June 20, 2001 – The Tennessean, Nashville, Tennessee, a Gannett Company newspaper, has ordered a new 70,000 cph, 48-couple UNISET pressline from MAN Roland to print USA Today. The two-around, eight-page format shaftless press line is scheduled to start production at The Tennessean's Nashville production facility in July, 2002. “The Tennessean chose the UNISET based upon its performance printing USA Today and commercial work at Gannett’s Minneapolis facility. It’s proven to be an extremely high productivity press with exceptional print quality,” said Michael A. Ciarimboli, production director at The Tennessean. "We are very pleased that the Gannett Company has again selected our UNISET as their press to print USA Today," said Vince Lapinski, vice president, MAN Roland Newspaper Group. "This new UNISET will reliably and efficiently meet the needs of USA Today's advertisers and readers in the Nashville market area." UNISET was selected for The Tennessean as a result of Gannett’s past experience with the press. The new UNISET press will be installed on a steel substructure and will feature a 21-1/2-inch cutoff and 38-inch web width. It will have the capability of running as one press with 9 webs or as two presses – one with four webs and one with five webs. It will include six printing towers and two folders. One eight-couple tower will be capable of printing a maximum of 4/4 color on one web, 2/2 color on two webs or a maximum of 2/2 colors one web and 1/1 on two webs. Five eight-couple towers will be capable of printing up to 4/4 colors on one web or up to 2/2 colors on two webs. The arrangement includes two 2:3:3 jaw folders, an in-line quarter folder, and nine CD13S two-arm, core-driven reel-tension-pasters (RTPs). Printing couples feature shaftless-motor-per-bridge drive and 12 of the press line’s 48 couples are equipped with removable, quick-change ink fountains. Units will be equipped with MAN Roland's exclusive non-contact Turbo dampener system that delivers uniform size droplets for uniform dampening across the plate regardless of press speed. The UNISET pressline will be controlled by MAN Roland's state-of-the-art PECOM integrated electronic system for control, operation, and management of printing presses. PECOM creates a comprehensive network, which links all aspects of production from materials handling right through to mailroom and distribution Iogistics. The UNISET press system will be equipped with a MAN Roland TECOSYS closed-loop tension control system. Web up will be greatly simplified by MAN Roland's WEBSYS package which includes web lead rollers and a web break detection system. Also included in the installation is the AUROIoad roll transfer and loading system. MAN Roland's UNISET press offers a robust design for reliable operation and high print quality. Applications include medium-circulation newspapers requiring up to 80 pages and the capability to do coldset or heatset commercial work for a range of products. Features include: short web leads accomplished by eight-couple towers and flexibility to accommodate a wide range of paging and color requirements. Units are designed for long life and dependability and are capable of operating at speeds up to 35,000 revolutions per hour. Unit configurations are available to fit diverse production needs and to provide flexibility for premium rate color, flexible page placement and split web leads. Print quality and productivity features include fast and easy plate mounting, positive plate and blanket lockup, an undershot inker designed for accurate control, and the Turbo dampener. UNISET's 2:3:3 jaw folder operates at speeds up to 70,000 cph with a capacity of up to 80 broadsheet pages collect and 48 pages in straight mode. It has a maximum capacity of 12 webs.