SEPTEMBER UPDATE
The Indianapolis Star’s
new Pulliam Production Center has become a flurry a vendor activity in the last
two months.
Several vendors are on site and have
made significant progress with installation of systems, but there is still a lot
of work to be done, according to Richard Rinehart, project director for The
Star.
Workers attach the first unit of The Star’s
new
GeoMAN press to a bridge crane, which was
used to move the unit into the press hall.
Photo courtesy of The Indianapolis Star
The first unit of the new MAN Roland
GeoMAN press was brought into the press hall on Aug. 20. All of the press
equipment is being brought in by truck, and more than 175 trucks will ultimately
be used to bring in the GeoMAN.
Press installation will last until
early next year, although Rinehart said they hope to begin printing on the first
units as early as December.
In the last month
MAN Roland is about 90-percent
complete on its installation of the reel tension pasters. The company is
installing a total of 30 CD 13D RTPs.
Jervis B. Webb has been installing
its newsprint rack system, which is also nearly complete. The rack will allow
The Star to store up to 450 newsprint rolls that are ready for use. The company
is also near installation of the two retrievers that will be used to move
newsprint rolls.
Installation on most of the systems
is set to be complete in the first quarter of 2002.
Construction of the building is also
close to winding down, Rinehart said, and should be complete by early next
month. Construction on the site slowed down during the winter months thanks to a
large amount of wet weather, but crews are now expected to finish two months
ahead of schedule. All of the construction work has moved to areas outside of
the press hall.
In the next month
Besides continued installation of
the press and newsprint systems, Cannon Equipment is installing The Star’s
cartloading system.
Employees will also begin coming on
site to train on use of cartloading system, press and other systems. The Star
already has a mailroom facility in operation on the site, and Rinehart would
like to train employees on use of the new system before The Star moves into full
production at the PPC.
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The press units –
dampening
systems
MAN Roland
Turbo Dampening Unit
The Indianapolis Star’s GeoMAN press
will feature the turbo dampening system by MAN Roland.
The separately driven turbo-dampening
unit is a non-contact system, which is designed to avoid any
contamination of the unit, according to MAN Roland.
Dampening solution is prepared in a
conditioning unit provided by BEK Systems, which cools the solution to
the proper temperature.
It is then fed to the press, on a
page-wide basis if needed, and is metered from the control console using
metering shutters. MAN Roland uses automatic acceleration to ensure that
the solution is distributed evenly.
The three-roller unit is designed to
produce uniform droplets with accurate metering, ultimately giving
newspapers a stable ink and water balance and allowing for constant
printing conditions.
Next month: Solution
conditioning units
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