January 20, 2004 -- The sale of a 48pp KBA Cortina to Dutch printing house Rodi Rotatiedruk in Broek op Langedijk at IfraExpo 2003 in Leipzig was followed at the end of the year by two more orders for similar versions from Freiburger Druck in the city of the same name in Germany, and from a Benelux media group (details to follow). For KBA, this mounting interest in waterless newspaper offset vindicates the single-minded determination with which it has been pursuing the development of this process in collaboration with manufacturers of inks, plates and paper. Alongside potential cost efficiencies the investment decisions were driven by a need for a more standardised and ecological production tool. Badische Zeitung in Freiburg The 80,000cph Cortina press line for Freiburger Druck will comprise two 48pp sections and have a maximum capacity of 96 full-colour broadsheet pages in the Berliner format. The press is slated to come on stream in early 2006 and will take over the entire production from three conventional presses. The company’s title daily, the Badische Zeitung (BZ), which first hit the streets in 1946, has won a string of awards for its editorial work and layout. Its circulation of 180,000 copies in 17 local editions is read by some 412,000 people. Other inhouse products the Cortina will print are two Sunday titles, Der Sonntag in Freiburg (circulation 177,000) and Der Sonntag im Dreiland (85,000-plus), a number of frees (total weekly circulation 550,000) and various other titles, supplements, semi-commercials and directories. Freiburger Druck, which employs around 150 people, is part of the Badisches Pressehaus media group whose activities, alongside newspapers, embrace e-commerce, information technology and the Internet. It also operates a customer service centre, Telefonteam Baden, and in 2000 set up a private postal service, arriva gmbh briefe & service, which delivers over half a million letters a month for more than 1,800 customers. Cost and Competitive Benefits ”We opted for the Cortina after carrying out a cost comparison to find the best type of press for our specific needs,” explained publisher and joint managing director Wolfgang Poppen. ”With so many split editions in our schedule we were looking to enhance immediacy by cutting makeready and start-up times to the bone. Waterless offset has the added advantage of reducing paper waste as well, which is a major cost issue. And it’s popular with advertisers because it delivers a consistently high print quality in full-colour production. This, plus the ability to print a 60l/cm (150lpi) screen, will enable us to raise our competitive profile in a cut-throat market environment.” The Cortina for Freiburg will have a 470mm (18½”) cut-off and a maximum web width of 1,260mm (49½”). It will be erected in a new press hall at the company’s existing site and will comprise six minitowers with automatic plate changing, blanket washing and central ink pumping. The substructure press will be configured with six Pastomat RC reelstands for a maximum reel diameter of 1,500mm (59”), nine turner bars, two folder superstructures with two formers apiece, cut-off register controls and two 2:5:5-ratio KF 5 jaw folders. Optional extras include a skip slitter, third former and ribbon and section stitchers. Provision has also been made for an additional 48pp section at a later date. The press will be controlled from an EAE console featuring a job scheduling and planning program, embedded in the workflow between a copy planning system supplied by ppi and the Ferag mailroom.