The St. Petersburg (Fla.) Times last month launched a major pressroom upgrade project that will include a web-width reduction to 50 inches and the installation of shaftless technology on its Goss International Corp. presslines.

 “We’ve decided to do a web-width reduction to our presses, some of which have been around since 1969 to 1985,” said Alvin Nesmith, production manager for the Times. “We are going to a 50-inch format with a variable web width.”

The plan also calls for the newspaper (daily, 301,183; Sunday, 385,794) to add new spraybar dampeners from technotrans America Inc., new PlantView/PressView controls and consoles from Rockwell Automation and digital inkers from Goss. All told, 162 couples will be upgraded across the Times’ mix of nine Metro and Metroliner presses.

The drive system upgrade will replace aging Fincor Automation Inc. DC drives and motors with new AC drives and motors. It’s the first joint project between Pressline and Rockwell, which last month said they would work together to provide packaged drive, control and press modification services.  

Pressline Services Inc. is retrofitting the Times’ presses to allow the paper to print variable-width products, such as the Tampa Bay Times, a free daily tab.

“The upgrades are being done to let us continue printing in-house products and commercial orders we produce at the facility,” he said.

The project was divided into three phases; the first phase is to set the new web width and install the new controls, dampeners and inkers; the second and third phases will involve integrating shaftless technology onto the first and second presslines respectively. The project is slated to be completed this summer, Nesmith said.

Mo. project on tap

Meantime, Pressline said it is renovating a Goss Urbanite press at the Washington (Mo.) Missourian, expanding the machine from seven units to 18 units. The upgrade includes the addition of two folders, four 4-over-4 color stacks and three mono units. The remanufactured press will also sport Rockwell’s recently introduced QE control console, new shaftless drives, remote circumferential and sidelay, new inking systems and a spraybar dampening system. The project at the twice-weekly Missourian will conclude later this year, Pressline said, and allow the paper to run the press as a single collect machine or as two smaller presses.