Düsseldorf, Germany — A 16-page ROTOMAN and the commercial iteration of DICOweb plate-free offset technology are leading the field of web press innovations MAN Roland is demonstrating at drupa. The ultimate in print production integration — DICOweb — is performing with new postpress capabilities. Working in the Commercial Factory in PrintCity, DICOweb will be switching between two in-line postpress modules throughout the show. The objective: to show printers first-hand how DICOweb not only delivers offset quality printing without the need for plates, but provides a streamlined but highly versatile CIM workflow — combining prepress, press and postpress — in one device. The presentation also details how DICOweb pilot sites are thriving in the print marketplace, with the newest recently expanding to around-the-clock production, while contemplating the addition of more DICOweb modules. In a separate display featuring a DICOweb printing unit, the press’ ability to adapt to new production sizes is being demonstrated. A single pressman is changing sleeves on the system’s cylinders to show how easily different diameters can facilitate different print formats in a matter of minutes. MAN Roland is also making progress with the migration of DICOweb technology to other presses. DICOkit, which can add plate-free offset capabilities to existing MAN Roland web presses, is being featured in a multimedia simulation. Rapid makeready are the watchwords of the ROTOMAN show at drupa. A six-unit, single web configuration of the press is demonstrating how rapid fire job changeovers make ROTOMAN the solution for short runs as well as long run work. A new innovation called AutoJobChange helps make it so. The productivity package includes: - Automated Plate Loading (APL) to complete plate exchanges at the push of a button, with plates automatically positioned and tensioned to near-perfect register - QuickStart to automate multiple functions of start-up sequencing, and shut-down sequencing, including blanket washer control and ink key setting - Closed Loop Controls that integrate press functions into a single streamlined system for enhanced production efficiency consistency In addition to speeding the transition from project-to-project, AutoJobChange significantly reduces start-up waste. The reason: the productivity package eliminates the need for human intervention in places where a press operator can slow-down or otherwise hinder the makeready process. The press operator is also relieved of duty during webbing up on the new ROTOMAN. A fully automated webbing-up system is being put through its paces to show how it eliminates manual handling, requires no bleed removal and includes the folder in the time-saving process. New folder technology is also being introduced on the ROTOMAN. It too equips the press for faster makereadies, while requiring a lower investment at the time of purchase and less maintenance throughout its operating lifetime. MAN Roland is also helping web printers cope with the growing demand for versioning within a project. The answer is AutoTransfer, an option that allows press crews to take a printing unit out of the loop and change its plates on the fly. Meanwhile the press continues to produce at top speed, utilizing an adjacent unit to print a new version of the piece. By continuing to switch back and forth between printing units, crews can produce an unlimited number of different versions without ever stopping the press. At the top end of MAN Roland’s web press spectrum is a 72-page LITHOMAN unit. It’s reminding showgoers how the company’s wider formats are allowing printers to reduce the number of webs they run to avoid the complications that go with them. The wider format also provides more production flexibility, more efficient finishing and less clutter in the pressroom. Accelerating the speed of several commercial web presses was also on MAN Roland’s drupa agenda. The ROTOMAN S — the company’s sleeve technology entry — now runs at 90,000 revolutions per hour. And the 48-page version of LITHOMAN now clocks in at 45,000 revolutions per hour. Speed, format expansion and automation are also the headlines on the newspaper side of MAN Roland’s web press activities. A multimedia simulation of the new COLORMAN XXL illustrates how the 6x/2, 24-page machine can produce at the rate of 36 feet per second. That equates to 90,000 copies per hour, depending upon the cutoff employed. Compared to a 4X2 press producing 48 pages, COLORMAN XXL gets the job done with one-third less units and one-third fewer reel stands. And as its name indicates, COLORMAN lets newspapers put four-color quality on all of their pages to hold their readers’ attention and raise their advertising revenues. Newspapers that are under the gun to increase their color capacity but don’t have the capital to purchase new presses are also turning to MAN Roland for a cost-effective solution. The company has launched a tower add-on program that enables newspapers to upgrade their presses with MAN Roland color technology, regardless of the brand of their existing equipment. The open-ended architecture of MAN Roland’s press control systems and the flexible nature of its advanced shaftless direct-drive technology make tower add-ons a profitable strategy for newspapers that need to exploit the rising demand for color advertising. The Los Angeles Times and the Chicago Tribune are already taking advantage of the program. In both cases, MAN Roland is overseeing all aspects of the upgrades. Additional details about MAN Roland’s commercial and newspaper web press systems can be obtained at www.manroland.com or at 1.800.268.4673.