manroland Goss, a leading supplier of web-offset printing solutions, has installed a new press line for the full-service book printing company Bradford & Bigelow of Massachusetts in the US. After having relied on manroland Goss presses in the past, the book printer decided on a customized Lithoman IV from Augsburg. The press prints high-quality UV inks, is equipped with a powerful LED UV dryer and is impressive in terms of energy efficiency, the company said.
Bradford & Bigelow is one of North America’s leading book printers in the 8.5 x 11 inch format. The new Lithoman IV at Bradford & Bigelow was recently successfully installed and has been in operation since June, mainly for textbook production.
“After many years of producing on a Lithoman, it was an easy decision to again choose a manroland Goss press. The new Lithoman IV enables us to increase efficiency in our day-to-day business thanks to its high-quality LED UV technology, giving us a real competitive edge,” stated John Galligan, president of Bradford & Bigelow.
Fully integrated LED UV technology
The system is equipped with four double circumference printing units and prints with high-quality and mineral oil-free UV ink. Another advantage of the Lithoman IV: manroland Goss uses a UV dryer instead of a conventional hot air dryer. Thanks to this UV drying system, the web is not heated and does not have to be cooled down by chill rollers, as is the case with conventional presses with hot air dryers. This means that UV drying saves space: the chill roll construction is not required, taking up to 40 % less space than with a conventional press.
Compared to a printing press with a hot air dryer, an LED UV press consumes less electrical energy at the same production speed while using no gas. Thus, LED-UV and UV drying make a significant contribution to electricity savings compared to a conventional press. While most other presses with UV technology have been retrofitted afterwards, the Lithoman IV ordered by Bradford & Bigelow is the first press of this speed and size to be built with LED-UV technology.
DynaChange technology
The Lithoman IV is designed for the 48-page format of 1,156 mm by 1,460 mm. In collated production mode, the maximum production speed is up to 37,500 cylinder revolutions. Thanks to the DynaChange functionality on the given four printing units, the system can switch back and forth between printing units during 2-color production and at full production speed.
This means that while two printing units are printing job A, the plates of the other two printing units can be changed and are ready for a new job B. DynaChange technology saves Bradford & Bigelow on both time and waste, as the press does not have to be shut down and started up again. Instead, changes are made on the fly. By eliminating conventional make-readies, Bradford & Bigelow is able to increase their production availability by approximately fifteen percent.
Tailored press configuration
Another special feature of the Bradford & Bigelow system is the running direction of the paper web. The Lithoman IV from manroland Goss is available in both right-to-left and left-to-right running directions. At Bradford & Bigelow, the right-to-left web orientation is in operation, allowing the customer an optimal and individual use of their production hall. This provides customers the best possible flexibility.
