level of flexibility, with five of the six towers arranged as four-high units designed for heatset production. The overall configuration of the web press permits newspapers of up to 32 pages to be printed. The complete machine occupies four stories – the bottom level contains eight reelstands, the two printing levels comprise the towers and two folders, and a top level consists of five dryers with chill roll stands and other equipment.
Iwate Nichi-Nichi Shimbun is published in four daily editions ranging from 16 – 20 pages, with a total circulation of 55,000 copies. Tabloid products, advertising inserts and magazines are produced on the same press, which has to handle newsprint, SC papers, and other uncoated stock as well as coated and matt coated papers. The majority of products, including most newspapers, are printed heatset.
The Iwate Nichi-Nichi Shimbun print shop reflects the global trend for presses that can handle newspaper, semi-commercial or hybrid production. Although newspaper houses can utilise their production resources more efficiently with these presses, they also need additional control equipment. Baldwins WebCatcher automated web catching systems, already popular in the commercial web offset sector, are rapidly gaining popularity amongst the worlds newspaper printers. In the event of a web break the WebCatcher eliminates wrap-ups and prevents damage to the blanket and plate cylinders or the inking rollers. At Iwate Nichi-Nichi Shimbun the WebCatcher units have been installed upstream of each of the five dryers. As the printed webs are guided to the dryers by the shortest possible route, through the ceiling of the story below, the WebCatcher units have been installed horizontally to match the vertical paper paths.
“Our basic thinking behind this investment was to avoid press damage as a result of web breaks and to ensure that printing can carry on again without any undue delay if this should happen,” says Manabu Yamagishi, President of Iwate Nichi-Nichi Shimbun Co. “Web breaks are always a possibility with newspaper printing, mainly when the press starts up or in the case of an emergency stop for whatever reason.”
The Baldwin WebCatcher at the Higashidai print shop is suitable for web speeds of up to 15 metres per second. A laser diode sensor monitors the web continuously during production and detects breaks between the dryer and the chill roll stand. If a web break is detected the WebCatcher immediately guides the trailing web on to the floor in front of the dryer. This prevents the web from being pulled back into the last printing unit. Another advantage with the Baldwin system is that the press operator does not have to manually peel the web scraps off a catching roller.
“Once the WebCatcher has sensed the web and guided it out of the machine, it now only takes us fifteen minutes to web up again properly and resume production. In the old days incidents like that used to set us back around half an hour,” says Manabu Yamagishi.