A two-tower, 48pp straight press has been installed at German newspaper printer A Beig Druckerei and Verlag in Pinneberg.

At 1,890mm wide, the press is set up to print three full-colour Berliner-format papers across the 6/2 cylinders at speeds of up to 90,000cph.

In comparison, the Colorman presses ordered by NI will be 2,211mm wide, to print six tabloid newspapers across the web.

Some 22 Colorman XXL presses, producing 120pp straight, will be installed at new NI plants in Enfield and Glasgow, and at Knowsley in Liverpool.

A further press is on order for Johnston Press' new 60m plant outside Sheffield, which will contract print for NI (PrintWeek, 14 October 2004).

MAN Roland claims that production costs for the triple-width press are more than 20% lower than for a comparable 4/2 cylinder pressline, with net output 10% higher.

A Beig's new kit integrates the printnet workflow developed by ppi Media and MAN Roland. It is also the first press to feature the PPL plate-changing system.

The local media group publishes five regional dailies and a range of weekly and monthly titles at its plant near Hamburg.

KBA commissioned the world's first triple-width press, an eight-tower Commander, at the Zurich production plant of Swiss media group Tamedia in March this year.

Story by Josh Brooks