Indian media company Malayala Manorama purchases five Mitsubishi Diamond Spirit SA newspaper rotary presses, five Muller Martini Newsgrip printing lines for three facilities, expanding capacity for newspaper with daily circulation of 2.3 million copies

Aimee Bellah

LEXINGTON, Kentucky , May 29, 2014 (press release) – Company is modernizing and expanding its printing capacity with new generation presses and mailroom technology.

The “Malayala Manorama” has a daily circulation of close to 2.3 million copies and is the flagship of the 126-year-old Indian media company with the same name. To enhance its printing capacity, the company is installing five double-width Diamond Spirit SA newspaper rotary presses from Mitsubishi with a maximum production speed of 75,000 copies per hour and printing capacity of 40 broadsheet pages, at its three printing plants.

To convey the newspapers smoothly and quickly from the printing press to the ramp, the company selected five identical direct printing lines from Muller Martini for its three facilities. The centerpieces of the state-of-the-art mailroom systems are the latest generation NewsGrip conveyor chains, each with a receiving and delivery station. NewsGrip features a new control system as well as new guide sections.

The control system monitors the synchronization of the conveyor to the shingle stream, the drive and all pickup stations. Changeovers to a new product are particularly easy, as NewsGrip conveyors require only one automatic adjustment at the pickup station. The control also offers an integrated diagnostics system for preventative maintenance of the transporter. In addition, the NewsGrip conveyors are easier to maintain and have a longer operating life.

The five NewsGrip lines, which will come on-stream between December 2014 and December 2015, each include two NewsStack compensating stackers, Solema belts, a Sitma bundle film wrapper with cross strapping, manual application of pre-printed top sheets and a control system for bundle production. The NewsStack stackers can handle a wide range of product sizes and can process both very thin and extraordinarily thick products, all at top speeds of up to 100,000 copies per hour.

Chief editor Mammen Matthew ?explained that the paper opted for the solution from Muller Martini for both financial and technical reasons. “We calculated the total cost of ownership of all the proposals we received, and Muller Martini stood first. The maximum speed of 90,000 cycles per hour for the mailroom exceeds that of our new printing press by 15,000 copies. Although that means the mailroom systems are not currently producing at their limit, it lowers their maintenance costs while increasing the economic life of these machines.”

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