The two new 80,000-copies-per-hour 4×2 presses will print up to 128 pages tabloid in full colour and will be configured as four four-high towers and two 2:5:5 jaw folders with a 578 mm cut-off.
Each folder will feature inline stitching, and one will have quarterfolding capability. The four towers and reelstands will be located at 90 degrees to the press line, similar to the configuration of Goss FPS presses, and will have the highest level of automation currently available. Various finishing options will also be supplied to address the current trend towards magazine-style supplements in newspapers.
The Uniliner press at Christchurch Press will be installed at a new dedicated facility on a green field site on the outskirts of Christchurch and will bring new flexibility and opportunity to The Press' 95,000 circulation six-days a week broadsheet with up to 172 pages on Saturdays.
General manager of The Press, Chris Jagusch, says the new plant will be state-of-the-art in terms of its colour capabilities and speed and will comprise specialized publishing equipment to better manage preprinted sections and packaging.
"The new production facilities will give The Press the capability to push production boundaries, raise standards, and give readers a better end product, while giving advertisers greater options for promoting their goods and services," he confirms.
Christchurch Press prints leading title, The Press, as well as national Sunday title, Star Times, and tabloid title, Christchurch Mail.
In Brisbane, Anthony Payne, regional manager at Fairfax Media Group says the new Goss Uniliner presses will be a very significant upgrade.
"we have been running a six-tower single-width Goss Community press and since our merger with Rural Press last May, we have been running at almost maximum capacity, so it's definitely time for a change. The new press will have the ability to print square and standard tabloid products of varying sizes as well as different broadsheet formats."
The Ormiston plant currently produces a localised edition of the Sydney Sun Herald as well as Trading Post and Australian Financial Review, with heatset sections being outsourced to other contract printers.
