- Digitally-imaged/erasable cylinders
- Variable cut-off
- Single-fluid lithography
- Individual cylinder drives for shaftless and gearless operation
- Gapless image and blanket cylinders.
Everything but the Kitchen Sink
At Print 97, Goss unveiled what it says is the world's most advanced printing press-one designed to take the offset process into the next millennium.
The ADOPT/CP (Advanced Digital Offset Printing Technologies/Concept Press) incorporates a number of advanced technologies while maintaining the capability of printing with standard offset inks and paper. The new technologies include:
ADOPT/CP's core computer-imaging technology uses cylinders that are digitally imaged, erased after completing the run and then re-imaged. It writes an erasable copper image from a solution onto the nickel-crystal-coated cylinder. Copper from the erased image is then reused.
Printing cylinders are imaged by laser. On the ADOPT/CP these are mounted in a cantilevered design that leaves one side of the press open for quick cylinder changes. The cantilever design also facilitates variable cut-off. Outer shells of the blanket and imaging cylinders are removed and the cut-off changed by sliding on a thicker or thinner fiberglass shell.
Compensation for changes in cylinder diameters is made by changing the center diameter between the image and blanket cylinders. Separate motors for each cylinder make the press gearless as well as shaftless.
ADOPT/CP also demonstrates the Goss Single Fluid Lithographic System. Ink
and water are mixed on the press and fed to the inking-roller train. The two
fluids are separated at the last roller of the inking train. Image and nonimage
areas then take up ink and water in the normal way.
The single-fluid technology eliminates dampening systems and key-controlled inking systems. A continuous, fresh ink/water emulsion layer is metered out for every image-cylinder revolution. The water content of the ink is precisely monitored and replenished based on running speed and the quantities of returned and fresh ink applied to the system.
Both the image and blanket cylinders are gapless, providing a dynamic balance for rotating press cylinders. Goss says it is too soon to specify what the speed and run-length limits of an ADOPT-equipped press will be.
Like concept cars at auto shows, the ADOPT/CP is not for sale, but the company says that all the technologies showcased will find their way into Goss presses in the near future. A production digital press is planned for Drupa 2000.
In a related development, Goss announced it will form a business alliance as well as make an equity investment in pre-press software specialist DALiM GmbH of Frankfurt, Germany. The DALiM/Goss partnership gives Goss an equity position in DALiM with the goal of mutually bringing to market a fully integrated digital-workflow printing system by 2000.