The Sun Herald in Biloxi, Miss., partnered with Southern Lithoplate’s Strategic Alliance to upgrade its analog plate making operation and convert to Southern Lithoplate’s Viper 830 plates. The Sun Herald also installed a Screen PlateRite News 2000S platesetter, replacing a previously installed analog plate system.
The publisher will manage its workflow with ProImage’s NewsWay.
“We converted over to the Southern Lithoplate CTP system using Viper 830 lithoplates, Newsway workflow and the Screen 2000 all at the same time,” said Gary Raskett, vice president of operations and circulation. “This was one of the smoothest transitions we have ever seen. We did not experience the slightest hiccup.”
The publisher also installed ProImage’s OnColor Eco ink optimization app.
Ink preset data is sent by NewsWay to The Sun Herald’s Goss MPSCII press control system.
Monday, August 24, 2009
Corrected: USAT gains 800 subs to e-edition
VAIL, Colo. — USA Today has snapped up more than 800 subscribers to its e-edition, fewer than three weeks after its Aug. 3 launch.
“Our subscribers love it,” USA Today Retention Manager Linda Ford told newspaper executives attending the 2009 Roundtable on Strategic Marketing here. “The feedback is overwhelmingly positive.”
The e-edition, based on Olive Software’s digital conversion software, includes a Saturday-Sunday supplement, called Today Extra. Subscribers receive the digital edition each morning by 5:30. The e-editions are provided as a complement to existing home and business subscribers, and people can subscribe to just the digital edition, if desired. Currently, USA Today is charging $9.95 for four weeks of the e-edition.
Ford said readers are attracted to the e-edition because of convenience, lower costs and enhanced features such as interactive puzzles.
The e-edition continues to gain traction, she said, with 7,000 people sampling the version in the last week. “Almost every country has had some interaction with the e-edition,” she said.
Some 50 execs attended the three-day conference, sponsored by SmartFocus Astech.
Editor's note: This corrects an earlier posting that stated that USA Today had gained 40,000 new subscribers to its digital edition.
“Our subscribers love it,” USA Today Retention Manager Linda Ford told newspaper executives attending the 2009 Roundtable on Strategic Marketing here. “The feedback is overwhelmingly positive.”
The e-edition, based on Olive Software’s digital conversion software, includes a Saturday-Sunday supplement, called Today Extra. Subscribers receive the digital edition each morning by 5:30. The e-editions are provided as a complement to existing home and business subscribers, and people can subscribe to just the digital edition, if desired. Currently, USA Today is charging $9.95 for four weeks of the e-edition.
Ford said readers are attracted to the e-edition because of convenience, lower costs and enhanced features such as interactive puzzles.
The e-edition continues to gain traction, she said, with 7,000 people sampling the version in the last week. “Almost every country has had some interaction with the e-edition,” she said.
Some 50 execs attended the three-day conference, sponsored by SmartFocus Astech.
Editor's note: This corrects an earlier posting that stated that USA Today had gained 40,000 new subscribers to its digital edition.
MDGM sells presses in S.A., Africa
Manugraph DGM Inc. said it sold presses to publishers in Brazil and Africa as the vendor continues to expand its international footprint.
In Brazil, MDGM sold a 12-unit Cityline Express press to Jornal a Gazeta in Cuiba; a 4-unit Cityline Express to Tribuna do Norte in Apucarana; and a 4-unit Cityline press to Diario do Nordeste in Forteleza.
It also sold a 20-unit, two-folder Hiline Express to Mwananchi Communications Ltd. in Tanzania.
See the September issue of News & Tech for an interview with Manugraph Managing Director Pradeep Shah, who discusses plans the company has to roll out the firm’s first doublewide press. The machine, the Smartline, will be available in India next year.
In Brazil, MDGM sold a 12-unit Cityline Express press to Jornal a Gazeta in Cuiba; a 4-unit Cityline Express to Tribuna do Norte in Apucarana; and a 4-unit Cityline press to Diario do Nordeste in Forteleza.
It also sold a 20-unit, two-folder Hiline Express to Mwananchi Communications Ltd. in Tanzania.
See the September issue of News & Tech for an interview with Manugraph Managing Director Pradeep Shah, who discusses plans the company has to roll out the firm’s first doublewide press. The machine, the Smartline, will be available in India next year.
Trib Co. rolling out DSI circ apps in L.A.
The Los Angeles Times is installing Data Sciences Inc.’s DSI/WebCirc and DSI/e-Solicitor circulation apps in a deployment that will determine if publisher Tribune Co. will roll out the software groupwide.
“DSI Circulation Software was a cost-effective solution to meet our current and future circulation needs for customer service, home delivery, distribution, single-copy sales and insert management,” said Paul Mitnick, the Times’ senior vice president of business applications.
The apps are Oracle- and Windows-based and were first introduced by DSI in 1996.
“DSI Circulation Software was a cost-effective solution to meet our current and future circulation needs for customer service, home delivery, distribution, single-copy sales and insert management,” said Paul Mitnick, the Times’ senior vice president of business applications.
The apps are Oracle- and Windows-based and were first introduced by DSI in 1996.
Harland Simon tapped to upgrade Trinity Mirror
Harland Simon said it will upgrade press control systems at Trinity Mirror Printing in Newcastle Upon Tyne in a press expansion project undertaken in conjunction with Printing Press Services International.
The press control system governing Trinity Mirror’s Goss International Colorliner presses will be switched out to the latest version of PressNet, which will take place before the PPSI-managed press extension. Harland Simon also said it will integrate the new printing units into the existing pressline and upgrade the Prima software to accommodate the additional impositions.
Harland Simon is also going to provide desk screens and integrate PressNet with the press’ QuadTech register control software, enabling operators to control both register and press operation from a single screen.
The project is slated for completion this fall, Harland Simon said.
The press control system governing Trinity Mirror’s Goss International Colorliner presses will be switched out to the latest version of PressNet, which will take place before the PPSI-managed press extension. Harland Simon also said it will integrate the new printing units into the existing pressline and upgrade the Prima software to accommodate the additional impositions.
Harland Simon is also going to provide desk screens and integrate PressNet with the press’ QuadTech register control software, enabling operators to control both register and press operation from a single screen.
The project is slated for completion this fall, Harland Simon said.
WaPo shelves hyperlocal initiative
The Washington Post folded LoudounExtra.com, its hyperlocal Web site. The paper launched the site two years ago, joining dozens of other papers seeking to grow their overall audiences by offering local coverage of community events. LoudounExtra.com served the northern Virginia community about 25 miles north of Washington, D.C. It combined Post reporters with community journalists who contributed local news and information.
The paper said the high costs associated with assigning reporters dedicated to the site contributed to the decision to shut it down.
Loudoun news will now be available through washingtonpost.com, editors said in a note to subscribers. The paper also said it will soon launch a new home page.
When LoudounExtra was first launched, the paper said it planned to roll out similar sites engineered for other areas surrounding the District. Those plans are now on hold.
The paper said the high costs associated with assigning reporters dedicated to the site contributed to the decision to shut it down.
Loudoun news will now be available through washingtonpost.com, editors said in a note to subscribers. The paper also said it will soon launch a new home page.
When LoudounExtra was first launched, the paper said it planned to roll out similar sites engineered for other areas surrounding the District. Those plans are now on hold.
Report: manroland sheetfed biz might have buyer
A German printing trade publication is reporting that Shanghai Electric Group Co. Ltd. might be interested in acquiring manroland’s sheetfed business.
The magazine, Deutscher Drucker, said that SEG and Allianz Capital Partners, which owns a majority of manroland, are attempting to iron out details.
German consulting group Zicon Consulting said any deal between SEG and Allianz could pave the way for a merger between Heidelberg and manroland (see Dateline, July 27, 2009). According to Zicon, the disposal of manroland’s sheetfed business was viewed as a sticking point.
SEG’s Shanghai Electric Co. already builds presses through agreements it has with Goss International and a Japanese firm, Akiyama.
The magazine, Deutscher Drucker, said that SEG and Allianz Capital Partners, which owns a majority of manroland, are attempting to iron out details.
German consulting group Zicon Consulting said any deal between SEG and Allianz could pave the way for a merger between Heidelberg and manroland (see Dateline, July 27, 2009). According to Zicon, the disposal of manroland’s sheetfed business was viewed as a sticking point.
SEG’s Shanghai Electric Co. already builds presses through agreements it has with Goss International and a Japanese firm, Akiyama.
Freedom consolidates production of regional pubs
Freedom ENC Communications Inc. completed consolidation for the production of its North Carolina dailies The Daily Press in Jacksonville, The Free Press in Kinston and The Sun Journal in New Bern together with commercial work, at its Jacksonville, N.C. plant. The publisher installed ProImage’s browser-based NewsWay app to manage the multiple workflows involved.
“NewsWay has proven to be extremely flexible, and the technical support we’ve received has been superior,” said Jeff Ashe, COO, Freedom ENC Communications.
NewsWay generates edition plans for all papers, builds editions from PDF page files, monitors throughput and tracks and notifies users of events. The app provides integration and workflow management from an Advanced Publishing Technology editorial system to the load balancing of RIPs and Screen computer-to-plate machines and will also be managing the transmission of TIFF data to Peretta ink setting equipment, ProImage said.
Other Freedom properties using NewsWay include the Orange County (Calif.) Register, the Daily Press in Victorville, Calif., the Appeal-Democrat in Marysville, Calif., the Sun in Yuma, Ariz., the East Valley Tribune in Mesa, Ariz., the News-Herald in Panama City, Fla., the Lima (Ohio) News and the Odessa (Texas) American.
“NewsWay has proven to be extremely flexible, and the technical support we’ve received has been superior,” said Jeff Ashe, COO, Freedom ENC Communications.
NewsWay generates edition plans for all papers, builds editions from PDF page files, monitors throughput and tracks and notifies users of events. The app provides integration and workflow management from an Advanced Publishing Technology editorial system to the load balancing of RIPs and Screen computer-to-plate machines and will also be managing the transmission of TIFF data to Peretta ink setting equipment, ProImage said.
Other Freedom properties using NewsWay include the Orange County (Calif.) Register, the Daily Press in Victorville, Calif., the Appeal-Democrat in Marysville, Calif., the Sun in Yuma, Ariz., the East Valley Tribune in Mesa, Ariz., the News-Herald in Panama City, Fla., the Lima (Ohio) News and the Odessa (Texas) American.
Dow Jones closing Riverside plan
Dow Jones and Co. said it will close its Riverside, Calif., print site, with production of The Wall Street Journal and other products reportedly to be transferred to the Los Angeles Times.
The Times didn’t return calls seeking comment.
The Riverside facility produced more than 135,000 copies per day of The Journal, and it also printed Barron's and other newspapers slated for Southern California distribution.
The site's closure brings to six the number of plants News Corp. has shuttered since it acquired Dow Jones in late 2007. In addition to Riverside, DJ targeted for closure plants in Denver, Chicago, Dallas, Orlando, Fla., and Des Moines, Iowa.
The Times didn’t return calls seeking comment.
The Riverside facility produced more than 135,000 copies per day of The Journal, and it also printed Barron's and other newspapers slated for Southern California distribution.
The site's closure brings to six the number of plants News Corp. has shuttered since it acquired Dow Jones in late 2007. In addition to Riverside, DJ targeted for closure plants in Denver, Chicago, Dallas, Orlando, Fla., and Des Moines, Iowa.
Gannett set to roll out self-serve obits
Gannett Co. Inc. is rolling out self-service obituary software, with The Indianapolis Star slated to be the first paper to offer the capability beginning next month.
According to Annette Gould, Gannett's manager of advertising technology, the publisher will use software from Wave2 Media Solutions to support the service. Funeral directors and other users can submit information to a dedicated Web site, from which it will be formatted and placed in the paper's host CMS. Some 20 Gannett papers will begin offering self-service obituary capabilities this year.
According to Annette Gould, Gannett's manager of advertising technology, the publisher will use software from Wave2 Media Solutions to support the service. Funeral directors and other users can submit information to a dedicated Web site, from which it will be formatted and placed in the paper's host CMS. Some 20 Gannett papers will begin offering self-service obituary capabilities this year.
Torstar sets insert Web site
Two firms, including Toronto Star owner Metroland Media Group, said they will launch a Web site that features newspaper insert content.
The site, Zip2Save.com, will launch Oct. 1.
Metroland is teaming up with LocalPoint Media to operate the site, which is based on Metroland's existing Flyerland.ca Canadian newspaper insert Web initiative. Twenty U.S. publishers are participating in the site, including GateHouse Media, Sun-Times Media Group and Community Newspaper Holdings Inc.
The site, Zip2Save.com, will launch Oct. 1.
Metroland is teaming up with LocalPoint Media to operate the site, which is based on Metroland's existing Flyerland.ca Canadian newspaper insert Web initiative. Twenty U.S. publishers are participating in the site, including GateHouse Media, Sun-Times Media Group and Community Newspaper Holdings Inc.
Nela moves, acquires German newspaper vendor
Nela purchased and moved into its new U.S. headquarters, a 60,000-square-foot building in western Wisconsin. The company, which just celebrated its ninth anniversary in the United States, said the move solidifies its long-term commitment to the North and South American markets.
The new address is 610 Whitetail Blvd., River Falls, WI 54022. The new phone/fax number is 715.425.1900, and the new technical support number is 715.425.1944.
Meantime, Nela said it acquired major parts of German printing manufacturing company 2B Prazisionstechnik GmbH. While Nela is active in the newspaper and commercial segments of the printing industry, 2B is mainly active in the newspaper sector with a focus in middle and southern Europe, as well as some Asian countries.
The new address is 610 Whitetail Blvd., River Falls, WI 54022. The new phone/fax number is 715.425.1900, and the new technical support number is 715.425.1944.
Meantime, Nela said it acquired major parts of German printing manufacturing company 2B Prazisionstechnik GmbH. While Nela is active in the newspaper and commercial segments of the printing industry, 2B is mainly active in the newspaper sector with a focus in middle and southern Europe, as well as some Asian countries.
Aussie edit outsourcer sets up shop
Pagemasters, an Australian firm that provides editorial outsourcing services to newspapers, said it teamed up with The Canadian Press to provide design, copy-editing and headline-writing services to North American newspapers.
Pagemasters already provides similar services to a number of newspapers in Australia, New Zealand and the United Kingdom, including the Sydney Morning Herald, The Age and Daily Telegraph.
Pagemasters, a unit of Australian Associated Press, currently produces more than 10,000 editorial pages per month in four production centers.
“We will be heavily involved with The Canadian Press in setting up editorial production centers in North America, working closely with newspaper publishers as they grapple with the radical changes sweeping the industry,” said AAP CEO Clive Marshall, in a statement.
Pagemasters already provides similar services to a number of newspapers in Australia, New Zealand and the United Kingdom, including the Sydney Morning Herald, The Age and Daily Telegraph.
Pagemasters, a unit of Australian Associated Press, currently produces more than 10,000 editorial pages per month in four production centers.
“We will be heavily involved with The Canadian Press in setting up editorial production centers in North America, working closely with newspaper publishers as they grapple with the radical changes sweeping the industry,” said AAP CEO Clive Marshall, in a statement.
Clarification
The article, “Tribune notches color register savings,” in the Aug. 17, 2009, Dateline should have reported that Tribune Publishing Co. in Columbia, Mo., was able to cut its paper waste — and not its newsprint consumption — by 25 percent after employing a color registration system from Imaging Technologies Inc. Information supplied by ITI said the paper had cut its waste by 30 percent.
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