Offset Printing

KBA newspaper press technology for Beijing Daily

Pictured after signing the contract in Beijing (seated, l-r): Walter Zehner, head of KBA’s sales and service organisation in China; Mei Ning Hua, president of Beijing Daily Group; and Li Jun, vice-president of the importing corporation. Looking on are the project teams including Beijing Daily Group printing plant manager Guan Hong Jin (8th left) and his deputy Jia Fu Dong (on his right), KBA China web press sales managers Andreas Friedrich (behind them) and Wang Hong Feng (3rd left), and web department manager Han Shao Sheng (4th left)

Monday 30. November 2009 - Koenig & Bauer ships further Comet press line to China

Beijing Daily Group has switched to Koenig & Bauer AG (KBA) for a new press line following a detailed market comparison and a tour of inspection in Germany. Comprising three reelstands, three towers and one folder, the KBA Comet will go live next summer printing a free title launched last year for distribution in the Beijing underground (subway). Provision has already been made for the addition of three more towers for printing further titles.
Leading media group in China

Beijing Daily Group publishes nine daily newspaper and three magazine titles, among them Journalism and New Writing, China Campus and Beijing CPC Party Monthly. The newspaper titles have a combined daily circulation of around two million copies in the Beijing metropolitan area alone. Alongside the Beijing Morning Post, Beijing Suburbs Daily, Beijing Business Today, Beijing Social News, Capital Construction News, Beijing Daily Messenger and The First the group also owns the Beijing Evening News and Beijing Daily, established in 1958 and 1952 respectively. The Beijing Daily’s circulation of 400,000 copies per day makes it the capital’s most popular newspaper. In addition to maintaining its own foreign correspondents the Beijing Daily co-operates with the China Press and International Daily News in North America, The Australian Chinese Times, China Today in Canada and the Europe Times and also distributes news items under the name Beijing Today.

KBA Comet wins on quality and productivity
Single-width Comet presses from KBA’s Würzburg production plant are in operation the world over. According to Beijing Daily Group, what tipped the balance in favour of a Comet was its outstanding quality and productivity. The press line for Beijing will be capable of handling web widths from 635 to 880mm (25 – 34.64in), have a cylinder circumference of 1092mm (43in) and a maximum rated output in straight production of 78,000cph. It will also feature fan-out compensation, automatic ink pumping and blanket washing. The highly automated KF 3 jaw folder will be fed via two stacked formers. The press line will be controlled from three KBA consoles with ink-key presetting software, a RIP interface and a diagnostics PC for remote maintenance.