Do your Goss Community or Goss Urbanite nips need to be cut down so that you can run narrower newsprint?  Normally the cost to replace the nips with narrower ones can cost more than $4,000 for singlewide presses.

But what if you could do the work for $1,500, for three sets of nips, and without removing the nip shafts?

Most press operators are uncomfortable with the work involved in removing the nip shafts, either because of a lack of mechanical experience or because they don’t have the proper tools to do the job. The method I suggest doesn’t require either.

 

My recommendation, instead, is to use split nip barrels, like the ones used on larger presses. Remove the rear nips from the nip barrels. Next, polish the nip shafts behind the rear nip barrels so that the rear nip barrels will slide easily along the nip shaft.

Third, slide the rear nip barrels as far as possible toward the rear of the folder. Lock the nip barrels into their new position. Once the rear nip barrels are out of the way, the new, shorter, nip barrel halves can be bolted into place.

Properly positioned

If the old nip barrels are too long and thus will not allow enough access to fasten the nips back to the nip barrels, temporarily move the front nips out of the way. This will allow the new nip barrels to move forward enough to attach the nips. The new rear nip barrels and the front nip can be properly positioned once the nips are attached to the new nip barrels.

Need to go back to a wider product? No problem. Just remove the new rear nip barrels and nip rings, if necessary, and slide the old nip barrels forward again. Finally, reattach the nips.

If your press crew is up to the challenge, you might be able to save even more. The cost of shorter, non-split nip barrels is approximately $100 to $120 each, depending from which company you purchase them.

Using this as a guide, it would cost about $600 to change your web width from 25 inches to 24 inches, or from 24 inches to 23 inches. Let your imagination be your guide.

This method should work with any Goss Community, Goss Urbanite or other singlewide press.

If you would like to know more about web-width reductions or have questions concerning cutdowns  or other issues, feel free to contact me.

Frank Bourlon has more than 35 years’ experience in the newspaper industry. He is the executive and training director for the Newspaper Production & Research Center. He can be reached at 405.524.7774 or via e-mail at nprc@flash.net.