The Commercial Appeal in Memphis, Tenn., could transfer printing and production to a new facility operated by Journal Publishing Co. Inc. in Tupelo, Miss.
JPC, which publishes The Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal and other papers, contacted The Commercial Appeal earlier this year to determine if it might be interested in having the daily produced and packaged in Tupelo, according to a memo written by Daniel Connolly, president of the Memphis Newspaper Guild.
E.W. Scripps, which owns The Commercial Appeal, has been evaluating what to do with its 30-year-old presses for years. The paper cut the web width of its four Goss International Metro presses from 50 inches to 46 inches last year and it also upgraded DC drives. The Commercial Appeal also evaluated cutoff modification services from Goss and Pressline Services Inc. to determine if it could do anything about the machines’ 23 9/16-inch cutoff in order to gain other operational and newsprint savings, according to the memo.
But the costs associated with modifying the machines — pegged at about $25 million, Connolly wrote — made the project unfeasible.
Replacing the older presses with new machines was also rejected by Scripps, which just finished spending almost $100 million for a new plant and building for the Naples (Fla.) Daily News.
Connolly said no decision has yet been made, but that JPC Publisher Clay Foster wanted to get a response by Scripps by Aug. 15.
JPC would have to substantially upgrade its production capabilities to produce The Commercial Appeal. The company currently operates a Goss Urbanite singlewide press. It would also have to juggle production in order to ensure that delivery to Memphis — some 110 miles from Tupelo — would be guaranteed.
If The Commercial Appeal does opt to shift production to JPC, the soonest the transfer could occur would be in late 2010, the memo said.
Neither Scripps nor JPC executives would comment on negotiations.
Monday, July 27, 2009
Report: Heidelberg, manroland talking merger
Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG, which just concluded one of its worst financial years in history, is talking merger with manroland, according to a report in a financial newsletter.
German newsletter Platow Brief disclosed the discussions, according to Bloomberg, but didn’t say where it obtained the information.
The newsletter said that Allianz, the German conglomerate that owns stakes in both press vendors, is behind the push.
Allianz owns 12 percent of Heidelberg and 65 percent of manroland.
Bloomberg said neither Heidelberg, manroland nor Allianz would comment. Manroland’s North American press representative also declined comment.
Reports that the two companies might combine operations come after Heidelberg reported a loss of $354 million last year, on revenues of $4.3 billion.
Heidelberg CEO Bernhard Schreier termed last year as “without doubt one of the worst in the more than 150-year history of Heidelberg – if not the worst,” according to PrintWeek, a U.K. trade publication.
German newsletter Platow Brief disclosed the discussions, according to Bloomberg, but didn’t say where it obtained the information.
The newsletter said that Allianz, the German conglomerate that owns stakes in both press vendors, is behind the push.
Allianz owns 12 percent of Heidelberg and 65 percent of manroland.
Bloomberg said neither Heidelberg, manroland nor Allianz would comment. Manroland’s North American press representative also declined comment.
Reports that the two companies might combine operations come after Heidelberg reported a loss of $354 million last year, on revenues of $4.3 billion.
Heidelberg CEO Bernhard Schreier termed last year as “without doubt one of the worst in the more than 150-year history of Heidelberg – if not the worst,” according to PrintWeek, a U.K. trade publication.
Ann Arbor News prints last edition
The Ann Arbor (Mich.) News printed its last edition last week, succeeded by a new Web site and twice-a-week print complementary publication called AnnArbor.com.
Advance Publications this spring said it would close the 174-year-old News in favor of a Web-centric distribution strategy.
The print product is distributed Thursdays and Sundays, with the first edition sent to readers yesterday.
The News’ production plant, anchored by a 42-unit Goss International Magnum press that went on-edition earlier this decade, remains in operation as a stand-along entity. In addition to the printed AnnArbor.com print publication, the plant prints a regional edition of The New York Times and the Jackson (Mich.) Citizen-Patriot.
Advance in March said it would shutter The News as part of a plan that also saw a reduction in print days of sister Michigan papers The Flint Journal, The Bay City Times and Saginaw News from seven to three.
Advance Publications this spring said it would close the 174-year-old News in favor of a Web-centric distribution strategy.
The print product is distributed Thursdays and Sundays, with the first edition sent to readers yesterday.
The News’ production plant, anchored by a 42-unit Goss International Magnum press that went on-edition earlier this decade, remains in operation as a stand-along entity. In addition to the printed AnnArbor.com print publication, the plant prints a regional edition of The New York Times and the Jackson (Mich.) Citizen-Patriot.
Advance in March said it would shutter The News as part of a plan that also saw a reduction in print days of sister Michigan papers The Flint Journal, The Bay City Times and Saginaw News from seven to three.
European printer producing USA Today on Versamark
Kodak said Rotomail, a variable data printing company in Europe, is printing USA Today on Versamark VL4200 printing systems.
Through an agreement with Messaggerie Internazionali, an Italian distributor of a number of foreign newspapers, Rotomail is digitally printing an international edition of USA Today, which is distributed to hotels and kiosks in major tourist towns and a number of airports, Kodak said.
Rotomail installed two Versamark VL2200 machines last year and recently upgraded to the Versamark VL4200. The company now has seven Versamark digital presses at its facility.
“While some laser printing systems provide some remote printing benefits, they can’t produce the newspaper’s color pictures and advertisements to a satisfactory standard,” said Giovanni Antonuzzo, CEO of Rotomail. “The VL4200 … can make light work of most newspapers on the market with its color and duplex printing.”
Rotomail began with runs of 500 copies a day five days per week and increased daily production to 3,000 copies for the summer, Antonuzzo said.
Rotomail receives PDF files nightly for the next day’s newspaper pages and the 3,000 copies are printed in roughly one hour, Kodak said. Finished copies of USA Today are delivered to the distributor and are available at kiosks and hotels by 6:00 the following morning.
The Versamark VL4200 System operates at speeds of 410 feet per minute at a resolution of 600-by-360 dpi, Kodak said.
Through an agreement with Messaggerie Internazionali, an Italian distributor of a number of foreign newspapers, Rotomail is digitally printing an international edition of USA Today, which is distributed to hotels and kiosks in major tourist towns and a number of airports, Kodak said.
Rotomail installed two Versamark VL2200 machines last year and recently upgraded to the Versamark VL4200. The company now has seven Versamark digital presses at its facility.
“While some laser printing systems provide some remote printing benefits, they can’t produce the newspaper’s color pictures and advertisements to a satisfactory standard,” said Giovanni Antonuzzo, CEO of Rotomail. “The VL4200 … can make light work of most newspapers on the market with its color and duplex printing.”
Rotomail began with runs of 500 copies a day five days per week and increased daily production to 3,000 copies for the summer, Antonuzzo said.
Rotomail receives PDF files nightly for the next day’s newspaper pages and the 3,000 copies are printed in roughly one hour, Kodak said. Finished copies of USA Today are delivered to the distributor and are available at kiosks and hotels by 6:00 the following morning.
The Versamark VL4200 System operates at speeds of 410 feet per minute at a resolution of 600-by-360 dpi, Kodak said.
USA set for e-edition
USA Today said it will roll out a revamped digital version of the paper, featuring additional content, Aug. 3.
The new e-Edition, based on Olive Software’s digital conversion app, will include a Saturday-Sunday supplement called Today Extra, said Dave Hunke, president and publisher of USA Today.
Subscribers will receive the digital edition each morning by 5:30. The e-Edition can be read online or downloaded for later consumption.
Digital subscriptions will be provided as a complement to existing home and business subscribers. Subscriptions to just the digital edition will also be available, at $99 per year.
“We're very pleased to be able to bring the e-Edition to our readers and we will continue to look for new platforms to grow on,” Hunke said.
The new e-Edition, based on Olive Software’s digital conversion app, will include a Saturday-Sunday supplement called Today Extra, said Dave Hunke, president and publisher of USA Today.
Subscribers will receive the digital edition each morning by 5:30. The e-Edition can be read online or downloaded for later consumption.
Digital subscriptions will be provided as a complement to existing home and business subscribers. Subscriptions to just the digital edition will also be available, at $99 per year.
“We're very pleased to be able to bring the e-Edition to our readers and we will continue to look for new platforms to grow on,” Hunke said.
OC Register, LA Times team up for ad insert
Orange County Register Communications and the Los Angeles Times Media Group will launch an advertising insert distribution solution, called OCSaver/Local Values, beginning Aug. 27-29, the publishers said.
OCSaver/Local Values will be distributed to subscribers of The Orange County Register and the Los Angeles Times on Fridays and to non-subscribers through The Register’s 25 community newspapers, LATMG’s Spanish language newspaper Hoy Fin de Semana and non-subscribers via USPS mail on Thursday, Friday or Saturday of each week.
OC Saver/Local Values allows advertisers to reach selected households, providing significantly increased targeting capabilities, the publishers said.
Meantime, Register parent Freedom Communications said it partnered with Brand Affinity Technologies Inc. to allow advertisers to launch promotions featuring celebrities or athletes on Freedom Communications’ online sites. Advertisers can use BAT’s platform to identify and deploy the most appropriate talent for their brands and markets, choosing among 2,700 athletes and celebrities.
Once an endorsement deal is offered and accepted, companies can use video and other assets to build their campaigns.
OCSaver/Local Values will be distributed to subscribers of The Orange County Register and the Los Angeles Times on Fridays and to non-subscribers through The Register’s 25 community newspapers, LATMG’s Spanish language newspaper Hoy Fin de Semana and non-subscribers via USPS mail on Thursday, Friday or Saturday of each week.
OC Saver/Local Values allows advertisers to reach selected households, providing significantly increased targeting capabilities, the publishers said.
Meantime, Register parent Freedom Communications said it partnered with Brand Affinity Technologies Inc. to allow advertisers to launch promotions featuring celebrities or athletes on Freedom Communications’ online sites. Advertisers can use BAT’s platform to identify and deploy the most appropriate talent for their brands and markets, choosing among 2,700 athletes and celebrities.
Once an endorsement deal is offered and accepted, companies can use video and other assets to build their campaigns.
SF Chronicle launches weather spread
The San Francisco Chronicle on July 12 launched Almanac, a two-page weather spread, which will appear in the paper every Sunday. Almanac was created in cooperation with Weather Underground and includes features unique to the Bay Area, as well as national and international weather details and graphics.
“We were looking for a different way to present and package the weather that was dynamic and one of a kind,” Michael Keith, consumer marketing director told News & Tech. “The weather here has a personality of its own and we wanted something that reflected that.”
The Chronicle shifted its printing to Transcontinental’s Fremont, Calif., facility on July 5, and the facility’s three manroland Colorman XXL heatset/coldset presses will afford the publisher increased color in the Almanac feature and throughout the paper, Keith said.
Look for more on the Chronicle’s Almanac feature in the September issue.
“We were looking for a different way to present and package the weather that was dynamic and one of a kind,” Michael Keith, consumer marketing director told News & Tech. “The weather here has a personality of its own and we wanted something that reflected that.”
The Chronicle shifted its printing to Transcontinental’s Fremont, Calif., facility on July 5, and the facility’s three manroland Colorman XXL heatset/coldset presses will afford the publisher increased color in the Almanac feature and throughout the paper, Keith said.
Look for more on the Chronicle’s Almanac feature in the September issue.
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