World First - 4-Colour Job Change Without Stopping

Transcontinental has installed what is claimed to be the world's first web press equipped to complete four-colour job change-overs without stopping for a make-ready.

Transcontinental has installed what is claimed to be the world's first web press equipped to complete four-colour job change-overs without stopping for a make-ready.

The 64-page Goss Sunday 4000 press system, which went in to production on June 10 in Beauceville (Canada) includes eight Automatic Transfer (AT) printing units.

Operators can prepare four idle units for a new job whilst the other four units are printing.

They can then execute a four-colour job change without stopping the press by bringing the idle units on impression and simultaneously taking the units printing the previous job off impression, said Goss.

Bypassing the AT function also allows printing of up to eight colours.

Transcontinental is utilising the new AT press primarily for high-quality, four-colour book applications.

Jacques Gregoire, senior vice president for the Transcontinental Book Group, said: "Automatic Transfer technology opens up entirely new possibilities for our customers in this market.

With this unique capability, we can bring the speed, economy and quality advantages of high-pagination web printing to short-run applications." The Autoplate, fully automatic plate changing option complements the AT feature, reducing the time and operator effort needed to change plates on idle printing units, said Goss.

Ed Young, Goss International vice president of sales, said: "We have several customers using the AT feature to complete single-colour version changes without stopping the press for makereadies.

We're excited to see Transcontinental now taking this unique technology to its full potential with on-the-fly, four-colour job changes." In addition to the 64-page AT press at Beauceville, Transcontinental also installed 48-page Goss Sunday 4000 press systems at facilities in Owen Sound and Boucherville (Canada) this spring to produce magazines, catalogues, directories and other commercial products.

Gregoire explained: "Our goal is to make our customers more effective and that demands that we continuously invest in the best technology available.

We have done that with the highly automated Sunday presses and the Automatic Transfer technology." All three new gapless presses at Transcontinental include Ecocool dryers with integrated chill rolls, PCF-3 pinless combination folders, the Autoplate capability and the Goss Web Centre workflow system.

Goss International equipped one of the 48-page presses with a Contiweb FMR splicer and the other two presses with Contiweb FD flying pasters.

Goss introduced the Automatic Transfer feature in 2004.

The technology earned the GATF Intertech technology award in 2005.

The on-the-run print transfer capability is designed to reduce paper waste, operator effort and downtime associated with conventional makereadies, claimed the company.

Goss said that its Sunday technology is vital to the Automatic Transfer concept.

Because cylinders on the gapless Sunday presses do not require bearers, they can be mounted in pivot boxes to achieve the blanket-to-blanket throw off necessary for the web to pass through idle units without being diverted.

Transcontinental is the largest printer in Canada and seventh largest in North America.

The company has more than 14,000 employees in Canada, the United States and Mexico and reported revenues of US$1.9 billion in 2005.

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