Broughton Printers, a unit of the Express Newspapers Group, said it is installing a Koenig & Bauer AG Commander press as part of a $25.6 million upgrade project at its Preston, England, plant.

The press, to go into production next year, will be used to print the Daily Star, providing the paper with color on every page, KBA said.

The press will be configured as five H-type printing towers with KBA’s minigap blanket technology, pneumatic plate lockup and RollerTronic automatic roller adjustment.

The installation also includes a 2:5:5 jaw folder, EAE press controls, OPS2 production planning, a Q.I. Press Controls automatic color registration system, Baldwin Technology Co. Inc. spray dampeners and an OxyDry blanket washing system.

To accommodate Broughton’s space limitations, the press is being built with the reelstands located at a 90-degree angle from the towers.

Broughton Printers Chief Executive David Broadhurst said the press will helps the company improve print quality and service. “We are very pleased to be working with KBA on this important project,” he said.

Meantime, Italian media group Poligrafici Editoriale in Bologna placed an order with KBA for three Colora presses that are slated to take up production in Bologna, Florence and Milan by year-end 2007.

The press sales came as KBA said it posted an operating profit of almost $24 million in the first half of 2006, reversing a loss of $8 million in the first quarter of the year.

After deducting a financial loss and paying taxes, KBA posted a net profit of $16 million for the year’s first half.

Sales, meantime, rose 5 percent to $925.4 million.