In Brief

QuadTech Inc. said it sold a Register Guidance System and Ribbon Control System to Central Ontario Web Ltd., a Barrie, Ontario, newspaper and commercial printer.
www.quadtechworld.com

The Wall Street Journal Digital Network launched The News Hub, a live, daily online news broadcast featuring reporting and analysis from The Wall Street Journal, Barron’s, Dow Jones Newswires, MarketWatch.com and AllThingsD.com. The 8-minute segments air weekdays at 8:30 a.m. and 4 p.m. EST.

All of Canwest’s 10 major metro daily newspapers and cananda.com went live with mobile-optimized news Web sites designed to work with a variety of mobile devices including the Apple iPhone, iPod Touch, BlackBerry Bold and BlackBerry Storm smart phones.

Caspio Inc. said Gannett Co. Inc. plans to deploy its Bridge database platform groupwide.
www.caspio.com

South African media company Avusa Media Ltd. went live with its first publication on the Escenic Content Engine platform.
www.escenic.com

Inc. Magazine named Elauwit’s media division, which publishes The Sun and Telegram newspapers and Business Trends on the East Coast, the fastest-growing newspaper publisher in the nation .
Evergreen Printing Co. prints the group’s papers.
www.egpp.com

OneVision Software AG opened a subsidiary in Singapore.
www.onevision.com

Cityfeet said its commercial real estate sales information will now be carried across the online editions of Gannett Co. Inc.’s 83 daily newspapers.
Cityfeet has 225 distribution partners across the United States, including The New York Times, the Los Angeles Times and Chicago Tribune.
www.cityfeet.com

Printers' Service partnered with Tresu Royse Inc. to sell coating systems for printing presses throughout the United States. The alliance combines Tresu’s knowledge of coating systems and applications with Prisco's own coatings, expertise, and extensive distribution network, the companies said.
www.prisco.com

The (Minneapolis) Star Tribune is poised to exit bankruptcy next week now that a federal bankruptcy judge has approved a reorganization plan that includes new owners and reduced debt.

Affinity Express Inc. said it will offer Virtual Paper Inc.’s publishing software to its newspaper clients. VPI’s app converts documents into online content that can be easily searched by Google and other search engines.

Sept. 14, 2009 -- Panel: Technology key to newspaper industry success

CHICAGO —The implementation of innovative technology platforms will help newspapers retain their vitality, according to a panel of newspaper executives appearing at a Print 09 newspaper seminar today.

The seminar, sponsored by News & Tech and moderated by Editor-in-Chief Chuck Moozakis, featured Austin Ryan, vice president of operations, U.S. Community Publishing, Gannett; Bill May, vice president of production at The Dallas Morning News; Paul Lynch, manager of commercial sales and logistics/quality at the Chicago Tribune and John Jenkins, operations director at The Free Lance-Star in Fredericksburg, Va.

"Technology and automation can really help us grow our business and to build closer relationships with customers," Lynch said, detailing the Tribune's efforts to anchor its production around computer-integrated manufacturing and the launch of new digital platforms like the Chicago Now blog.

Lynch also talked about the Tribune's recently released Display Ad Self Serve portal, which allows advertisers to book ads across the paper’s various publications online. The portal, underpinned by software from Mediaspectrum, "gives us the chance to remain competitive," Lynch said.

Ryan underscored the important roles newspapers continue to play in their local communities, adding that the publisher's deployment of prepress and customer service technology helped streamline and standardize operations across its various newspapers. He also detailed some of the plans supporting Gannett's forthcoming consolidation of ad production operations in two sites, in Des Moines and Indianapolis, and the efficiencies that initiative will bring.

May, meantime, listed the steps The Morning News has taken to expand its printing business, attracting commercial clients that range from The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times to newspapers printed by local colleges and high schools. He said commercial printing is now generating as much as 15 percent of the paper's top-line revenues, from less than 2 percent just three years ago.

Finally, Jenkins discussed the debut of The Free Lance-Star's 90,000-square-foot production plant, anchored by a Goss International FPS heatset/coldset press. The publisher is rebranding the production arm of the company as Print Innovators as it moves to attract additional printing customers, Jenkins said. Simply, he said, "It's print, or be printed."

Some 200 people attended the 90-minute session. Graphic Arts Show Co., which sponsors Print 09 and Graph Expo, said it intends to make newspaper production a core part of future shows, with events and activities specifically tailored to the newspaper industry, beginning with the 2010 Graph Expo show.

In other Print 09 developments:

•Océ unveiled a program designed to allow direct marketers to bring quick-response codes into print applications. Océ showed applications using COPI’s CodeZ QR subroutine for personalized interaction. Web-enabled phones with specific reader software can scan QR codes and launch a Web browser to a specific URL containing information, thereby driving increased print revenue, Océ said.

CodeZ QR generates one-to-one or personalized QR codes, called QRPurlZ.

“This immediate response, print-to-Web approach is the nest step in the evolution of personal communications,” said Sheryl Patteck, vice president of marketing services, production printing systems division for Océ North America. “Personalized URLs alone are not response ready. The time and effort to enter a personal URL from a cell phone or a PC significantly increase the likelihood they won’t even try.”

Attendees to Print 09 were able to see full-color Océ CS130T Tandem printers printing CodeZ QR symbols embedded in ads in personalized editions of Chicago Where magazine.

•Nela rolled out Nela Plate Inspector. The plate inspection tool uses an overhead scanning system to automatically detect plate defects as small as 0.1 mm at speeds of up to 450 plates per hour.

•IMC America said it is distributing a postpress collator that can be used to gather inserts for polybagging. The system, called the XYZ, is manufactured by Quebec-based Feuiltault Solution Systems and is capable of processing as much as 30,000 copies per hour, IMC said. It uses a single sucker to pull down a circular or insert and move it in a linear fashion along the raceway. It relies on mechanical components that ensure fewer misfeeds due to doubles or misses, the firm said.

•CC1 rolled out a new smart camera, equipped with digital signal processing, which eliminates the need for a host computer to reside in the pressroom. The new camera can be installed on any existing press equipped with CC1's eXaminer registration technology.

•Burgess Industries Inc. said it added remote monitoring capabilities to its plate bending equipment. Software will monitor the performance of the equipment on-site and send alerts to users' mobile phones in the event any problems are detected.

•Chromaticity said it’s merged with FineEye Color Solutions, a company with which the color management vendor partnered earlier this year to market FineEye’s ICESaver application. The combined entity will be called FineEye Color Solutions and will be headquartered in Grand Rapids, Mich.

“The merger with FineEye is the logical conclusion to Chromaticity’s long-term strategy to become a manufacturer,” said Peder Nelson, who serves as president of the new entity.

Meantime, FineEye rolled out 20/20, color separation software that the firm said will provide a 20 percent increase in gamut while reducing ink consumption by 20 percent. The software is integrated into a user's existing PDF workflow.

•AVT/GMI introduced the new ColorQuick/Clarios automated closed-loop color control app, and Microcolor/Mercury remote ink control app for commercial presses.

•Absolute and BEK Technology combined forces to market the Ink Tracker fountain filling system. The system tracks across a press' fountain and applies ink where required. Software also tracks ink consumption to enable operators to monitor the system's performance.

•EPG introduced enhancements to its KeyColor color measurement system, including ColorInSpec, which reads an entire color bar on every impression and can identify and trend print defects. EPG also showed its Adelphi presetting and Adelphi scanner interface technology for enhanced closed-loop color-control.

Look for more coverage of Print 09 in the October issue of News & Tech.

Sun-Times gets bidder

Sun-Times Media Group Inc. said a group led by Chicago investor James Tyree would be the lead bidder for its assets at a bankruptcy auction.

Tyree’s group, STMG Holdings LLC, bid $5 million in cash for bankrupt STMG. Tyree also offered to assume the publisher’s liabilities, estimated to total $20 million.

STMG Holdings is STMG’s so-called “stalking horse” bidder, which means it has certain protections, including break-up fees, if it does not win.

Resolution of the bid depends on the results of an auction if another bidder emerges and U.S. Bankruptcy Court approval.

STMG filed for bankruptcy protection in March. Its largest media property is the Chicago Sun-Times.

Free Press getting EZSert

Ferag said the London (Ontario) Free Press signed an order to install two 20:1 EZSert inserting systems. The Sum Media Corp. paper will also install four Ferag MultiStack stackers and a PKT bundle distribution system.

“We are very pleased to introduce the new EZSert system into the North American market,” said Joe Coletti, president and CEO of Ferag.

Installation at the Free Press is scheduled to commence in January.

Idaho daily picks QuadTech

The (Nampa) Idaho Press-Tribune installed QuadTech Inc.’s Ribbon Control System. The closed-loop print-to-cut or print-to-fold system is designed to help publishers save on makeready time, decrease waste and obtain consistent quality, QTI said.

The Press-Tribune also installed QTI’s ICON integrated platform, Register Guidance System and Register Motorization System 2000 on its new DGM 440 presses with 4-high towers.

“It became clear that the benefits of QuadTech’s technology greatly outweighed the costs,” said Roger Stowell, the Press-Tribune’s production director. “The system quickly registers color and holds precise to the targets throughout the press run.”

Google, others chiming in on micropayments

A number of organizations, including Google, Microsoft and IBM began floating micropayment plans in response to the Newspaper Association of America’s request for proposals on ways to easily charge for online news.

Google’s proposal described an online system for collecting small payments — in the range of pennies — for access to individual articles or newspaper subscriptions. The system would be brought to users via Google Checkout.

“While we believe that advertising will likely remain the main source of revenue for most news content, a paid model can serve as an important source of additional revenue,” Google wrote in its proposal. “In addition, a successful paid content model can enhance advertising opportunities, rather than replace them.”

Look for more developments on micropayments in an upcoming issue of News & Tech.

Puerto Rican printer gets Goss M-800

Goss International Corp. said Advanced Graphics Printing of Puerto Rico installed an M-800 press to improve print quality, expand capacity and provide higher pagination capabilities. The press, capable of 70,000 iph, is intended to address current and future production requirements, according to Joel Acevedo, senior vice president and general manager at AGP.

“The M-800 press has doubled our pagination capacity to 64 pages – a first in Puerto Rico,” he said. “Before, if a customer wanted a 48-page product, for example, we would have to print 32 pages then change the plates and print a further 16 in a separate print run before combining the two sections in the bindery. Printing 64-page products in a single run is much more attractive.”

The eight-unit press at AGP was installed in a stacked configuration and is equipped with Contiweb CS splicers, Ecocool dryers and a JF-70 collect folder. Goss also supplied Omnicon controls and its Goss Web Center digital workflow modules.

AGP is affiliated with Grupo Ferré-Rangel, the holding company that produces Puerto Rico’s largest newspaper El Nuevo Dia, as well as Prima Hora on Goss presses.

Meantime, Goss launched a new enhancement for existing heatset dryers, and Quad/Graphics ordered six more after testing the first one in the United States. The Ecochill enhancement uses Goss’ Ecocool dryer technology to eliminate condensation on chill rollers, preventing smearing and ink picking and allowing web presses to be run at higher speeds, Goss said. The enhancement is available as a retrofit on all Goss Ecotherm and Ecoweb dryers as well as some dryers manufactured by other suppliers.

Finally, Goss said it sole a Sunday 2000 press to the Church of Scientology, which will be installed in early 2010.