Montréal, Quebec - Le Journal de Montréal, the largest circulation newspaper in Quebec, has signed to install three COLORMAN web offset presses from MAN Roland in a new $110 million production facility that is scheduled to begin operation in the spring of 2007. When asked why COLORMAN was the press of choice for the Journal, Denis Tetrault, Vice President of Production at the Journal, notes: "It is the best technology for our needs. MAN Roland's PECOM operating system will help automate our makereadies, and the speed and reliability of the COLORMAN series is second to none. We visited several newspapers where COLORMAN presses are at work, and we're very impressed with what we saw." MORE COLOR CAPACITY Increasing the color capacity of the largest-circulation French-language daily in the Americas is the prime purpose of the purchase. Currently the Journal can print 48 pages out of 128 in color on its four nine-unit Goss presses. The three COLORMAN systems will bring all 128 pages up to full color. More color and higher print quality will give Le Journal de Montréal a competitive edge over competing media, according to the newspaper. "Color is the key to attracting and keeping readers," Tetrault says. "And advertisers demand it. Right now, we have to refuse some color ads because 48 pages of color are not enough. The COLORMAN presses are going to make color viable for all of our advertisers." Le Journal de Montréal is working to add that new capacity as quickly as possible to the new facility, which is being constructed in Saint-Janvier-de-Mirabel. "It is a very aggressive timeline we've developed together with MAN Roland," notes Tetrault. "The first of the three presses will be producing in less than 12 months from the day we signed the contract. I don't think any manufacturer other than MAN Roland could be as responsive." PROJECT MANAGEMENT In fact all systems in the new 200,000 sq ft facility, from prepress to mailroom, are scheduled to be operational by April 2007. "We have carefully mapped out a plan for phasing in the new presses," Tetrault adds. "We're confident that the project management team from MAN Roland will ensure that the transition is a smooth one." Le Journal de Montréal is part of Sun Media Corporation, which is owned by Quebecor Media, a division of Quebecor Inc. Quebecor Media in partnership with Quebecor World, another Quebecor Inc. company, are building a new facility in the Toronto area to print the Toronto Sun, the London Free Press and 24 Hours. This new facility will also be equipped with MAN Roland COLORMAN presses. Sun Media Corporation is Canada's largest national chain of tabloids and community newspapers. MORE EFFICIENCY Tetrault expects to chop 40% off the time it takes his crews to change plates, thanks to COLORMAN's automated Power Plate Loading (PPL) system. He also is counting on a considerable drop in makeready waste, since COLORMAN streamlines virtually every element of the makeready process. To ensure those efficiency numbers are high right from the start, Le Journal de Montréal is starting to upgrade the skills of its production staff. "Management training takes place this month at MAN Roland's facilities in Germany," says Tetrault. "Our supervisors go there in January and our press crews after that. The training is important because we want to make sure our staff takes full advantage of all the automated advancements MAN Roland builds into its presses." MAN Roland is also taking steps to ensure that the installation and ramp-up of the new presses goes smoothly. "We are confident in our ability to execute these COLORMAN installations on time, due to MAN Roland's strength in project management, installation and training," says Vincent Lapinski, COO of Web Operations for MAN Roland Inc. "We're proud to continue our partnership with an industry leader like Quebecor World."