Offset Printing
Graphic Communications in Accra orders KBA Comet
Thursday 03. January 2008 - Continuing an association formed during the 2006 World Cup
During the 2006 World Cup in Germany the national team from Ghana chose to set up quarters in Würzburg. A warm relationship developed between the team and its host city, and this has now been continued on a business level with an order from the Ghanaian capital for Würzburg-based press manufacturer Koenig & Bauer AG (KBA).
Graphic Communications Group in Accra has signed up for a single-width KBA Comet newspaper press that will come on stream in October. It will print The Daily Graphic, the country’s largest daily with a circulation of around 150,000 copies, plus supplements such as the Junior Graphic and a number of weekly and monthly titles.
KBA Comet valued in Africa
The double-circumference KBA Comet, which is in operation the world over, is highly valued in Africa, as numerous installations in South Africa and Kenya testify. The Comet press line at the Nation Media Group in Nairobi, for example, had another four-high tower added last summer, and a further Comet is currently being commissioned at the Standard Group in Nairobi.
The Comet press line for Ghana comprises two four-high towers and one printing unit that can be extended into a four-high tower at a later date. Automatic ink feed and fan-out control are all part of the package, as are four automatic reelstands positioned at right angles on the drive side of the press and fed via a KBA Patras M reel-handling system. Other features include a combination deck for greater flexibility in positioning colour pages, a folder superstructure with one former, and a KF 3B jaw folder. Provision has been made to add more towers, a second folder, a quarterfold capability and a semi-commercial package at a later date.
Up to 64 tabloid pages with high colour content
The KBA Comet for Accra is configured as a floor-mounted press line with a maximum output of 75,000 copies per hour in straight production and a 578mm (22¾in) cut-off. The standard web width is 800mm (31½in), but is variable between 635 and 870mm (25 – 34¼in). The press is controlled via two KBA consoles with a presetting system and a diagnostics PC for remote maintenance. A comprehensive training programme will prepare the future operators for their work on this new-generation press.
Graphic Communications managing director Ibrahim M Awal says: “We are really looking forward to working with this highly advanced Comet newspaper press, which is the first in West Africa. Its output, flexibility and print quality will enable us to consolidate our standing as a leading player in Ghanas media landscape by offering our readers and advertisers an even better service and greater immediacy.”
General manager K A Kersi adds: “Work has already started on a new printing plant whose cutting-edge CTP, press and post-press technology are unparalleled in the whole of Africa.”