As well as printing their own newspapers, the presses in Plano also print other titles such as the New York Times, USA Today and The Wall Street Journal.
ABB has already supplied press controls and automation solutions for two presses at the Plano site – one OF370 press from WIFAG and the first of six TKS presses. These new orders will ensure that the same press controls solution, the same operating concept and the same production planning will apply across all seven Dallas Morning News presses.
Each of the TKS presses has the configuration shown in the diagram below.
Each press will be equipped with two ABB MPS Control Consoles, one each of which will be fitted with ABB’s soft-proofing solution. Each console is also fitted with ABB’s zoneless ink adjustment keyboard, which simplifies any future conversion to operation with multiple web widths. All five presses covered by the new orders will be integrated with ABB’s MPS Production press management system that is already installed at Plano. This means that The Dallas Morning News production staff will be able to plan all their work on the one system.
ABB’s on-site work will start with a press audit in April. The first press will then be upgraded and back into production in November of this year. The subsequent 4 presses will be upgraded sequentially over the following three-year period.
Jeff Gelfand, ABB’s National Sales and Marketing Director for the US newspaper business, comments “by choosing ABB’s press control solutions The Dallas Morning News is protecting their investments in press hardware, ensuring the long-term sustainability of their commercial printing business and also boosting the efficiency of their operation”.