From Editor & Publisher, July 22

Old MAN Press Celebrates 400 Years of Newspapers

By E&P Staff

Press manufacturer MAN Roland contributed a piece of printing history to an exhibit at the Gutenberg Museum, in Mainz, Germany, that celebrates the newspaper industry's 400th birthday this year.

Once a week, an 83-year-old MAN Roland web letterpress prints an eight-page souvenir newspaper that describes the anniversary exhibit -- "Black on White: 400 Years of Newspapers. A Medium Makes History."

Built in 1922, the machine was extensively reconditioned by MAN Roland with support from the Scholpp company of Dietzenbach. "We invested some 1,000 man hours in the project," Michael Gnädinger, head of Interior Assembly at MAN Roland's plant in Augsburg, said in a statement.

Until it was retired early last year, the press printed the Norderneyer Badezeitung every day on the German North Sea island of Norderney. MAN Roland restored the working antique as what it calls "a tribute to everyone who works in the newspaper industry worldwide."

The press can be seen running at the Gutenberg museum until the end of the year, when the exhibit closes.