Basler Zeitung, headquarters of the Basler media group, plans to transfer production of its title daily (circulation 120,000 copies) and 29 other newspaper titles to two KBA Commander presses slated to come online at the end of 2003.

The decision to purchase the 80- and 64-page satellite presses was made at last year’s IfraExpo in Geneva. The choice of press was influenced by the Commander’s high print quality and output, which satisfied the rigorous standards demanded by Basler Zeitung’s contract customers, said KBA. These include the co-op, for which Basler Zeitung prints a weekly tabloid with a circulation of more than 1.6 million copies.

A photo taken after the contract for two KBA Commanders was signed in Würzburg. In the foreground (l-r): Reinhart Siewert, president of KBA; Beat Meyer, chief executive officer, and Matthias Hagemann, chairman, both of Basler Zeitung; Walter Schumacher, executive vice president for KBA web sales. In back (r-l): Felix Bitterli, director of newspaper production at Basler Zeitung; Peter Wyss, chief financial officer of Basler Zeitung; Werner Furrer, managing director of Print Assist; Ruth Ludwig-Hagemann, member of the Basler Zeitung board; Rudolf Kühner, KBA sales director; Lothar Hohmann, KBA project manager; and Albin Frank, head of KBA’s sales support.
Photo courtesy of KBA

The new pressline is part of an $49-million investment package. Alongside its core business, the Basler media group generates more than $70.16 million a year with new media business activities and commercial print production.

The two Commanders, which will both have an 18.5-inch (470-millimeter) cutoff and a maximum web width of 50.5 inches (1,280 millimeters), will replace a Wifag line installed in 1983 and extended several times since. The first press will leave KBA’s Würzburg facility in mid-2003, and the second will follow in the autumn of that year.

The new presses will enable Basler Zeitung to print full color throughout with high print quality and to dramatically cut time to press, enhancing its competitiveness in the national arena. A survey of Europe found that Switzerland comes second only to Finland in the number of households that read newspapers, which in recent years have attracted more than 50 percent of total ad spend.

The 90,000-copies-per-hour shaftless Commander presses will be installed on a concrete substructure and fed by nine Pastomat RC reelstands linked to a Patras automatic reel handling system.

The eight printing towers, configured as stacked 10-cylinder satellites for full color both sides with one web, or two colors both sides with two, are engineered for product flexibility. The printing couples will be connected to an automatic feed system for black and process inks. There will be automatic wash-ups for blanket and impression cylinders. Cutoff register controls will ensure high-precision folds. Provision has already been made to extend the configuration to 12-cylinder satellite towers at a later date.

The high-automation press line will feature three KF 5 jaw folders with a 2:5:5 cylinder ratio, 18 double turner bars and a section stitcher to support a wide choice of products and layouts. Provisions have also been made for the addition of skip slitters and ribbon stitchers. Eight consoles with preset systems and RIP interfaces will make for easy handling.