29-Jul-2010
KBA recently shipped a 16 color Comet web offset press to Azad University in Tehran. The press, which has been shipped from Germany earlier than expected, will be installed in university’s new printing facility in Kahrezak.
The floor-mounted KBA Comet for Azad University will be configured with two KBA Pastoline reelstands, KBA Patras M reel handling. The Comet will have a 500mm (19¾in) cut-off and a maximum output of 375,000 copies per hour in straight production. The standard web width will be 700mm (27½in), although the press will be able to handle a variety of widths from 635 to 870mm (25 - 34¼in). Press specifications include automatic ink pumping, and provision has been made for extra features such as a thermal air dryer, a gluing device, length and cross perforators, a section stitcher, quarterfold, etc., for printing semi-commercials. The Comet press line will be controlled and monitored from two EAE consoles complete with diagnostics PC. The press is equipped with heatset capability for printing semi-commercials as well as newspapers.
A number of newspapers and publishers have opted for Comet presses including, Quds Newspaper in Mashhad, Resalat newspaper, Iranian media enterprise, Karapayam Publishing & Printing in Teheran; Karapayam, prints newspapers and periodicals, and tabloid inserts (e.g. classified ads) with up to 152 pages for Hamshahri Newspaper, the biggest full-colour newspaper in Iran.
Hussein Gholamreza Zadeh, director of Azad University’s print house, said, ”The press has been tailor made to suit our requirements. The press has one dryer with the capability to add a second heatset dryer; the press is 10 meter high its rollers and cylinders have been modified based on our requirements. We will print the university’s newspaper Farheekhtegan as well as a range other newspapers and magazines with the new press.“
Azad University’s print house was established in 1995. The company which prints more than 1000 textbook titles each year is equipped with an arsenal of sheetfed presses.
Islamic Azad University, (Dāneshgāh-e Āzād-e Eslāmi) is a private chain of universities in Iran. Headquartered in Tehran, the Islamic Azad University was founded in 1982 and currently has an enrollment of 1.3 million students, making it one of the world’s largest universities.
The university system also operates a news agency named "Azad News Agency" (ANA). Islamic Azad University has expanded its activities quickly throughout the country and at present offers courses, including Masters and Doctorate programs, to thousands of students in Iran. Independent of government funding, the university has emerged as one of the most credible universities in Iran.
The Azad University administration recently has been the subject of controversy and heated debates. The disputes surrounding the Islamic Azad University emerged after the board of trustees headed by Ayatollah Rafsanjani announced last year that the board is in favour of all removable and irremovable properties of the university remaining as endowed charities, thereby challenging a proposal by the government to nationalize the institution.