Two COLORMAN autoprint presslines have been installed at the DUO plant in Ulm, Germany, within the last 15 months. The first one has been in production since mid-July 2011, and the second one started up right on schedule in March 2012.

The management team at DUO expects the new printing systems to provide improved print quality, full four-color capability, and efficient and reliable production. The special thing about this project that represents an investment of some 40 million euros including new mailroom equipment: while production continues, the seven old presslines are replaced by the four new rotary presses and mailroom equipment. The space available for component deliveries and installation is very limited, which demands precision work.

APL loves many plate changes
The COLORMAN autoprint presslines are equipped with InlineCutoff Control for automatic cut-off register control, automatic web edge control, and the APL (AutomaticPlateLoading) plate changing system. The pre-sorted new plates are delivered automatically to the printing towers and only need to be placed in the loading cassettes of the APL system. Manual sorting and changing plates is thus passé. Considering the challenges the printing company is faced with every day, the decision for APL is only logical. Time is of the essence every evening and many plate changes are necessary. Six days a week the company has to print 22 local editions of the Schwäbische Zeitung and 13 of 34 local editions of the SÜDWEST PRESSE, a DUO partner. This adds up to daily production of 35 different editions with run lengths between 870 and 39,000 copies. DUO also produces various official gazettes plus freesheets and magazines. 

A new era of efficiency and flexibility 
Exchanging the printing systems without interrupting production was a real challenge with hardly any logistics latitude. Ralf Schäfer, Project Manager at manroland: “The project plans had to be strictly adhered to, materials and personnel always exactly in the right place at the right time. Together with the DUO team, we managed this very well. The first pressline started up right on schedule.” DUO management is also satisfied. “Despite the enormous amount of work, daily production ran smoothly. Planning was good and implementation very professional. Now with the COLORMAN presslines, we at DUO are entering a new era of efficiency and flexibility.”