Know your press's generation, keep a parts source, and call a specialist who has worked on Goss iron before—that is the best Goss press repair strategy. I've built that conclusion over 12 years of emergency pressroom calls, and it's not the answer most manufacturers want to sell you. Period. It's the answer that actually works when there's a folder jam at 11 p.m. and a paper has to hit the dock by dawn.
If you landed here from a search, you probably typed one of four things: Goss printing press history, Goss press repair, 'smallest printer,' or 'what is uv printer.' I'll cover all four. In order, because history explains repair, and repair explains why you should care about what kind of printer you actually need.
Goss printing press history: the part that matters for repair
Goss has built newspaper presses since the era of hot-metal typesetting. You don't need a museum tour. You need one fact: many of the Goss presses still running today aren't 'old'—they're just well-built and reconfigurable. The Goss Community, introduced in the 1960s, became one of the most widely installed small web presses in the world. The Urbanite was its bigger-circulation sibling. When I see an Urbanite still producing a daily or weekly paper, I'm never surprised. That machine was built to be repaired, not replaced.
Here's the thing that gets forgotten: press history is a practical tool, not nostalgia. Knowing whether your press is a straight-line Community, a stacked Urbanite, or a newer Universal design changes the parts list, the repair sequence, and the skill set you need. Generic 'we fix printing presses' crews often don't have the prints or the bushing specs for a 1970s folder. A specialist will ask for the serial number before you finish the first sentence.
Goss press repair: what actually makes it an emergency
In my role coordinating emergency service for commercial printers and newspaper publishers, I've triaged 200+ rush jobs. The most common emergencies are folder timing, blanket damage, broken pins in the form roller train, and water/ink balance issues so bad the press crew can't hold color. But the root cause is almost always the same: parts. Logistics. Experience.
Take March 2024. A client called 36 hours before a 96-page special section went to press. Their Goss Community folder was throwing fold misregister. Normal lead time for a factory repair visit: four to five days. We sourced a rebuilt folder gear from a specialty supplier, flew in a technician who had worked on Community folders for years, and had the unit ready to run by 2 a.m. That job was saved because someone had a used gear on a shelf, and because the tech knew how to time the folder under pressure.
I still kick myself for not forcing that same client to buy a spare gear earlier. They asked, 'Can you save money by rebuilding the old one?' Yes, but the old one failed anyway. That $800 rush fee would have been a $15 gear if we'd stocked it. One of my biggest regrets in this business: treating spare parts as inventory instead of insurance.
So what should a good Goss press repair plan include?
- Serial number and configuration history. If you don't have this listed somewhere, stop reading and write it down now. Actually, read this first, then write it down.
- A parts source that knows Goss-specific parts. Not 'we can get parts.' A source that knows the difference between a Community folder and an Urbanite folder.
- A service person with web offset experience. The 'we can send a pressman' answer is a red flag. You need someone who has rebuilt a cylinder or timed a jaw folder.
One caution before you call the cheapest repair option: the 'cheap' fix can cost more than the breakdown. I've seen a discount vendor install a non-OEM bearing that lasted one print run. In the same job, the 'expensive' specialty supplier's part had 5,000 hours of life. The surprise wasn't the price difference. It was how much hidden value came with the part—fit, tolerances, and a person who answered the phone.
If your Goss press is older and you're on the fence between fixing and replacing, consider reconfiguration. In many cases, a press that is outdated can be rebuilt, repositioned, or converted for a different cutoff or web width. This is a real path for small- to mid-size print shops, especially if you own an Urbanite or Community. A good service provider doesn't just replace parts; they can help you reconfigure the press to match what readers and advertisers actually buy.
The 'smallest printer' question: two very different meanings
When someone searches 'smallest printer,' they usually mean one of two things: the smallest Goss press for real production, or a tiny desktop printer for photos.
The smallest Goss press for production
For newspaper production, the Goss Community was for decades the standard entry-level full web press. It's compact compared to the huge Metro presses, but it still needs a real pressroom, dampening solution, plate making, and a folder. If you are asking 'what's the smallest printer' because you want to print a small paper or a shopper, the Community path means buying a whole system—not just the press. That's why I tell people: be sure about your print volume before you buy; the press is the cheapest part of the operation.
The Canon IVY (and why people search 'ivy canon printer')
On the opposite end of the scale is Canon's IVY mini photo printer. It's a pocket-size ZINK printer—no ink, no toner. It heats dye crystals embedded in the paper to create a 2x3-inch sticky-back print. It is about as close as the printer industry gets to tiny and simple. If you've ever searched 'ivy canon printer,' you know it's not a production machine. It won't print a newsletter. It makes phone photos, labels, and scrapbook prints. That's fine. It just answers a different question.
Bottom line: 'smallest printer' requires a purpose. Smallest for a pressroom is not the same as smallest for a craft table.
What is a UV printer?
A UV printer is a digital inkjet printer that uses UV-curable ink. The printhead lays down liquid ink, and ultraviolet lamps instantly cure it into a hardened, plastic-like surface. Because the ink polymerizes, it doesn't soak into the substrate. That means you can print onto materials that would ruin a conventional printer: acrylic, aluminum, glass, painted wood, stone, textured plastic, even credit cards and promotional products.
If you're a commercial printer transitioning into signage or packaging, a UV printer can be a game-changer for your product mix. But it's not a substitute for a web offset press, and it's not an easy machine either. They need specialized maintenance, exact ink temperatures, and a careful cleaning routine. When one goes down during a deadline, it's an emergency just like a Goss folder. The repair approach is different: you're dealing with inkjet printheads and curing lamps, not grippers and jaw cylinders.
Here's a direct comparison for people looking at all of these at once:
- Goss web offset press: long-run newspaper/commercial print. Repair = mechanics, gears, cylinders.
- UV printer: short-run signage and specialty print on rigid surfaces. Repair = printheads, UV lamps, ink delivery.
- Canon IVY mini printer: portable 2x3-inch photo/label printing. Repair = you replace it. It's not worth the bench time.
(That last one is not a joke. It's made to be tiny and disposable. The shift from 'repair it' to 'replace it' is the clearest boundary line between these categories.)
What to ignore
This is the part that doesn't get said enough online. Not every printing problem needs a specialist, and not every machine deserves an expensive emergency repair.
If you're printing coasters, mugs, and labels, the UV printer is your answer, not a Goss press. If you're a photographer who wants small prints for a pop-up shop, a Canon IVY is fine. If you run a weekly newspaper and your Goss Community is in good shape, keep it and protect it with a parts plan. If you run a daily and the press is an old Urbanite that keeps breaking on every deadline day, it may be time for reconfiguration or a different workflow—not another emergency call.
One more boundary: I'm not a salesperson for any of these machines. I've been the person holding a phone at two in the morning looking for someone who has a gear. The reason I take the time to explain history, repair, and machine types is simple: an informed customer asks better questions and makes faster decisions. I'd rather spend ten minutes explaining options than deal with mismatched expectations later. Trust me on this one.