Al Nisr Publishing's Australian production head Mike Condon says the challenges of changing print site, print process and format overnight were immense.
Installation had been delayed – “though not through any fault of KBA or Ferag” – but went well, although tests were exhausting. “We still had to run and produce at the old site, with production and maintenance teams split between the two sites,” he says.
“The June 1 ‘go live’ was the culmination of a huge team effort over four years of sometimes very stressful days. Many hours were spent organising and preparing as everything had to fall into place with no going back.”
Editorial systems had also been had updated, with a commitment to the new Berliner size that meant they could not easily revert to the old broadsheet format.
Printing and dispatch from the old site finished at 3.30 am on May 31, and production of various preprint sections in the new size had to start at the new site at 9 am the same day. “Not much of a respite for anyone,” Condon says.
“Anyone who has put in a new press knows what it is like on the first night: Everyone is there to see the beginning of a new era, and the last thing you want is for anything to go wrong.”
As it was, only minor things did go wrong, and were quickly overcome. “We were late but it was a huge relief to get our first Berliner-sized publication out the door,” he says. “Now we just have to do it every day, 365 days of the year.”
Condon describes the waterless Cortina – a choice which had already been made when he joined the company as production manager – as “a huge leap of faith” for the region. “Ink has to be specially made for the waterless presses on a separate production line from conventional inks. Choice is limited – ‘Gulf News’ is running Flint and Seigwerk, with a third supplier in trials – and even more so for plates, with Toray the only manufacturer of waterless plates in the world.
“Most consumables take eight weeks to reach Dubai, so logistically it’s a nightmare ordering stock to arrive regularly and on time,” Condon says. “Luckily a lot of the ordering process has been learnt from years of trial and error at the old site.”
The waterless technology is “a whole new way of thinking” with a print window greatly reduced compared to conventional presses, but resulting quality “well worth it”.
Condon says he is lucky to have a great team of production staff, including prepress, who have taken to the waterless concept “like, excuse the pun, ducks to water”.
He says there has been a huge learning curve, with staff learning something new every day with the Cortina… something which will go on for a long time.
Apart from the new press, the mailroom – fully-automated from press to delivery dock – included unfamiliar equipment: “The CTI winding system was new to us, as was onserting and polybagging our products,” he says. Onserts had previously been handled manually, and a new Linemaster system produced barcoded labels for bulk bundles.
Maintenance department staff have also undergone immense amount of training, with a huge learning curve on new equipment and technology.
All the staff are “very dedicated and hard working”, he says. “I am personally very proud of what the all the teams have achieved to date. We have set a benchmark in the UAE, printing waterless in the desert.”
Vegemite and Aussie beer... but family the biggest sacriifice
Australian Mike Condon (pictured with wife Tracie) took over as head of production at the ‘Gulf News’ from Dean du Toit in 2009. The former print site manager at Rural Press Ballarat and previously shift supervisor at the ‘Canberra Times’, says he has had no difficulty settling into the expat life.
“The lifestyle is great, and everything you could want is here – even Vegemite and Aussie beer – and it’s great for travel as Europe and Asia are close.
“However, we miss our children, grandchildren and families terribly – this is the biggest sacrifice.”