Offset Printing
ROTOPRESS CLEANS UP WITH ITALYS FIRST BALDWIN PROTECH 2 NP
Monday 09. November 2009 - Italian web offset printer Rotopress International in Loreto is benefiting from the countrys first Baldwin Technology ProTech 2 NP automatic brush blanket cleaning system, which was fitted earlier in the year to a new four-tower KBA Comet press.
Baldwin leads the world in automatic blanket cleaning technology and its brush cleaning systems are well established within the newspaper, semi-commercial and commercial web markets. The recently launched ProTech 2 NP takes cleaning of blankets to new levels of efficiency.
“Our new KBA Comet is a coldset press, which is used mainly to print newspaper titles,” says operations manager Stefano Mosca. “During the night the press prints various editions of Corriere Adriatico and these can range from 2,000 up to 15,000 copies so there are a large number of makereadies during the overall print run. The total number of copies produced during the day can be as many as 500,000. We already operated Baldwin blanket cleaning equipment on our existing KBA heatset press and had very good experience of the companys support and service so had confidence in dealing with it again on this latest project.
“The new ProTech 2 NP system provides very effective and fast cleaning of blankets as well as exceptionally reduced levels of waste, normally as few as 50 copies between job changeovers.
Baldwin has made several improvements compared to the previous model and this has significantly reduced solvent and water usage.”
Operation and performance features on the ProTech 2 NP system have been upgraded to meet the latest newspaper and semi-commercial print requirements. The new pivoted doctor blade in the cleaning units cleans the brush rollers at the end of the blanket cleaning process, greatly reducing wash-up times and washing agent consumption. A redesign of the spray bar nozzles has also helped to cut down solvent and water volumes. Intervals between maintenance sessions are increased significantly because the wash unit has the benefit of a standard inbuilt self-cleaning function.
“We also use our new KBA Comet to produce a range of freesheets and contract magazines, so the press is probably in use about 22 hours each working day,” says Mr Mosca. “This means we need total reliability and flexibility from both the press and the ancillary equipment fitted to it. In todays competitive market, printers have to achieve the greatest efficiency and print quality possible and there is no doubt that the Baldwin ProTech 2 NP system plays a vital part in allowing us to reach these aims.
“Our press operators like using the ProTech 2 NP system and anything that makes their task easier, such as very low maintenance, is always an important consideration. During all our dealings with Baldwin weve been impressed by its willingness to listen to and meet our needs, so that we can optimise our production facilities to their maximum potential.”