The Universitätsdruckerei H. Schmidt invited the Prime Minister of Rhineland-Palatinate, customers and the press to the launch of MAN Roland’s future-oriented technology.

Boosting the efficiency of print production was the aim of Gutenberg a long time ago, and is now also the driving force behind the efforts of the Universitätsdruckerei H. Schmidt, one of several MAN Roland field test partners, who are helping the DirectDrive technology achieve market maturity.

All six printing units of the new six-colour Roland 700 have directly driven plate cylinders which reduces makeready time for plate changing, wash-ups of the blanket and impression cylinders, and inking-up by as much as 60 per cent. While printing a six-colour poster with photographs of the guests, the Universitätsdruckerei H. Schmidt demonstrated full plate changing, blanket and impression cylinder wash-ups, and printing the first proof sheet in four minutes and 30 seconds, followed by another plate change without wash-ups in less than three minutes.

Dr Markus Rall, member of the MAN Roland Executive Board and responsible for the Sheetfed Press Business Unit, says, “The idea behind DirectDrive breaks the shackles”.

This could result in a great increase in production time because less makeready time is needed.

Bertram Schmidt-Friderichs, owner and CEO of the printing and publishing group renowned for its high level of quality, had earlier explained in the company’s own museum why they as a field test partner are now also a ‘technology pioneer’, says, “This has a lot to do with our trust in MAN Roland”. Of his company’s experience with DirectDrive so far, he says, “The system is stable”.

Meanwhile, Kurt Beck, Prime Minister of the state of Rhineland-Palatinate, rates the development as a “great step forward”.

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