It’s a big month for Hearst Corp’s Albany Times Union, where new press equipment has been likened to “going from analogue to HD”.
Somehow, the New York state capital paper has been surviving with letterpress technology which is now 40 years old. A new KBA Commander CL press and Ferag mailroom are part of an investment which also includes new DTI systems in editorial.
Hearst took the decision to move up from letterpress almost five years ago, but did not order the press until late 2011.
The four-tower, two-folder press also takes the 150-year-old newspaper to a 470 mm cut-off Berliner format from a 343 mm wide page which by US standards at least, is extremely large. For the repeat winner of the New York state editors’ association’s ‘newspaper of distinction’ title it will be a dramatic change for readers, “like going from analogue to high-definition”, according to publisher George R Hearst III.
With colour capability on every page, “photography and graphics will be more lively, and our type will be more readable,” says Hearst. “For advertisers, this advance means we’ll be able to offer great product flexibility.”
Ferag mailroom equipment includes a TTR conveyor system capable of handling straight-run production speeds of up to 80,000 cph per line for each of the two folders. Ferag says the system will be running in 2:1 mode at half chain speed. Accraply labelling modules will keep pace, and there is provision for the integration of inline stitching and trimming to extend potential in the commercials market.
Hearst's time-lapse video of the press assembly process: