Production: Is Inkjet the Future of News in Print?

By: Mark Vruno

Wide, High-Speed Digital Web Presses Are Full of Promise

Digital rumblings are nothing new in the printing industry - newspapers or otherwise. But the past six months or so have been interesting, to say the least, with some strange bedfellows emerging to lead the print innovation charge: partners KBA and RR Donnelley; manroland and Océ; Konica Minolta selling Screen's Truepress Jet520; and, most notably perhaps, Heidelberg and Ricoh. After selling its web-offset division to Goss and its NexPress digital print technology to Kodak several years ago, the struggling sheetfed press manufacturer is back in the digital print game.

Océ (now part of Canon) and manroland are expected to roll out a new digital press platform for newspapers and other users in the second half of 2011. The two firms exhibited together for the first time at the digi:media exposition in Germany last month. manroland also signed an agreement with Tensor Group Inc. to jointly market Tensor's single-wide presses in certain regions of the globe.

Meanwhile, KBA and RR Donnelley, North America's largest printer, have agreed to develop, manufacture, and sell a piezoelectric-based inkjet press. Set to debut at Drupa 2012 next May, they're targeting the commercial, newspaper, packaging, and security sectors. KBA has licensed Donnelley's Apollo digital technology to use in its own presses. The manufacturer spent 18 months assessing current and future digital printing technologies from around the globe, said chief executive Helge Hansen, adding that this is "more than a sales and service agreement for existing technology."

HP, Kodak Have a Head Start

HP introduced its first high-speed inkjet web press at Germany's giant Drupa tradeshow in 2008. Last month, it unveiled a wider (42-inch web), faster, fourth-generation model - the T400 - that makes the concept of mass customization even more of a reality. The digital press runs at speeds up to 600 feet per minute and can print 5,200 full-color, letter-size pages per minute. Its smaller cousin, the 30-inch T300, features output capacities as high as 70 million pages per month. To date, Hewlett-Packard has more than 20 global installations of full-color inkjet webs (a total of 42 print engines) with a production volume amounting to some 3 billion pages, it reports. But they're being used primarily for book and direct mail application, not newspapers, despite claims to the contrary three years ago. The problem, HP says, is that while newspaper publishers may have the vision, cash flow still is a problem for these multimillion-dollar digital press investments.

One guy who might figure it out is Jim Lucanish, president of O'Neil Data Systems in Los Angeles, one of HP's biggest inkjet web customers. Beginning next month, O'Neil is installing a pair of the T400 models in its new 218,000-square-foot plant in Plano, Texas; the all-digital facility is set to be operational by August. Its parent company publishes and prints Investor's Business Daily and still does so with conventional offset. But Lucanish believes it's only a matter of time (and money, of course) before progressive newspaper publishers learn how to use inkjet technology to their best advantage.

Last spring at the Ipex show in the U.K., Kodak debuted its narrower (24.5 inches) Prosper inkjet web digital press. Tribune Co. subsidiary Tribune Direct in Northlake, Ill., opted for Kodak's "Stream" technology. The firm was the first direct marketing company to buy the color Prosper 5000XL model, set to go into operation this summer, and is one of only a handful of U.S. newspaper publishers to deploy digital printing. "We researched available technologies and were drawn to the Prosper because it runs multiple substrates," president/general manager Lou Tazioli told the Graph Expo Show Daily last October, when the press was purchased. "We are going to offer its speed (650 linear fpm) to marketers who have an interest in self-mailers and postcards."

Tribune Direct installed a Kodak NexPress in the fall of 2009, "and our net volume is up 100 percent now," said operations director Tim Street. "It runs 20 hours a day, seven days a week." The company may use the new press to support short-run, niche publications with larger signatures. "It moves a lot of paper," Tazioli said. "We're looking at the economics and timing of our TribLocal product's custom advertising, for example."

Their projections show Prosper producing at 50 to 60 percent capacity within five years. "Utilization depends on managing schedules and customer turnaround requirements," said sales/client relations VP Tim Klunder. While conceivable that Tribune also may use the press to produce special sections and niche publications for the Chicago Tribune, Tazioli said that using the Prosper to print newspaper-oriented pieces is not a primary goal - at least not yet.

High-Tech Print Partnership

Mega printer RR Donnelley has acquired Journalism Online, LLC and its Press+ offering, which enables publishers to seamlessly integrate an innovative paid content engine with their websites. The system supports publishers as they offer audiences a mix of free and subscription-based premium content. Journalism Online is managed by two of the company's co-founders, veteran digital-media leaders Steven Brill, founder of The American Lawyer magazine and Court TV; and L. Gordon Crovitz, a former Wall Street Journal publisher.

"We provide solutions across the entire breadth of the publishing supply chain, from content creation and digital asset management through subscription solicitations, processing, and renewals," said Donnelley CEO Thomas Quinlan. "Press+ enhances our offering and opens new avenues for publishers to generate incremental subscription and advertising revenue."

The Press+ offering enables publishers to offer readers a mix of options for subscribing to premium content, including metered and mobile/tablet access, enhanced site functionality, out-of-market access, and more. The system also provides publishers a variety of ways to engage readers with paid content, such as day or week passes, print/online bundles, monthly or annual subscriptions, and others that even allow readers to receive credit for previous day passes as they select a longer-term subscription.

Event Recap: America East

With noticeably fewer exhibitors, the mood was subdued - yet also defiant - at the America East Newspaper Operations and Technology Conference in March. Agfa Graphics showcased its :Advantage N series of platesetters for small to midsize newspapers as well as the :N92-VCF chemistry-free plate. Its new :Arkitex 7.0 provides a soft-proof comparison that saves time by allowing users to highlight and see exactly what has changed between different versions of the same page. They also can place special furniture on the soft proof, such as alignment, to ensure that page files provided by outside customers are correctly positioned before imaging. Version 7.0 includes flip-book soft proofing - of particular value for commercial work and coldset printers. Also, the new :Arkitex Essentials workflow was designed with the needs of small and medium-size newspapers in mind.

The :Arkitex IntelliTune 5.0 automated image toning offers magazine-like quality on newsprint. It uses Multi-Dimensional Processing (MDP) to analyze the tone, color, and spatial characteristics of each image and automatically applies necessary corrections for the best reproduction on press. Meanwhile, OptiInk technology converts color spaces to ensure consistent printed colors. Using Smart Input Space Recognition, the software addresses many PDF/color problems. It also automatically converts spot colors into CMYK and processes them. With OptiInk, newspapers can save up to 30 percent of their ink costs while attaining faster roll-up times and improved press stability, Agfa said.

New Platesetter

The Krause Smart'n'Easy Jet platesetter made its U.S. debut at America East at the Fujifilm Graphic Systems Division booth. A result of the recognized engineering found in the LS Jet series, the Smart'n'Easy Jet is the core component of the new "Community-Newspaper-System" manufactured by Krause. It offers an opportunity for increased flexibility for today's small to mid-size publishers and web press operations. The Smart'n'Easy is available as a semi-automatic device or full automatic and is able to achieve production speeds of 90 to 100 plates per hour. (The semi-automatic machine may be upgraded to fully automatic at any time.) The system makes use of a 60mW violet diode, resulting in low cost of ownership and replacement costs, and the Krause Monogon Juwel Optics promise high-quality imaging and reliable plate handling. The system also features optimized interfaces to ensure a smooth transition to CTP for smaller, regional newspapers.

Workflow, Too

Also at America East, Fujifilm came together with PuzzleFlow to create and present automated and efficient workflow solutions designed to cover all aspects of newspaper publishing.

Its WebPairer, Automator, and InkSaver solutions help to automate production processes, while also ensuring that prepress systems are operating at maximum efficiency. WebPairer is automated workflow management software consisting of a native PDF processing engine that works with virtually any file format to produce CTP-ready plate files for in-house or remote production. PuzzleFlow Automator optimizes incoming documents, auto-corrects them for prepress issues, notifies operators of any problems, autoresizes ads and pages, and automates the imaging, delivery, archiving, and purging of files.

Fujifilm also demonstrated PuzzleFlow InkSaver, a program that helps increase efficiencies and cut costs in the pressroom. Capable of working with existing workflows, InkSaver goes beyond cost savings in CMY ink or toner. The solution also provides a more stable gray axis, meaning better press stability, superior color representation, easier press control, and reduced make- ready time. With the added ink savings, users realize faster ink drying time, improved run performance, greater printing speed, and faster finishing.

Installation News:

Violet CTP Plates for Goss Press

The Sequoyah County Times, a member of the PAGE co-op located in Sallisaw, Okla., purchased an ECRM Mako News violet platesetter to image Replica HSV plates from Southern Lithoplate for the family owned company's new web-offset Goss Community SSC press. After a long absence from printing newspapers in-house - the Times sold its four-unit Goss Community press in 2004 - the company plans to inject higher quality into the pages of the twice-weekly newspaper, while growing its printing business. "We are excited about the opportunity to improve our quality and increase our speed in getting papers on the street," said Jeff Mayo, associate publisher and general manager. Seeking to streamline production, the Times decided that the violet system offered a better solution than thermal technology.

"We were accustomed to light-sensitive plates," Mayo said. "Southern Lithoplate has a strong reputation down here. The Mako News is highly regarded by other newspaper publishers. It doesn't quit. We are small enough that we can't afford to have the platesetter go down. The quality of the imaging and of the plates themselves has been outstanding." The Community SSC press has three mono units, an SSC folder, and a DGM 430 four-high. In addition to printing the Sequoyah County Times and an internally owned sister publication, the company produces four weeklies for print clients. "For a while, we were printing at three locations, inserting in four, and mailing to six post offices," Mayo said. "There was a lot of logistical complexity. Now we should be able to become the fastest newspaper printer around that can also generate high-quality color reproduction."

Separately, the Shelby (Ohio) Daily Globe, another PAGE co-op member, also has migrated from conventional prepress production to violet technology with an Esprit violet platesetter from alfaQuest Technologies and Replica HSV plates.

New Plates Yield Speed, Profits

The Starkville (Miss.) Daily News (circ.: 10,000), has installed the Esprit violet platesetter from alfaQuest and Replica HSV plates from Southern Lithoplate. The conversion to a totally digital plate-making workflow is part of an organization-wide upgrade by parent company Horizon Publications. "Production speed was the main reason for the change," said publisher Don Norman. "The old process of working with negatives to burn plates took way too long."

A longtime user of Southern Lithoplate analog plates, the newspaper operates an eight-unit Goss Community press.

"The registration of the Replica violet plates on press is excellent," Norman said. "The image quality has also improved as a result of the direct-to-plate technology." The increased productivity associated with CTP has helped the paper expand its outside printing business. "Previously, we printed four newspapers for customers in the area, and we wanted to attract additional printing business," Norman said. "Our speed and efficiency have increased to the point where we already have added eight more newspapers."

The Wapakoneta Daily News, a PAGE co-op member in Wapakoneta, Ohio, also opted for alfaQuest Esprit and Replica HSV plates. Published Monday through Saturday, its circulation is 13,250. Owner Daily News Printing Co. prints the weekly Shelby County Review and Auglaize County Merchandiser and caters to commercial customers as well, producing everything from business cards to books.

Mobile Trend: QR Codes Are Here

Quick Response (QR) codes, those funky little square barcode thingamajigees, are popping up more and more in print. Progressive U.S. newspapers are striving to find ways to make their products more relevant to potential readers by incorporating the two-dimensional bar codes to interact with growing mobile audiences. The Appeal-Democrat, a Freedom Communications newspaper in Marysville, Calif., uses them to link to online video and other multimedia content. The Times Union in Albany, N.Y., is using them for advertisements and for some editorial content. And The Seattle Times has used QR codes to provide weather updates. These are just three examples cited by Jason Pinto, CMO of multichannel marketing provider interlinkONE.