# Gutenberg offset: spot-colour machine vs CMYK book line

- Source-Date (SAST): 2026-07-29
- Dest: both
- Review-after: 2027-08-31
- Status: current

## Facts

- Named SKU **GL1-6245/SN**: 620×450 mm single-station dual-colour Gutenberg spot offset with numbering/perforating finisher; 300 gsm; max 620×450 mm, min 260×180 mm; print area 600×440 mm; 5000 sheets/hour; 220 V 3 kW. Light duty, for colour blocks (spot colour), not magazine-style full colour.
- Spot colour: pre-mix the ink to the needed colour, then print. CMYK: separate the image into four plates; inks overlap as tiny dots and mix in the eye, they do not mix on the press. Typical print order: yellow, then cyan, then magenta, black last.
- CMYK needs registration about 0.01–0.05 mm and running accuracy about 0.05–0.1 mm (over 0.3 mm is a fail). The spot Gutenberg is a budget steel-tube/sheet machine with about 0.5 mm movement in print, which is acceptable for spot colour because colours do not mix.
- Gutenberg CMYK offset solution (no SKU; quote as a custom product): heavy cast-iron base; max paper 520×375 mm, min 200×155 mm, thickness 0.04–0.4 mm, print area 505×350 mm, 3000–12000 sheets/hour; plus hydraulic guillotine, 10-station collator, and bind/fold/trim. Workflow: impose to max area and make CMYK plates → print one side → print the other → guillotine pages → collate → bind.
- Whole CMYK line about R5.4m. Introductory commercial terms at this date: half upfront, factory technicians install and train, balance after the machine runs on site. Client supplies consumables; some starter consumables ship with the machine.