June 12th 2007 – A new Goss web press at Continental Web in Walton, Kentucky will include the 2,000th gapless Sunday press printing unit ever manufactured. Goss International will ship the milestone unit from its Dover, New Hampshire facility in December as part of a new four-unit Sunday 3000/32 press for the direct mail, catalog and publication specialist.

Continental Web has facilities in Itasca, Illinois as well as in Walton. The company operates three additional Sunday presses, six Goss M-1000 presses and several Goss finishing systems.

“We look forward to the new opportunities the wider 2x8 press format will create for our customers,” explains Bill Scarpaci, chief operating officer of the Walton facility. “Gapless blanket technology truly revolutionized web printing, and we are impressed with the steps Goss International continues to take to build on the productivity advantages of the Sunday platform.”

Goss International will supply its own Contiweb FD paster, Ecocool dryer with integrated chill rolls and PFF-3 pinless folder with the new Sunday 3000/32 press at Continental Web. The systems will also be equipped with Goss semi-automatic Quick Plate Loading technology and Goss Web Center workflow controls.

Continental Web installed a Goss Sunday 2000 press with Automatic Transfer technology and extensive in-line finishing capabilities at its Itasca facility in 2006. The company has also ordered a Goss Pacesetter 1100 saddlestitcher, its third since 2006. President and CEO Ken Field, Sr. says investing in innovations such the 2x8 press, Automatic Transfer and Pacesetter saddlestitching technologies is absolutely essential.

“We have to continuously bring more value to our customers by being able to produce a wider range of creative, high-impact products with faster turn-around times and lower costs,” he explains. “The latest Goss technology gives us unique capabilities and the highest possible levels of automation.”

Continental Web was established in 1973. The company has approximately 500 employees and specializes in direct mail, catalog and publication printing, including magazine inserts and onserts.

The first gapless Sunday press was installed in 1993, and the technology earned the PIA/GATF InterTech technology award in 1994. Replacing flat blankets with cylindrical blankets, the signature feature of Sunday presses, eliminated vibrations that occur when opposing blanket gaps meet, allowing higher print quality at higher speeds on wider web presses.

“The Sunday press has had a profound impact on our industry since 1993, providing revolutionary leaps in productivity, print quality and efficiency,” according to Goss International CEO Bob Brown. “Recent breakthroughs like extended web widths and Automatic Transfer technology demonstrate how our sustained R&D effort continues to expand the competitive advantages of the gapless platform.”

Sunday presses have now been installed in 23 countries. The original Sunday 3000 press was especially designed for high-speed catalog and magazine applications. Gapless Sunday presses within the Goss product portfolio now also include Sunday 2000 and 4000 commercial presses with cylinder configurations from 16 to 80 pages and the Mainstream 4x1 newspaper press.