The full-format Pacesetter 1600 finishes A5 digests to tabloids and aims to combine reliability with ease of use without losing out on capability.

"Printers routinely achieve throughputs at or near the full-rated capacities of 22,000 and 25,000 books per hour," Toby Clarke, vice president for print finishing, said.

"The shaftless system is built on the same platform as the Pacesetter 2200, introduced in 2006 for magazine formats."

All models are designed for high-productivity applications and have horizontal or vertical hoppers that can be repositioned within systems or among multiple systems.

Extra features include selective binding and inkjet capabilities. Mid-sized models range from around £400,000 to £765,000 and the kit goes on sale in the UK in 2009.

"It's aimed at big commercial web printers looking for a class of machine that can run 24/7, as opposed to a sheet-fed printer where a Heidelberg would do just fine.

"And we are confident the Pacesetter 1600 will provide the same capabilities along with important reliability and ease-of-use advantages."

Goss has also extended its relationship with Ferag. The Swiss-based company now markets and supports Goss saddlestitching tech in Europe.

Goss represents Ferag in USA, and the new deal in Europe "opened the door for powerful configurations combining tech and expertise from both entities," he said.