Offset Printing
Italys leading sports title boosts circulation
Friday 24. October 2008 - RCS Mediagroup completes full-colour conversion of La Gazzetta dello Sport with four 4/1 KBA Commanders
The punctual production start-up of four new 4/1 KBA Commander presses by leading Italian media group Rizzoli Corriere della Sera (RCS) completes the second stage of a transition to full colour initiated in 2003. The mammoth project, which entailed conversion from broadsheet to tabloid, was the biggest the European newspaper industry has seen in recent years.
Three of the four nine-cylinder presses came on stream in Pessano (near Milan), Rome and Padua on 29 March, little more than twelve months after RCS placed the order with KBA. The fourth Commander will start up in Pessano, RCSs biggest production plant, in December once the existing Wifac press has been dismantled.
This renewed demonstration of confidence in KBA technology follows a 200m ($258m) upgrade at RCSs production plants and the addition of nine 4/2 KBA Commanders plus two KBA Comet presses.
Small format – great performance
The Commander tabloid presses for the Corriere della Sera went live in July 2005. They have a web width of 1,880mm (74in), a cylinder circumference of 1,400mm (55in) and can output 96-page copies. By contrast the 4/1Commander presses for La Gazzetta dello Sport have a cylinder circumference of 620mm (24.5in) and a maximum web width of 1,800mm (70.75in). They are engineered for the production of 75,000 full-colour 64pp copies per hour. La Gazzeta dello Sport has a 310 x 450mm (12.2 x 17.7in) format. Corriere della Sera was initially published in a 350 x 500mm (13.75 x 19.68in) format but following a reduction in web width in 2007 this was changed to 350 x 470mm (18.5in).
The 4/1 Commander presses are all tabloid only and feature KBAs patented ribbon splitting system. Straight-run production delivers cost savings by halving plate consumption. The absence of turner-bar decks shortens makeready times and reduces total press height.
Close collaboration delivers customised solutions
Roberto Sardi, technical director of RCS Quotidiani, the groups newspaper division, is delighted with the performance of the 4/1 Commander presses: “Over the past five years the two projects have posed some major challenges that could only be mastered with a strong partner. Throughout that time KBA demonstrated competence and flexibility in addressing our specific needs, meeting all our specifications relating to quality, automation and productivity. This is what gave it the edge in winning the second project. The outstanding relationship we have built up with the competent KBA staff has enabled us to achieve all our objectives.”
Enhanced productivity, reduced costs
Roberto Sardi explains that the 4/1 configuration was chosen because La Gazzetta dello Sport has a smaller format, and double-wide, one-around presses are much more flexible. The 4/2 press lines are nine-cylinder satellites, and the same configuration was specified for the 4/1 Commanders to minimise fan-out on the relatively wide webs.
Says Roberto Sardi: “We tested semi-automatic plate changing in Rome and Padua, and will expand this to Pessano by the end of the year. Labour costs are high in Italy, which is why we went for a high level of automation and output.”
Positive response by readers and advertisers
La Gazzetta dello Sports new format and layout, enhanced quality and colour content have been welcomed by readers and advertisers alike. As a result its circulation has bucked the current trend in Italy to remain stable at 400,000 copies, and the title has further consolidated its pole position in the sports market by increasing readership to 3.7 million. With the new 4/1 presses now in action at the Pessano, Rome and Padua production plants where 80 per cent of La Gazzetta dello Sports circulation is printed, RCS is well poised for further growth.