German media house Mittelrhein-Verlag is extending its four-year-old KBA press with a folder and two more triple-wide towers.

The original four-tower double-folder 6/2 Commander CT press was part of a 42 million Euros ($42 million) investment in a new print centre in Koblenz. Now the line is being extended by 50 per cent with an extra press comprising two reelstands, two 6/2 towers and a folder.

It is scheduled to come on stream in the 2017 northern summer.

The presses are engineered for the Rhine format, with a maximum web width of 2100 mm. Rated maximum output is 45,000 full-colour 48-page copies per hour.

New equipment includes two more Pastomat reelstands, embedded in the existing Patras automatic reel-loading system. Options include the ability to select 5/12, 7/12 and 11/12 ribbons for spadias.

The compact have automatic roller locks and separate for maintenance access. They will feature PlateTronic automatic plate changing, NipTronic bearing technology, FanoTronic fan-out compensation, automatic colour-register controls, blanket washing, inking-unit washing and central ink pumping. KBA ErgoTronic consoles incorporate an automation module for minimum waste and short set-up times. Together with the company experienced KBA specialists will perform all maintenance, production monitoring and press checks for the 6/2 Commander CT.

Publishing manager Siegmund Radtke says alongside its reliability and print quality, "the Commander CT's ultra-short job and pagination changes were what persuaded us to purchase this press again."

In addition to the regional daily Rhein-Zeitung the triple-wide press will print frees, inserts and contract work with a total weekly print run of some two million copies.

Founded in 1946, the newspaper is one of Germany's largest regional titles with a paid circulation of some 185,000 copies and 13 local editions covering the wider Koblenz area from Westerwald to Hunsrück and from the Eifel to the Taunus.

"The printed regional newspaper can look forward to a bright future as long as the conditions are right," says Radtke. "We therefore invest with conviction in the latest press technology."