Business News
Mittelrhein-Verlag in Koblenz orders 6/2 KBA Commander CT
Wednesday 15. September 2010 - Further compact press for major German regional daily
Mittelrhein-Verlag in Koblenz has become the latest in a succession of German media houses opting for KBAs triple-wide Commander CT. Configured with four reelstands, four 6/2 towers and two folders, the 96pp press line is slated to come on stream in 2012. It will be the fifth installation of this type in Germany and the fourteenth worldwide-with the fifteenth already booked by a publisher in Austria. Of the 82 towers ordered to date, 39 are 4/2 and 43 are 6/2 versions. Some of the triple-wide presses incorporate heatset dryers for printing semi-commercials.
Mittelrhein-Verlag managing director Dr Thomas Rochel says: “If printed regional daily titles offer a local focus, first-class news coverage and an attractive product, while at the same time reining in costs, they will thrive. This was the motivation behind our investment in cutting-edge press technology and peripherals. The 6/2 KBA Commander CT will deliver dramatic gains in cost efficiency, print quality and production flexibility, materially enhancing the long-term competitiveness of our printed titles in the media arena.”
Cross-media products with print the primary business line
The companys flagship, the Rhein-Zeitung with around 200,000 subscribers, is a major regional German title. Launched on 20 April 1946, it is published in 16 editions covering the wider Koblenz area from Westerwald to Hunsrück and from the Eifel to the Taunus. On workdays the newspaper reaches 640,000 readers. While the printed edition remains the media groups core product and economic backbone, in 1995 the company established a Rhein-Zeitung website in order to reach younger readers. It was also the first German daily to set up an online service with its own editorial office. In 1996 a full-text archive was created in which every article is stored. In 2001 Mittelrhein became the first publisher worldwide to launch a 1:1 electronic edition of a daily newspaper. Red.web, an internet-assisted editorial system introduced in 2003, has helped streamline the production of the Rhein-Zeitung by speeding up communication and access to features and news. In June 2008 Mittelrhein joined other publishers to form a major regional advertising network kalaydo.de, which handles the Rhein-Zeitungs online ad sales.
Automation and 6/2 output boost productivity
The 6/2 KBA Commander CT for Koblenz will be engineered for the Rhine format, with a maximum web width of 2,100mm (82.67in) and a 510mm (20in) cut-off. It will have a maximum rated output of 90,000 full-colour copies per hour, each with up to 48 pages. In addition to the Rhein-Zeitung the press will print frees, inserts and contract work. The total weekly print run will average 1.9 million copies.
Says publishing manager Siegmund Radtke: “Alongside the Commander CTs high production output, the biggest aids to readership targeting and localisation are its ultra-short job and pagination changes. With the new press we can exploit the strengths of local news coverage even more effectively to offer our readers and advertisers attractive, quality products and enhanced immediacy.”
The four KBA Pastomat reelstands for reels 1,524mm (60in) wide will be located under the press and embedded in a KBA Patras A automatic reel-loading system. It will be possible to select 5/12, 7/12 and 11/12 ribbons for spadias. The four compact four-high towers, which can be split down the centre for maintenance access, will feature KBA PlateTronic automatic plate changing, KBA RollerTronic automated roller locks, KBA NipTronic bearing technology, KBA FanoTronic fan-out compensation, automatic colour-register controls, KBA CleanTronic blanket washing, inking-unit washing and central ink pumping. Other equipment will include six double turner bars, two folder superstructures with three formers, cut-off register controls, two skip slitters, two ZipnBuy modules, two section stitchers and two KF 5 jaw folders. Provision has been made for further inline finishing capabilities. The press will be controlled from four KBA ErgoTronic consoles incorporating a KBA EasyTronic automation module for fast, low-waste start-up and run-down. The production scheduling and press presetting software will be supplied by ABB and will include a proofing system..