Lisa Hurm has been waiting for it for a decade-and-a-half: Now the Pittsbugh, USA, plant she heads finally has its new press.

A triple-wide Goss Uniliner is the long-awaited replacement for hybrid KBA flexo and Hoe/Goss letterpress equipment, some of which dates to 1956.

And for Pittsburgh Post-Gazette operations director Hurm, it can’t come soon enough. A new print centre not only houses the four-tower press, but also prepress and mailroom facilities which had previously been at separate sites, plus IT and a call centre.

The new press which has four towers and a double-couple 2:5:5 folder – enabling it to print a 48-page all-colour product with a 533 mm cut-off and 1600 mm web width – went live on September 7.

Equipment includes Harland Simon press controls, continuing a relationship with Goss which has covered FPS and Colorliner installations in the UK and Netherlands, and projects at the New York Post and El Mercurio (Chile).

Hurm says press operators adapted quickly to the desk and functionality of the system, which includes two touch-screen Prima 6000 consoles, monitoring, reporting and ink presetting functions with adaptive learning algorithms. The Prima management system is integrated with Puzzleflow workflow, the PressNet control system and QI Press Controls’ closed loop registration.

The new mailroom includes Goss Magnapak and NP630 inserters with Ferag conveyors.

Harland Simon had also been a contractor on upgrades to the old Hoe press which had been rebuilt and extended, most recently in 2004 when flexo colour units were added.

Hurm, who joined the privately-owned company in 1998, has waited until the project was viable, largely as a result of efficiencies resulting from centralising print and mailroom operations and the paper store.

Picture: Harland Simon