Hiroshima, Japan -- Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. (MHI), the parent company of MLP U.S.A., has made a new customer out of a Goss newspaper press user. In March, MHI signed a contract with Japanese newspaper publisher Saga Shimbun Co., Ltd. for the purchase of a DIAMONDSPIRIT 4x1 newspaper offset press.

Scheduled for delivery in early 2011, the new press will print Saga Shimbun Co.'s flagship daily, The Saga Shimbun. With its investment in the DIAMONDSPIRIT, Saga Shimbun Co. will provide its readers and subscribers with the latest news and local stories in more vivid colors.

Saga Shimbun Co. operates from a single facility located in Saga City. The Saga Shimbun has a weekday circulation of 40,000 copies, currently printed on a 4x2 press. When the company set out to find a replacement press for its existing Goss equipment, press reliability was of paramount importance. Saga Shimbun Co. became convinced about the reliability of the DIAMONDSPIRIT following discussions with Mitsubishi and a thorough evaluation of actual production results at Nikkan Sports Printing, where Japan's first 4x1 press was installed.

The DIAMONDSPIRIT purchased by Saga Shimbun Co. is rated at 80,000 copies per hour. The press has a cutoff of 21 1/2 inches and a web width of 60 inches. It will be configured with two 4/4 tower printing units, two 2/1 tower printing units, one 2:2 double rotary folder and four reelstands.

Furthermore, the DIAMONDSPIRIT will be operated by the Mitsubishi press control system with automated features that include color register control and ink presetting with computer-to-plate interface. It also will incorporate DIAMOND EYE Jr. Mitsubishi's newly developed color quality defect detection system can be readily upgraded to the automatic closed-loop color control system, DIAMOND EYE, at any time.