The Roanoke (Va.) Times will be the first newspaper in the United States to install a Mainstream 80, Heidelberg’s 1-by-4 press, as part of an upgrade of the newspaper’s production facility.

In addition to the Mainstream 80, The Times (daily, 100,379; Sunday, 115,472) also purchased a Magnapak inserting system and an NP200 gripper conveyor system from Heidelberg.

The Roanoke (Va.) Times is the first newspaper 
in the United States to purchase Heidelberg’s 
Mainstream 80 1-by-4 newspaper press.
Photo courtesy of Heidelberg

The Times’ new press will have a total of 48 printing couples and a 2:5:5 jaw folder that will have a “double-jaw” arrangement with one jaw folder at the reelroom level and another jaw at press level, according to Heidelberg.

Seven Heidelberg Contiweb FD pasters, which feature automated loading and reel preparation, will also be part of the new press.

The Mainstream 80 will have the Omnipage automatic page recognition system, which uses cameras mounted on the press console to identify pages and direct the control system to the corresponding web, tower or couple.

The NP200 gripper conveyor will carry newspapers from the Mainstream 80 through an overhead crosswalk to The Times’ packaging center across the street from the press area. Part of the packaging center will consist of a Magnapak shaftless inserting system with 32 stations.

Control of The Times’ press, postpress and auxiliary systems will be handled by an integrated Omnicon control system, which is also supplied by Heidelberg.

The Mainstream 80 is capable of running at up to 80,000 copies per hour and utilizes the manufacturer’s gapless technology, which is designed to reduce press vibrations and improve print quality.

The Magnapak is a shaftless inserter that can run at up to 30,000 papers per hour and is also capable of collating and wrapping.

Heidelberg restructures

Heidelberg is undergoing a restructuring that includes the establishment of four Solution Centers to replace the company’s business units, the establishment of seven Market Centers and a shift in personnel.

The four Solution Centers will each focus on a specific area of production — web, sheetfed, digital and postpress. Those centers will be product-oriented and assist the company’s Market Centers, according to Greg Norris, a representative for Heidelberg. The web center will handle newspaper business, and Heidelberg’s prepress unit will be in the sheetfed center.

The seven Market Centers will focus on areas around the world, including the Asia-Pacific region, North America, Central Europe, Eastern Europe, Southern Europe, Latin America, and the United Kingdom and Nordic countries. The centers will focus on sales and service of all Heidelberg products.

The restructuring of their business model has also meant several changes to personnel.

At Heidelberg’s facility in Dover, N.H., Werner Albrecht will become president of the web offset unit. He replaces Bob Brown, who will remain with Heidelberg until the end of the year before moving on to a new career. Brown will spend the next six months assisting Albrecht with the transition.