Praise and blessings for the world first at the Allgäuer Medienzentrum

About 130 guests invited from the world of politics, society, and business just couldn't miss out on the official inauguration of the new COLORMAN e:line at the Allgäuer Medienzentrum media center on June 26, 2013. The event took place at the same location where an old press was printing the Allgäuer Zeitung newspaper only three months ago. It has now been dismantled and the COLORMAN e:line has taken over the production of the daily newspaper. 

“The new press sets new standards when it comes to printing quality, productivity, and machine design,” summarized Markus Brehm, Managing Director of the Allgäuer Zeitungsverlag, in his inauguration speech. Against the backdrop of a light show and the sound of alphorns filling the atmosphere, Brehm was obviously pleased to have achieved an impressive goal in project organization: “We wanted to dismantle the old presses during ongoing operations and set up the new one at the same time”. It was a success: since Easter 2013, the COLORMAN e:line has been printing the Allgäuer Zeitung newspaper’s eight editions with a total run of 110,000 copies. According to Brehm, the press is a pleasure to work with and is equipped with all the operating tools a printer could ever wish for. Of course, this also includes AutomaticPlateLoading APL® and the logistics system. Up to 256 printing plates can be changed at the same time and in sync, all within three minutes. The result is an enormous time advantage: instead of the former seven hours of newspaper production with two presses, the COLORMAN e:line completes the task in four. An example: today, the Kempten edition is produced 
in 25 minutes instead of the previous 55 minutes. 

Start signal “at home” in Bavaria
Why 18 million investments in pre-press, print, and distribution right now? “Our new press is a technical milestone, an investment into the future,” explained Markus Brehm. “We had to invest to remain technologically ahead, to secure our jobs, and to be able to offer our readers and our customers even better quality.” This entrepreneurship displayed by Markus Brehm and Technical Director Wilfried Sutter deeply impressed Eckhard Hoerner-Marass, the Managing Director of manroland web systems. Because the publishing house in Kempten had its own clear conception of ergonomics and efficiency for newspaper presses, their performance parameters, and their look. “With this investment, the Allgäuer Zeitungsverlag has shown profound, enterprising courage, vision, and know-how in terms of technology“, stated Hoerner-Marass. The colleagues at manroland web systems in Augsburg are proud that the start signal will be given “at home”: the COLORMAN e:line is celebrating its world premiere in Bavaria.

“Promising prospects for local newspapers”
Even before the guests of honor had collectively pressed the red button and the COLORMAN e:line emerged for the first time in its full splendor, the newspaper press was already given high honors. Under the motto “nothing can be set into motion without God's blessing”, the Kempten city pastor Msgr. Dr. Bernhard Ehler and Dean Joerg Dittmar blessed the press. Bavarian Minister of State Thomas Kreuzer, keen reader of the Allgäuer Zeitung, emphasized the importance of the newspaper for a balanced media landscape and regional reporting. “In times of globalization, a close link to home is becoming increasingly important for us all. This brings great prospects for our local newspapers and publishing houses," emphasized the Minister for Media.