NEWS

(12/10/2012 / nho)

Landmark Goss Sunday press order heralds positive outlook for York Mailing, UK

High-end UK commercial printer York Mailing has placed an order for a new 48-page short-grain Goss Sunday 4000 web offset press. The press will be installed at the company’s Pindar Scarborough site, which is dedicated mainly to high-quality catalogue production for the retail market.

Scheduled to be in production by October 2013, the press for York Mailing will comprise four units with a 435-mm cut-off, configured with a Goss SG-3 pinless folder, an Ecoset dryer and a Contiweb FD paster. It will also be the first commercial heatset press installation in the UK to feature Goss DigiRail digital inking.

In changing to Goss technology, York Mailing’s confidence in the reliability of Goss International as equipment and service supplier was a key factor in the choice of the Sunday 4000 system. “We spent six months evaluating all the options, running print quality and runnability tests on equipment from each of the main web offset manufacturers,” comments Mike Newbould Jnr., Group managing director of York Mailing. “The Sunday 4000 came out on top by a long way for its technical capabilities but also because we felt far more confident in Goss International as a long-term partner for the future.”

The unique gapless design of the Goss Sunday press series combined with a pinless folder will provide York Mailing with sustainability and cost benefits through reduced paper wastage. The Goss Ecoset dryer technology has been shown to minimize energy consumption and emissions by as much as 50 percent in some applications. In addition, the high automation of the press will ensure fast and efficient makereadies enabling frequent job changeovers and more run-length flexibility. The Goss DigiRail digital inking system – which York Mailing tested at a number of European sites – is a key element of this improved efficiency, using digital on/off pulsing to precisely control the flow of ink in relation to press speed.

According to Newbould the new press “slips very nicely” into York Mailing’s existing equipment portfolio, which includes seven web offset presses across the two sites in York and Scarborough. Along with recent purchases in perfect binding and sheetfed capabilities, he says the Sunday 4000 press is an investment that signifies a very positive outlook for York Mailing:  “Conversely to many industry reports these days, we feel quite excited at the future opportunities for the web offset market and we’re equipping to ensure we can exploit that potential. Ongoing discussions with our customers continue to support the assertion that print – including high-volume, web offset print – has a very clear and a vital role in the sales and marketing mix, and that, far from dwindling, it looks likely to increase with investment in the right capabilities.”

Commenting for Goss International, UK Sales Director John Chambers describes the order as a milestone for both Goss and for the UK market: “It’s genuinely uplifting to see a business make such a decisive step, reaffirming their commitment to the future of web offset; and, of course, it is especially gratifying that they should turn to Goss to be their new partner in that step. We’re absolutely delighted to have gained their support for this exciting new press investment and look forward to working with the team at York Mailing.”