GOSS celebrates 20 years of breakthrough
in press automation technology
More than 2100 GOSS Autoplate units now running
worldwide across wide range of sectors
As of now, 20 years of introduction of its Autoplate technology has driven
GOSS International to set a landmark achievement in the history of offset printing.
Introducing reductions in makeready time, labour and expenses, the Autoplate innovation
has extended the web offset advantages and created opportunities across
a wide range of sectors and applications. We take you to a quick flashback.
|
GOSS Autoplate automatic
plate-changing was first
introduced on M-600
press in 1995, offering the ability
to plate up an entire press in
less than three minutes due to
a simple, precision-engineered
sequence. Plates were placed into
cassettes on the printing units
while the press was running or
idle; then, at the push of a button
old plates were automatically
rotated off the cylinders and
replaced by the new ones. All
or any combination of plates
could be changed in this way.
Jean-Pierre Moioli, product
manager, GOSS International
explained that despite initial
skepticism, live demonstrations
at trade shows and open houses,
together with field experience,
rapidly established Autoplate
technology as the flag-bearer
for web press automation.
“The beauty of the system
was – and is – the simplicity
of its operation made possible
through precision engineering,
without requiring extra cleaning
or maintenance,” he further
elaborated, adding, “With the
realisation that the shorter the
run, the greater the benefit,
came a freedom to explore
run lengths beyond those
traditionally associated with
web offset and even to compete
with sheetfed.”
Around the world
Today, more than 2100 GOSS
Autoplate units are in operation
on a range of commercial and
newspaper presses worldwide,
including M-600, Sunday
2000, 4000 and 5000, and
Colorliner CPS press systems.
In addition, its development
has directly influenced a range
of additional GOSS innovations
in industrialised print
production, which
include: the ‘96-page’
web offset press,
creating new economies
for very high-volume
commercial printing
and directly challenging
the lower-volume
gravure industry; nonstop
edition change
(NSEC) which ensures
further time, energy
and waste savings in
makeready particularly for highvolume
versioning; Automatic
Transfer (AT) printing for
on-the-run edition changes,
eliminating conventional
makeready requirements in
some applications.
Jean-Pierre said, “Our M-600
experience made the wider
press format possible with the
same design, creating more
opportunities for printers –
and the larger the plate, the
greater the benefits.” He added
that one of the main goals
achieved is reliability, proven
by field experience with close
to 100 percent plate change
success. In the case of AT,
GOSS International’s customers
running 48-page format press
lines change more than 700
plates a day.
Newspaper printers
exhilarated
Most recently, as the single,
most significant enabling
technology of the Magnum
Compact press, GOSS Autoplate
knowhow has led to a new
era for newspaper printers
and publishers. In reducing
makeready time by as much as 90
percent, the Magnum Compact
press lowers the break-even
point of economical newspaper
production. Combined with
additional features such as
consistent high quality, wide
substrate flexibility, heatset
options, and a versioning tool,
this development provides
the means to reach into new
markets particularly for those
that currently produce small to
medium circulation publications.
Eric Bell, director-marketing,
GOSS International, said,
“Through our decades of
experience with Autoplate
technology, we were able to
develop a simple, cost-effective
system entirely unique to this
sector.” In providing the ability
to change plates in 30 seconds
and to complete a full job
changeover in less than five
minutes, printers can fill the
press with work even in the
shortest production window.
“The breakthrough with the
Magnum Compact press is a
perfect example of the legacy
of Autoplate technology in
general,” concluded Ericl. He
recollected that GOSS product
designers, back in 1995, could
foresee the level of competition
today but, bit by bit, as margins
have become tighter and harderwon
right across the board,
the crucial advantages of
Autoplate have been unlocking
new potential.
