The Cromoman at The Times of India, Kolkata is installed in a low building height of 5.4 metres, made possible because of the modular design of the press with web slitting turner bars placed on side or parallel to the second level of the press with H Type printing units placed 90 degrees to the floor mounted reel stands. The low press height makes it possible for the newspaper print rooms to utilise existing pressrooms originally designed for single width presses.

Coupled with no air conditioning requirements, Manroland claims that Cromoman significantly reduces overall capital expenditure on a new building cost and air conditioning requirements.

The Cromoman 4-1 is a double width, single circumference press with H-type printing units and printing speeds of 75,000 copies per hour offering various creative production possibilities such as web width variability and quarter folding.

The press in Kolkata has four reel stands, four full colour towers and one folder installed in a short period of 10 weeks, commissioned in September 2012 by an Indo German team consisting of four Indian engineers from Manroland India and three German engineers from Manroland Web Systems. Recently, The Times of India also added mailroom system on the press from Ferag, and the extension project was completed in March 2013.

Ferag informed PrintWeek India in January this year about the order. “In an initial phase, a UTR conveyor was installed to transport the newspapers directly to two MultiStack bundling units. Two systems from Kallfass will then handle foil wrapping of the bundles, before inline provision of a topsheet and cross-strapping on SmartStrap machines. An existing PKT plate-chain conveyor will then bring the bundles to the loading docks. Commissioning of the second folder in the spring of 2013 will follow the installation of a further line, including expansion of bundling capacity by a third MultiStack bundling unit. The bundling units will be controlled by LineMaster to ensure a bundling operation that is organized according to routes and drop-offs,” said the press statement issued by Ferag.

In his maiden visit to India, Manroland’s managing director Eckhard Horner-Marass, told PrintWeek India: “Cromoman 4x1 is specially designed for India. This is a typical example of excellent relation with a customer. The design of the press was born out of ideas originating from customer requirements and feedback. They are so experienced with the engineering of presses that they could point out the most critical necessities they have been seeking in presses. Manroland decided to go step-by-step from top to bottom when developing new presses, so currently the focus is on developing 4x1 presses. And the way Cromoman was developed (by talking to customers and understanding the press conditions of the country), I believe it is the appropriate approach for developing a product. A typical old-fashioned engineer used to sip a cup at the office – and design the machines. Today, the product development is market-driven.”

This modular ‘made for India’ press effectively combines the speed and productivity of a 4-1 double width press with the simple operation of a 2-1 single wide press, as the double wide web is slit into two single wide ribbons just after printing. The Cromoman can also tolerate local grid power fluctuations in voltage and frequency, and has special anti-wrap devices preventing web severance on power outages, reducing white and printed waste overall.

The newly installed press has been successfully printing Bangla daily Ei Samay, with several creative product innovations such as half-covers, panorama folds etc. The newspaper had an impressive launch in Kolkata and has been well received by the regional audience. In April, Business Standard reported that Ei Samay has slashed its cover price. The daily is now be on the newsstand for Rs 2.50, half the price of market leader Anandabazar Patrika, which sells at Rs 5. Ei Samay, too, had a cover price of Rs 5 when it was launched. The cover price has been slashed to enable it to compete more effectively with ABP.

During Drupa, Times of India had inked the deal with Manroland for the second Cromoman press. The first one too was bought by the group for its Pune plant.