Staff Report
The need to cut waste and to gain more precise
control over their print production is leading newspaper publishers to count
more heavily on their dampening systems.
The technology, which uses spray bars to
distribute water equitably on press cylinders, has come a long way since the
days of the spiral brush.
Today, spray bars are used on everything from
legacy Goss presses to the forthcoming Koenig & Bauer AG 6-by-2 Commander
press.
The market’s two leading vendors, Wheeling,
Ill.-based Technotrans America and Shelton, Conn.-based Baldwin Technology Co.
Inc. are continually jockeying for position, analysts say.
Both companies have been busily unveiling new
installations and technologies. Technotrans scored a $2.5 million contract with
WIFAG to equip 17 WIFAG OF 470 rotary presses with more than 400 spray dampening
systems. In October of last year, the company signed a $1.6 million contract
with KBA to install a 170-spray bar system on presses to be installed by
Switzerland-based Tamedia and Espace Media Groupe.
‘Lots of activity’
“We’re seeing lots of activity and people are
speaking more optimistically [about market conditions] than they were even six
months ago,” said Tom Carbery, Technotrans’ vice president.
Carbery said the need to eliminate as much
start-up waste as possible is crucial — particularly as press starts and stops
multiply due to increased zoning.
“Press operators want faster and cleaner
starts, with less maintenance,” he said.
Baldwin, meanwhile, sees similar trends driving
its business. The firm said response to its LithoSpray dampening and Impact
blanket cleaning systems “exceeded expectations” at October’s IfraExpo,
reflecting the newspaper industry’s need for cleaner press operation.
Baldwin upgraded LithoSpray with the addition of
a new internal cleaning system, dubbed Constant C. The cleaning system passes an
air curtain over the front of the nozzle to prevent clogging by ink and dust.
