A Century of TKS Presses

click here for press image

TKS celebrated its 100th anniversary of manufacturing newspaper presses by introducing the Color Top
Century, the world fastest tower-type shaftless web offset press for newspapers. The press, with a
print speed of 100,000 copies per hour (cph) was unveiled on April 18 - 19, 2006 at the TKS factory
in Kawasaki, Japan with over 400 domestic and overseas customers in attendance.

In his welcoming remarks, Mr. Noriyuki Shiba, TKS president, said:
“This year, TKS celebrates 100 years of manufacturing printing presses. The Color Top Century was
named to celebrate this 100th anniversary. After testing, the press printed 300,000 copies continuously
at the printing speed of 100,000 cph. The results showed continuous high printing quality, precise and
accurate folding of the 2:5:5 jaw folder, and successful pasting operation. It also demonstrated the auxiliary
equipment, such as the counter stacker and BTC (Baton Touch Carrier), were performing in concert with
the high printing speed proving the stable printing performance of the new Century Press.”

After the live demonstration, a reception was held and Mr. Kohei Shiba, TKS chairman, talked about the
many technological changes since TKS made the first domestic printing press installed at ‘Kyusyu Nippo’ in
1906. He went on to say - “TKS is proud to introduce the Color Top Century, with the fastest printing
speed of 100,000 cph. This press was developed at the request of The Kyoto Shimbun Co., Ltd. and we
are honored to have partnered with them and the many other materials suppliers. In addition to the mechan-
ical and electrical improvements, economical and environmental considerations were incorporated into the
design of this new press.”

Currently, the maximum speed of newspaper printing presses is 90,000 cph. The Color Top Century press
surpasses this speed with better functions and superior printing quality. For instance, in the RTP, a new
TKS tension control system is used for steady and stable web tension. In the printing unit, a new and
improved roller arrangement is used for both the inking and dampening systems to achieve higher printing
quality at all press speeds. The TKS 2:5:5 jaw folder is used for the precise folding stability in high-speed
production. The FWL (Fully-automatic Web Leader) allows for quicker preparation time in leading webs
and improving work efficiency.

As a part of the very successful Color Top 6000 and 7000 product line, the Color Top Century is the next
generation of the shaftless newspaper printing press.

The first Color Top Century is being installed at the new Kumiyama plant of The Kyoto Shimbun Co., Ltd.
and plans are to start live production in April, 2007.