DINNINGTON, United Kingdom —  When Johnston Press Ltd., opened its new production facility last year, it also christened its first 6-by-2 press, a ColorMAN XXL from MAN Roland Inc. (See related stories, page 1 and 12). Nick Boxall, managing director of JP’s Sheffield Web facility, discussed how the plant manages the newsprint needed to feed the high-capacity press.

On how much newsprint the plant stores:

Boxall: We receive annually 65,000 tons of 100 percent recycled newsprint from three suppliers. We usually store a four-day supply. The rolls are stacked three-high and transported via MAN Roland’s Aurosys roll handling system.

On the challenges associated with overseeing such a heavy volume of newsprint:

Boxall: We had an opportunity to work with various paper mills and MAN Roland to develop the optimal conditions for handling 80-inch-wide 6-by-2 rolls. Early research determined that the risk of transporting the larger 6-by-2 rolls was great due to the center of gravity. We worked with the mills and MAN to determine new methods of roll transportation. The newsprint trucks were fitted with a steel cradle and the rolls were transported on their belly or flat instead of on their end. We currently receive 12 main rolls to a 40-foot truck and receive paper deliveries on the hour. We average 55 to 60 deliveries a week. The rolls are manually off loaded via a heavy-duty clamp forklift. Autoloading wasn’t justifiable.

...Core development is critical for a 6-by-2 roll due to the weight. Nick Boxall Managing Director, Johnston Press Ltd.

On other changes that were made:

Boxall: Core development is critical for a 6-by-2 roll due to the weight. We explored aluminum, carbon fiber and cardboard cores to determine vibrations, geometric accuracy and harmonic frequencies. We at Dinnington chose to go primarily with carbon fiber cores while News International chose primarily aluminum cores. Some mills still only supply 6-by-2 cardboard cores.

We also liked that active RFID tracking is available for both the aluminum and carbon fiber cores as it is built into the core. RFID tracking is available for cardboard cores; however, it has only a passive paper tag that doesn’t actively emit a signal.

 We are experiencing less than a half-inch of core wastage and have had no cores breaks to date. Our unused newsprint is collected and stripped off by a local fish and chips restaurant that wraps the dinners in the paper. The cores are then returned back to the mills.

On what JP is watching for on these large rolls:

Boxall: We won’t accept egg-shaped newsprint rolls. If we see rolls with wrinkled paper, that indicates a manufacturing problem. On roll winding we have to watch to see whether the 6-by-2 rolls are tightly wound as they are core driven. We use MAN Roland’s pneumatic expanding chucks for the core handling and are careful with the reused cores. We use MAN’s XXL CD-15 autopaster, which handles up to 2.4 tons.

On how the rolls are transferred to the press:

Boxall: We have two MAN Roland transfer vehicle system machines that move outside the rail to collect the rolls. They are positioned, programmed and controlled by a central Aurosys database. The power rail and the bar code/positioning strip are now built into the floor instead being installed overhead. The database sends an order to the TVS, which then brings the roll to the reelstand as needed.

The TVS system delivers the rolls from the laydown area to the press. At press, the rolls are delivered just inside the burst protection gate.

On the role of the burst protection gate and its purpose:

Boxall: With the high speeds this press can accomplish, it is possible to reach a harmonic frequency in the paper roll, which could conceivably cause the roll to explode. It’s rare, but possible. The burst protection gate closes during the pasting cycle and won’t reopen  until the roll is finished unwinding.