With two recent additions, manroland provides new platforms for its ROTOMAN presses: ROTOMAN HiPrint and ROTOMAN DirectDrive. These platforms were the focal point of the technology forum in Bern, attended by 60 representatives of leading European web offset printing companies. At Stämpfli AG, the attendees not only experienced one of the most innovative printhouses in Switzerland, but also got a unique perspective of the capital city: from way up top.

The view overlooking the historic city of Bern, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is breathtaking. From Mount Gurten, the city's very own mountain, visitors have an excellent view of Bern and neighboring mountains. This lofty introduction prepared visitors to meet the new ROTOMAN platforms. For this encounter, they toured a company that is just as impressive: Stämpfli AG. Founded in 1799, the family company is in its sixth generation, managed by the brothers Peter and Dr. Rudolf Stämpfli since 1988. 350 employees work in five sectors along the value creating chain. "We have experienced strong growth due to the integration of our services," Peter Stämpfli explained, summarizing the company's recipe for success. Stämpfli went on to praise the company's partnership with manroland: "Fairness is a good fit with our company culture. manroland is crisis-proof and a good partner, even in difficult situations. When necessary, we have quick access to key decision makers."

During the event, the ROTOMAN's performance was equally breathtaking. The web press mastered seven job changes with an average waste of only about 500 samples for each change; the best result was 434 copies. The demonstration involved printing catalog signatures with a print run of 3,000 copies per signature. Job changes occurred at speeds that may have rivaled record times, with only 4 minutes and 22 seconds on average and the fastest time of 4 minutes. With PPL, the plate change was accomplished in less than 2 minutes.

Two platforms for all needs
Gerd Finkbeiner, Chairman of the Board of manroland, succinctly summarized a central development in commercial web offset printing: "In the future, presses will dictate printing speeds, and not the printers." This is why manroland now offers autoprint for the new ROTOMAN platforms. Peter Kuisle, Executive Vice President for Webfed Printing Systems, addressed the concept in greater detail: "ROTOMAN HiPrint is the solution that provides a good price/performance ratio for 16-page printing. It is mainly designed for emerging markets, which is paramount in the highly competitive market of 16-page printing. The ROTOMAN DirectDrive is very flexible; it offers automated reproducibility for all print run sizes. This platform is geared toward the high-end market."

Peter Knauer, Vice President of Development and Engineering for Commercial Presses, spoke about additional technical details: DynaChange for fully-automatic job change-overs was just one aspect. Further points included autoprint features to minimize waste during change-overs, fast production changes, InlineRegister Control systems, as well as product enhancements such as coatings, special colors, scents, and imprints. Signature switching with up to four colors without interrupting operations was demonstrated. The presentation included further highlights in the sectors of production cost optimization, operation, production reliability, and maintenance. Moreover, manroland emphasized the energy-efficient design of the press and the drive system with greater reductions in net CO2 levels. The use of printcom products further enhances efficiency and reliability, which is clearly demonstrated at Stämpfli AG.

"The technology forum was a complete success with enthusiastic visitors," said Robert Wiedemann, Vice President Product Marketing Webfed Presses. "The ROTOMAN HiPrint and DirectDrive will set the new benchmark in the 16-page market. With both new ROTOMAN models, manroland ensures that its customers get just the right product for their needs."