Offset Printing
Goss FPS press passing print quality tests with flying colors
Friday 07. November 2008 - Unprecedented results in standardized testing at Hoekstra Boom
The Goss FPS press at F.D. Hoekstra Boom in the Netherlands went into production on time in April 2008 and has delivered unprecedented print quality results from day-one. The proof is in the numbers.
Even during formal acceptance testing, Hoekstra was exceeding the performance standards of IFRA, a worldwide research and service organization, by a factor of between two and five, according to Hans Emmink, the contract newspaper printers technical director.
“We also surpassed density uniformity by a factor of three, while exceeding the starvation standard, also by a factor of three,” he explains. “Whats more, we are not seeing any visible ghosting; it is, quite literally, immeasurable, and all of this is being achieved with a significant reduction in ink consumption compared to what we had been using before on our other presses.”
Emminks observations are confirmed by independent testing done in May by Flint Ink. Two standard forms were used to assess dot characteristics, grey balance, ink water balance, trapping, ink densities, set-off, marking and other characteristics. The results exceeded all Ifra Quality Club and ISO total print quality criteria. For the first time ever, a 100-percent color quality score was achieved according to the Flint Groups methodology.
Emmink says the FPS press now prints 1.5 million newspaper weekly at up to 87,000 copies per hour. He attributes the exceptional and immediate print quality results to the press technology and to the cooperative efforts of the Hoekstra and Goss International teams in optimizing the technology. “Many presses never achieve this print quality level, even after years of continuous improvement efforts,” according to Emmink.
Print quality results at Hoekstra as well as at the first installation at Independent News & Media in Northern Ireland validate the concept of the FPS press, according to Shane Lancaster, vice president at Goss International and general manger of the companys Preston, England facility where the press was developed. “Our intention was creating a press that could deliver enhanced print quality beyond what was available in the newspaper presses on the market and bridge the gap between commercial and newspaper printing quality,” he explains.
Lancaster says proven core technologies derived from Goss Colorliner presses have been augmented by advanced automation, versatility, tower design and operating features in the FPS press. The result is a unique platform designed for premium print quality, high speed, low waste and maximum production flexibility.
The distance between the first and last impression in the compact FPS four-high tower is just 2.7 meters, as opposed to the typical 3.5-3.7 meters, reducing fan out and improving registration. Goss DigiRail digital inking technology and an advanced three-form inker also contribute to the high print quality.
The FPS press at Hoekstra consists of two towers with a 580 mm cut-off and a
1680 mm web width, two Goss Contiweb FD pasters and a 2:5:5 jaw folder equipped with stitcher, skip slitter and quarterfold capabilities. It has also been configured for future cut-off changes utilizing the unique slide-apart FPS unit design.
Located 100 km from Amsterdam, F.D. Hoekstra Boom has 75 employees and prints approximately 100 newspaper titles and 3.5 million copies weekly.
Hoekstras Emmink welcomes the immediate print quality results of the FPS as a valuable competitive advantage in satisfying existing customers and pursuing new contracts, but he is not surprised.
“Even the very first test we ran in the Goss International laboratory, well before our buying decision, had eye-opening results,” he recalls. “So impressive was the quality of the printing, we ran just one roll of paper. That was all that was needed to illustrate the inherent quality of the press.”