Heidelberg will exhibit innovative press technology, an expanded newspaper team and a strong commitment to customized solutions at this year's IfraExpo from 15 to 18 October in Geneva. The company will be present on Hall 4, Stand 4340. A four-high Mainstream press tower will be the centerpiece of Heidelberg's Ifra exhibit. Twelve Mainstreams have been sold worldwide since the gapless double-width press was introduced at Drupa 2000. Recent customers include The Roa-noke Times in the United States. "Our objective at Ifra will be to present our unique technology, our extensive resources and our dedication to serving customers as a reliable and extremely responsive partner," Heidelberg CEO Bernhard Schreier explained. Schreier emphasized that newspaper publishers worldwide are demanding press systems that deliver added color capacity, better print quality, faster production and more efficient, cost-effective production processes. "Gapless technology delivers distinct advantages in each of these areas," he said. "It's a proven concept that can make newspapers more compelling, more competitive and ultimately more attractive to readers and advertisers.” The Mainstream prints at up to 80,000 copies per hour with a 1x4 (one-page-around by four-pages-across) plate cylinder configuration and a 1:1 plate-to-blanket cylinder ratio. Heidelberg's gapless blanket technology eliminates gap related vibration, allowing the press to deliver premium print quality at high speeds with the narrow one-around plate and blanket cylinders. As a result, the Mainstream can match the output of a traditional two-around double-width press while reducing plate requirements by 50 percent. The 1x4 configuration also allows the layout versatility of two-page jumps and sections with unequal page counts. The high production speed of the press brings more productivity to reduce print windows and improve timeliness of the news. Another advantage of the Mainstream is its compact design which enables space saving and makes printing units easier to work on and service. The Mainstream also include Heidelberg’s exclusive Omnipage, a revolutionary system that automates page recognition at the console: The Omnipage feature utilizes cameras mounted above the press console to instantly identify newspaper pages when they are placed on the console. The Omnicon control system is then automatically directed to the tower, web or printing couple corresponding to the identified page. Small codes printed in the lower margin of the newspaper pages signal the Omnipage cameras. Schreier said Heidelberg is continuing to expand its commitment to the newspaper industry, an initiative the company first announced in 1998. "The successful introduction of the Mainstream has established us as an emerging leader in the market, but newspaper production involves much more than press technology," Schreier explained. "We have assembled a team of experts to focus our expansive resources on modern production challenges and to assist customers in implementing the most appropriate solutions to those challenges." That team includes newly appointed Web Solution Center President Werner Albrecht as well as Senior Vice-President Newspaper Product Center Jacques Navarre and Sales Director Jean Segura. "This year's Ifra show is another important milestone in our expanding newspaper program," Schreier concludes. We will listen carefully to the world's leading publishers and use that dialogue to continue to develop innovative solutions to their specific production challenges."