March 17, 2016, by Daily Nation, Kenya: Nation Media Group’s new printing press promises to take not only Nation Media Group (NMG) to uncharted seas but to push the publishing industry to new frontiers.
Occupying 3,600 square metres at the Nation Printing Plant, a few hundred metres off the busy Mombasa Road, is the complex that houses the shiny brand-new printing press.
Inside the building, one is confronted by the breathtaking hugeness of it all — five printing towers lining the floor and occupying about 800 square metres.
Standing before the observers is the Colorman e:line (4-1 series) printing press manufactured by Manroland Web Systems in Germany.
With the ability to churn out up to 86,000 copies per hour, the Colorman e:line is the fastest newspaper press in its class, offering best print quality and best-in-class automation.
“We call it future-proof,” says Director of Newspaper Systems at Manroland, Wolfgang Hiesinger.
He means that for the first time, a newspaper printing press will offer options for gradual upgrades and retrofits that ensure a positive outlook for any business model.
The new press features five eight-couple printing towers and is capable of printing up to 86,000 copies per hour, a significant leap from the 60,000 copies the previous printer produced.
Gideon Aswani, head of production at NMG, observes that the larger number of copies that can be printed is actually the least of the advantages that come with his new 470-tonne baby.
“Production time has been slashed by a whopping 65 per cent. This means we can now do in two and a half hours what we used to do in at least six hours. Wastage has also been cut down significantly, saving the company Sh8 million annually,” he says.
The size of paper being fed into the new press has also been reduced marginally, by 25 millimetres, which may seem insignificant until one realises this translates into savings of more than Sh35 million annually.
More at the source: Daily Nation Kenya
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