A notable US print transformation - a rare 2013 order and Goss's first for a triple-wide press in its home country - has taken the Pittsbugh Post-Gazette out of the 'dark ages' of letterpress and flexo.

The result is flexibility for "as yet unknown" demands and and outcome over which director of operations Lisa Hurm says it has been hard not to be thrilled.

It had been a while coming - mooted when Hurm joined the company, years before - and when the press order was placed in mid-2013, ideas about where it would be located were still unconfirmed.

Fast forward two years and the upgraded plant has not only been running for months, but Hurm and are team are still pinching themselves and coming to terms with capability which goes way beyond the simple capacity to print 48 broadsheet pages of back-to-back colour in a more economical 533 mm-deep page format.

Installation of the Uniliner press has put the Post-Gazette on its way to achieving key business and performance criteria, with increased advertiser activity as well as readers' response indicating the success of the project and a large-scale redesign.

Hurm says the printed edition looks fabulous, with brilliant colour on every page: "Every nuance of the artwork is brought out. We've had really great customer feedback in this respect and our advertisers have been more than happy with the opportunities now available to them," she says.

Colour capacity of the four-tower press has given classified sections, obituaries and comics a new lease of life, and there are also encouraging signs in other areas: "We used to outsource our TV guides, as well as sections, wraps and jackets, but these have all come in-house now," says Hurm.

"And once we felt fully confident of this quality of work, we started doing some commercial work for outside parties as well. These were mostly brochures on thicker, bright white paper for some local conventions as well as for a number car dealers, and they have been received very well."

Alongside development of its electronic publication and other digital functionality of the PG brand, the decision in 2013 to invest in a new print production facility reflected the company's commitment to the printed word.

The press is unusual in that it hedges bets for the publisher, delivering both the narrow broadsheet currently popular in the US, together with an alternative 381 mm deep tabloid, via a centre former.

The line comprises four four-high printing towers with the 533 mm cut-off, four reelstands and a double-couple J2:5:5 jaw folder. Reelstands are positioned at right angles to the press line, providing easy access for press crew. Printing units are capable of up to 80,000 full-colour copies per hour in straight production (48 broadsheet pages) or 40,000 cph for a 96-page collect product. Productivity is enhanced by features including motorised pre-set ink keys, spray bar dampening, colour register, automated folder settings and shaftless press drives.

The maximum web width of 1680 mm is equivalent to six pages across of 420 mm wide - the "11 inch" page now popular in the US - and a secondary web width 762 mm allows 381 mm (15-inch) tabloids. This format runs to the lower former assembly of the jaw folder, which is equipped for up to four webs or 12 ribbons.

In addition, the jaw folder includes a balloon former assembly, also equipped for up to 12 ribbons and with a centre former capable of running both the 381 mm and 420 mm (11-inch and 15-inch) pages. The folder also has a single push-button fold changeover to simplify the process of switching between straight and collect production.

The Post-Gazette was also relocating its Goss Magnapak and NP630 inserting equipment - bringing together functions from three previous locations to the new 21,000m2 facility - with Goss, which holds the Ferag agency in the US, also reconfiguring conveyors.

Weekday print circulation of what is Western Pennsylvania's largest newspaper is around 140,000, rising to more than 270,000 copies on Sunday.

The newspaper dates to 1786 - early enough to publish the Constitution of the United States the following year - and has had a range of titles and owners. It also publishes the region's most visited news website, post-gazette.com with a total weekly audience of almost a million people.

Peter Coleman and sources