The first 80-page LITHOMAN with a web width of 2.25 metres has started up successfully at the J. Fink printing company

　　Celebrations in Swabia: the first pages were printed at the beginning of November and already on 30 November the official start-up was celebrated with several hundred guests including Richard Drautz, the Undersecretary of Baden-Württemberg. The world’s first LITHOMAN that can print 80 A4 pages per cylinder revolution was a mammoth project from the very beginning.

　　It all started at Ipex 2006 in Birmingham with animated discussions between MAN Roland and the production manager of J. Fink as to how web widths in High Volume commercial web offset printing would develop. The two companies have cooperated closely for many years and so it was decided to start another joint project. As a result, MAN Roland developed and built a LITHOMAN in a new performance class in only 13 months: a web width of 2250 mm, a cylinder circumference of 1240 mm, and a maximum output of 3.2 million four-colour DIN A4 pages per hour.

　　German engineering artistry

　　Eugen Gansser, Managing Director of the J. Fink printing company, stated that “Thanks to German engineering artistry from Augsburg”, it has been possible for web widths to be increased from 0.965 metres to 2.25 metres over the past 32 years. Fink has invested some 40 million euros in the last two years and this an expression of confidence and a sense of responsibility towards the company’s staff: Internet and printing do not substitute one another, globalisation and fragmentation demand catalogues and other products that can be optimally produced on an 80-page press.

　　Trust and foresight

　　MAN Roland executive board member Paul Steidle emphasised the high level of trust that the Fink company has in the project team, confirmed once again by this investment: “The invitation to attend the official start-up came before the press was even in production at MAN Roland.” This super-wide LITHOMAN is Fink’s tenth commercial web press from MAN Roland, and the company has regularly followed the development steps in increased web widths. “With the world’s first LITHOMAN in this format, the technical pinnacle has been achieved for the time being,” commented Paul Steidle on this corporate foresight. “It’s amazing what potential has been opened up in recent years in terms of consistently high print quality, lower paper waste rates, and productivity. The borders between offset and gravure are blurring.”

　　New jobs and reduced CO2 emissions

　　Undersecretary Richard Drautz stressed that the J. Fink printing company has never simply followed technological developments but instead initiated them. A very pleasing aspect is the fact that the installation of this latest LITHOMAN has already created ten new jobs. The solar energy system in the new pressroom has also been expanded and, with 1250 solar modules, the company generates 200,000 kw/h of power each year. A heat exchanger produces warm water from the afterburning facility that supplies the public amenities of the neighbouring Kemnat municipality. Fink’s energy concept reduces CO2 emissions by 135 tonnes every year.

　　A progressive and cooperative attitude　

　　Guest speaker Prof. Dr. h. c. Matthias Kleinert, a former regional politician, acknowledged the “great courage” of the management and owners of the Fink company. This medium-sized enterprise possesses “the will to embrace technological change, to progress, to be entrepreneurial.” He believes that these factors and the cooperative attitude, which is a characteristic of Baden-Württemberg, are significant regional advantages.

　　A Star Is Born

　　With an elaborate show entitled “A Star Is Born”, the new 80-page LITHOMAN was officially started up. It has four blanket-to-blanket printing towers equipped with the Power Plate Loading (PPL) automatic plate changing system. Lifting gear for fitting and removing the inking and damping rollers makes this an easy task. Other equipment features include a folding aid facility and six pairs of angle bars. The two System 2:5:5 folders have a first longitudinal fold, a first cross fold, and two quarter-folds. This configuration provides the highest production versatility: for example, in DIN A4 format besides 80-page production, 2x40, 4x20, 8x10, 6x12, 4x16 or 2x32-page production is also possible.

（Eugen Gansser: that’s how wide the new 80-page LITHOMAN is）

（“A Star Is Born”: the LITHOMAN prints a web 2.25 metres wide）

（Project partners, and not only for the World Premiere: Paul Steidle and Eugen Gansser）