Another highly-automated newspaper press is on edition – at ‘Mannheimer Morgen’ in Germany – marking what maker manroland calls “the beginning of a generation change”.

The Colorman autoprint installation is driven by the vision of building a fully-automated printing system and, says technical manager Harald Blendowski, is “exactly the right press for printing freaks”.

Amid the stability and tranquillity of the systems, there’s a sense that the printer’s job profile has also changed – from operator to monitor of the production process.

“Operation of the press has changed dramatically”, says Georg Riescher, executive vice president of manroland’s newspaper printing systems business unit. “The job of printers and operators is much easier to manage today.”

The Mannheim pressline – which is complemented by Nela plate systems which use barcode sorting – includes a range of options designed provide the highest degree of automation.

Riescher says the design not only relieves the operator of numerous worksteps, but all manual tasks are also ergonomically optimised. A lift platform at the control console transports people and materials, accelerating plate supply, and simplifies maintenance work. The gallery also includes a workplace with room to store materials, tools, and washing agents.

“The workplace strains operators are exposed to are very slight,” Risecher says. “The high level of automation reduces the time an operator needs to spend at a running press to the absolute minimum.”

Cassettes for the APL logistics plate transport and robot systems are loaded in the quiet room, and manual readjustment of the press during printing is no longer necessary. Other technologies in use include sensors to measure the cylinder temperature and regulate the fountain solution, a web tension control circuit, and bearings on ink and dampener rollers that compensate for heat expansion. A new long inking unit on the Colorman has greater storage capacity and more constant density.

A new control console concept focusses on integrated functions with maximum ease of use, the autoprint sequences and the function selection guiding operators through the production process.