The Gold Coast Bulletin in Molendinar, Queensland, will be the first newspaper in Australia to be printed on a KBA Comet.

The new shaftless, floor-mounted pressline will print The Gold Coast Bulletin and other newspaper titles, plus a number of inserts including real estate, business and investment, sports, dining and entertainment, among others.

The new press comprises 10 reelstands, nine four-high towers and two KF 3 jaw folders. The press will be operational in a new production hall in early 2004.

The Comet will have a cylinder circumference of 45.5 inches, a web width variable between 25 to 34.75 inches and a maximum rated output of 70,000 copies per hour in non-collect mode.

It will be configured with ten Megtec AR 75 reelstands fed by a KBA Patras M reel-handling system. The nine printing towers will support full color on both sides of one web or two-over-two on two webs.

Color register controls plus automatic blanket washing and ink feed will help the press to deliver a higher print quality, while the two 2:3:3 KF 3 jaw folders, in conjunction with a softening and gluing unit, will give the press more production flexibility. The press package also includes six EAE control consoles with press preset, raster image processor interface and a diagnostics PC for remote maintenance.

The sale of the Comet press to the Queensland Newspaper-owned publication marks KBA’s incursion into the Australian newspaper market following the opening of its new Sydney-based sales and service subsidiary, KBA Australia, which opened for business in spring 2002.