Mega Press Sale Reported

MAN Roland scored what is being described as the biggest press deal in history—$600 million—by selling 22 XXL ColorMAN presses to News International Corp. in the United Kingdom.

News International parent, News Corp., says the total package of facilities and presses would tally more than $1 billion as it shifts production from its current Wapping base to new sites in Enfield and Knowsley, U.K. Each XXL 6-by-2 press will comprise five printing towers, equipped with eight printing couples per tower, and can produce 120 pages of full color at a rated capacity of 86,000 copies per hour.

The new presses are expected to be commissioned in early 2006. News International publishes The Sun and The Times in the U.K., and The New York Post in the U.S.