OH Newspaper Invests $200K in Upgrades to Bolster Its 1971-Era Goss Urbanite Press

ATHENS, OH—September 8, 2014—"A big change" is how Ike Weiss, production manager for Adams Publishing Group (APG) of Ohio, described a recent $200,000 upgrade to the company's existing 1971 Goss Urbanite Press, reported the The Athens Messenger. The upgrade included the addition of two units and a new folding mechanism to increase the quality, clarity and color of the company's printed products, that include The Athens Messenger and its sister publications.

Prior to the upgrade, the press was limited on what it could do. For example, the press was working with the original folding mechanism which created some limitations—a change to the image area meant that the product was squeezed into a new margin without any bordering white margin.

Weiss explained that the new units will provide the capability of printing on both sides of the "web" or rolls of paper fed through the printing press. This feature gains the ability to print additional color pages in APG-Ohio’s newspapers, he said. Weiss also added that with nine total press units working in conjunction, the print capability expands exponentially. "Typically, three webs run through the press at once but the new units allow six webs to run if needed which comes in handy with high-page counts on commercial jobs," he added.

Another area that has improved with the upgrade, Weiss noted, is the registration. "Our folder was so old and worn out, it wasn’t pulling in the web evenly. Now, the clarity is a lot better and there’s better registration of the color."

According to Weiss, the company will also be able to increase its commercial work. "We have a lot more capability of color that we could use. This give us more options and opportunities."

According to the newspaper, starting Oct. 1, the paper size will drop from 23" to 22".

In addition to the upgrade, Monica Nieporte, president of APG Media of Ohio, said that the company will also be adding a label applicator.