The Ministry of Education in Baghdad, Iraq, has purchased a Goss M-600 press to print school books. The press will be the third new Goss web offset press sold into Iraq since 2004.
 
Imad Chebaro of Middle East Graphic Systems, the agent for Goss presses in the region, comments, "The flexibility of the M-600 press is important for this installation. Goss International has been very responsive to the needs of the customer, who called for a horizontal web press with a specific cut-off that would run coldset. The Goss M-600 solution is ideal, given the particular needs of the Ministry of Education."

Operating without a dryer and using coldset inks, the M-600 press will be configured as four printing units with a cut-off of 700 mm and a web width of 1020 mm. Whilst the M-600 press provides the opportunity to adjust product formats, the Ministry of Education will initially use the press to produce school books with a trim size of 210 mm x 170 mm. These books have typically been printed outside of Iraq and imported into the country in recent years.

"Following the sale of two Goss Community SSC presses, the Ministry of Education's M-600 press is the third new web offset press to be sold in Iraq since 2004, and the first new commercial web press," Chebaro continues. "These purchases could signify the start of re-investment into the printing infrastructure in Iraq, helping to transfer responsibility back to local printers, which is exciting news for the industry."

Scheduled for shipment at the end of the year, the order also marks another milestone for Goss International as the 600th M-600 press sold. The best-selling 16-page press was introduced in 1992, and more than 2,200 print units have now been installed worldwide.

The sale of the Goss M-600 press in Iraq was arranged through Al Thora Trading and Printing Services Est. in Jordan as part of an overall package to equip the Ministry of Education's new press facility in Baghdad.