Sensor Products Inc. last month rolled out Sigma-Nip, an enhanced version of its electronic nip analysis system.

The new system, based on SPI’s E-Nip sensor-based analysis technology, features upgraded diagnostic software and more durable sensors, said Gus Alvarez, an SPI technical consultant.

The Repository in Canton, Ohio, and Tucson (Ariz.) Newspapers are among the first newspapers to install Sigma-Nip.

Sigma-Nip is designed to eliminate the manual steps now needed to check nip width, Alvarez said. Press crews no longer have to use paper or embossed foils to measure nip width, he said. Instead, the sensors capture data and transmit readings to a PC, where operators can adjust the rollers accordingly.

Alvarez said Sigma-Nip’s software has been upgraded to allow newspapers to run more comparative reports and to monitor rollers’ performance over a specific period of time.

Nip widths from 0.15 inch (0.38 cm) to 9 inches (22.9 cm) can be measured, with pressures from 40 pounds per square inch (2.8 kg/cm2) to 3,000 PSI (211 kg/cm2), SPI said.

Sigma-Nip can be used on any press and is priced from $8,000 to $16,000 depending upon the number of sensors purchased.