• Sin Chew Daily orders comprehensive new press controls installation to modernize a total of 32 single-width Goss towers
• Proprietary systems will be replaced by open compatibility automation
• Upgrade will meet requirements for next ten years

Goss International has launched a comprehensive press controls upgrade program for the Sin Chew Media Corporation, publisher of the Sin Chew Daily in Malaysia. The project involves installation of new hardware and software systems to deliver latest capabilities from three existing Goss Universal presses at the publisher's plant in Kuala Lumpur and from a further Goss Universal press in Johore.

The four Goss Universal presses to be upgraded each comprise eight four-high towers, one folder and eight reelstands. The turn-key upgrade project involves replacing existing proprietary press controls with industrial open systems. This includes the replacement of printing unit electronics with latest-generation Goss print quality modules to control register, dampening and inking. PLC automation systems and networking will also be switched for latest industry-standard Ethernet-based systems. Four new combined consoles per press will manage all aspects of print control including production planning, CIP3/JDF-compliant presetting, soft proofing, monitoring and job reporting.

Completion of the project will see automation of all press auxiliary systems, including reelstands and web tension controls integrated into one system, providing pressroom workers with new levels of operational convenience and flexibility. Via a standard Ethernet network and remote input/output controls at the units, the entire press will also be supported by a remote diagnostics service, enabling Goss International technicians to provide Sin Chew Daily with round-the-clock assistance.

"The new electrical architecture is designed for low maintenance with redundancy of the existing systems and components as required," explains Stéphane Jaunasse, Goss International customer service manager. "With every aspect of the press production embedded into and driven by one open and accessible system, the 12 year-old Universal presses will be upgraded to a modern user-friendly high-quality printing solution, providing all the capabilities the company requires for its clients' diverse range of production demands."
 
With work already underway, Goss International is working in close cooperation with Sin Chew Daily and other suppliers in managing the project to ensure minimal disruption at the plant and uninterrupted production throughout.
 
Operating Goss presses at six locations across Malaysia, Sin Chew Daily is the largest circulating Chinese language newspaper in Southeast Asia and the largest Chinese daily outside mainland China, Hong Kong and Taiwan. With a circulation audited last year at 465,894 copies and a readership of 1,300,000 people, the daily broadsheet has become highly influential in the Malaysian media landscape, covering current affairs, business and finance, sports, lifestyle and regional interests.
 
According to Peter Ng Kait Leong, Sin Chew Daily group general manager, confidence in Goss International was crucial to the decision to invest, "We have had a long-term positive experience with Goss equipment, and the team from Goss International understood our current requirements very well. They have come up with a solution which allows us to eliminate components as they become obsolete while providing a growth path for any necessary future additions. We're very confident of having chosen precisely the right package to modernize and enhance our capabilities to see us through the next ten years of production from our existing Universal press."
 
The investment by Sin Chew Media Corporation is the second such major press controls project in close succession for the Goss Lifetime Support team in Malaysia. In May this year, The Star Publications chose Goss International to retrofit three Goss Colorliner presses, originally installed in 2002, with a complete new Goss control system.