April
 2004

In the newspaper business, deadlines are a way of life.

That’s as true for the press operator as it is for the reporter working on a late-breaking story.

Any glitch in equipment operation can cause unnecessary delays and cost time and money - not to mention increased anxiety for all involved, from the publisher to the convenience store owner selling the newspaper.

So when the Hamilton (Ontario) Spectator began running into production problems in the late 1990s, it knew it needed a quick solution.

The Spectator (daily, 260,000) prints more than 500,000 copies per day on Goss Metro presses it’s used since the late 1970s.

Up until 1998, said Maintenance Supervisor George Tedesco, the presses performed flawlessly. But, he said, “We started having problems with sticking eccentrics,” he said. “We had to consistently get in there and give them a little bump to get them going.”

Caused delays

For the Spectator, this little bump was causing delays and becoming increasingly inconvenient, wasting valuable time and money.

“It was through a Goss Metro users convention that my boss found out from other users that they were having the same problems,” Tedesco said. “Eventually, we figured out it was caused by the oil.”

An investigation revealed that the machine tool and way oil recommended by the manufacturer when the press was installed had been reformulated some years later, much to the surprise of many maintenance managers.

“They had reformulated the oil and in the process they took away the stickiness of the oil - the tackifier,” Tedesco said. “The clingability of the oil wasn’t there anymore. But we were never notified that the oil had been reformulated and we kept using the same oil and ran into problems.”

Through colleagues in the newspaper industry, the Hamilton Spectator’s maintenance staff learned about another brand of machine tool and way oil, Accuflo SS 68, manufactured by Petro-Canada.

Problem ends

Since switching lubricants, Tedesco said his newspaper has eliminated the problem and the presses have been running far more efficiently.

“It’s been about two years since we’ve changed the oil and the problem has disappeared,” Tedesco said. “The performance of the press has greatly improved since we started using the product.

“The (oil) meets the specs Goss recommended when the presses were first installed,” he said, adding that tests indicate the oil is clinging to the metal, as it should.

“You can see it when you put the oil between your fingers and pull them apart. With the (new oil) you’ll see several strands hanging back and forth.”

Resists pressure

Petro-Canada formulated the oil to resist pressure, moisture and coolants as it eliminates metal-to-metal contact. The result: smoother press operation, reduced wear and extended machine life, according to the company.

The manufacturer recommends the oil to lubricate press’ units, folders, angle bars and horizontal gear boxes. The oil meets Goss’ requirements for Cosmo, Metro, Metroliner, Headliner, Colorliner and Metrocolor presses.

Tedesco said that switching lubricants has helped the Spectator cut costs and improve press performance.

“Wear protection is key,” he said. “That’s going to save you a lot of heartache.”

Tedesco said avoiding press downtime is another important consideration.

Costly downtime

“You can’t afford to have the press down, particularly if it’s a unit in the middle of your line,” he said. “It’s hard to work around that type of issue. You just can’t put a figure on what it would cost to initiate that type of repair. It would be way too costly. The downtime alone is going to kill you.”

Finding the right lubrication also allowed the Spectator’s maintenance staff to focus its efforts on regular maintenance.

“You’re saving time on production runs and you’re saving time on maintenance trying to track down these phantom problems,” Tedesco said. “The machinery has got to work properly. Otherwise, it’s just not what you paid for.”

James McLean is the category manager for specialty fluids at Petro-Canada.