MediaNews Group last month launched its Web site dedicated to the publisher’s two upcoming Individuated News Conferences.
The site, www.individuatednews.com, powered by Accrisoft Inc., includes registration information and other details about the publisher’s forthcoming meetings.
The site also includes information about the topic of targeted newspaper products, with links to relevant blogs and personalization sites.
The next conference will be June 24-26, at The Washington Times in Washington, D.C.
—Tara McMeekin
Saturday, November 1, 2008
Digital press advancements pace International Newspaper Group
N&T Staff Report
TAMPA, Fla. — The evolution of digital presses and their potential role in the newspaper industry took center stage during the digital panel at September’s International Newspaper Group conference.
“The fewer people you reach, the more valuable they are,” said Peter Vandevanter, vice president of targeted products at MediaNews Group, explaining the difference between finely targeted publishing — what MediaNews Group terms the individuated newspaper — and traditional mass-market distribution.
MediaNews is one of a number of newspaper publishers examining how digital presses might make niche distribution more profitable (see Newspapers & Technology, September 2008).
“A personalized newspaper will always be more interesting than the postcard you might get in the mail,” he said.
Five vendors — Agfa, Hewlett Packard Co., Kodak, Océ North America and Screen USA — took turns rolling out their digital press road maps.
Océ’s manager of business intelligence, Andrew Gordon, pointed to digital printing as a remedy for an industry under fire in terms of circulation, readership and advertising revenues. The solution, he said, will come in the form of revenue from online advertising, direct mail and the growth of free weeklies and niche products.
“Do you focus all your energy on getting the water out of the boat or do you focus some energy on building a new boat?” Gordon said. “Surviving this period of transition requires developing strategies that move away from the broad-reach circulations dictated by underutilized fixed assets.”
Gordon said newspapers need to deliver significantly higher performance to advertisers and niche products offer them the opportunity to make that move.
“Obviously this won’t happen overnight and most publishers won’t concede their broad-reach positions,” he said. “However, at some time in the future, there will be an inflection point where broad-reach, highly rich and relevant content meets high-performance advertising. This is already occurring with electronic communications and will evolve in print as well.”
Quality, not quantity
Gordon said publishers need to focus less on print quantity and more on print quality — fewer pages, smaller circs — and that digital printing offers newspapers an avenue to do just that. Gordon pointed to Gannett Co. Inc., Cox Newspapers and Morris Publishing Group as examples of newspaper publishers driving new print products.
Gordon also touted the value of international distribution through local channels, citing Océ’s Digital Newspaper Network.
One DNN participant, Carlstadt, N.J.-based Global Document Solutions, has for the past five years printed 300 black-and-white copies of The Guardian for distribution on an Océ 9210 wide-format machine (see Newspapers & Technology, July 2008).
Six other DNN sites produce 15 additional newspapers, including The New York Times, Los Angeles Times and (Toronto) Globe and Mail, printing more than 5,000 copies a day, Gordon said.
Digital printing offers simplified workflows — no plates, no waste — plus the ability to accept late ads and news right up to press time, Gordon said.
Océ’s entry-level products include the Océ 2110, 3165 and 8465 models, the CS series and the VarioPrint 6000 series. Océ’s products for mid-volume printing include the VarioStream series 7000/8000 and 9000 series and the ColorStream 10000. Océ last year rolled out a high-volume digital press, the JetStream, with output speeds of between 328 and 656 feet per minute.
Portugal printer producing digital
Agfa, which introduced its Dotrix DGNews digital press at this year’s drupa, focused on the technology behind the machine.
Kristof Dekeukelaere, sales manager of Dotrix North America, said the DGNews uses 48 print heads, which deliver up to 1 billion drops per second. The machine prints on 48-gram newsprint, he said, giving the look and feel of a newspaper, and has a maximum printing width of 24.8 inches, allowing for broadsheet printing.
In July, Agfa placed its first DGNews machine at VASP, a Lisbon, Portugal, newspaper printer. VASP is using the press to produce almost 2,000 newspapers each day for distribution. VASP takes care of all the costs associated with producing the papers and sends a royalty fee to participating publishers.
Dekeukelaere said DGNews, which can output as much as 85 feet per minute, will have its capacity almost doubled, to 165 feet per minute, by 2010.
Screen, which has offered a digital press for more than two years, is banking on its Truepress Jet 520 digital system to lure newspapers, said Bill Brunone, vice president of targeted inkjet systems.
It’s snared one publisher, U.K.-based Associated Newspapers, which in cooperation with Newsworld, this year will produce New York editions of the Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday (see Newspapers & Technology, September 2008). Half of the 96-page editions will be in full color.
Screen’s machine has output speeds up to 420 FPM, or approximately 200 broadsheet pages per minute.
Targeting communities
Kodak’s Don Allred, director of business development for inkjet printing solutions, said newspapers can benefit from combining digital printing with software, such as Kodak’s Microzone Publishing app, to generate finely targeted publications.
“As microzoning gives rise to more community newspapers and outer ring focus, digital printing can provide a cost-effective solution to multiple short run titles,” Allred said.
Kodak is marketing two products, a high-speed-on-press inkjet developed in concert with manroland, and a digital short-run newspaper press.
The inkjet, installed on a colorman press, enables in-line variable digital printing at press speeds of up to 90,000 copies per hour.
Kodak’s VL2000 digital newspaper system can produce between 500 and 1,000 600-by-600 dpi newspapers per hour. A continuous-stream digital press, slated for delivery in 2011, will boost that output, Allred said.
Hewlett Packard, which expects to make its HP Inkjet Press available next year, was the only vendor to mention cost when discussing its digital newspaper offerings, with Vice President and General Manager Aurelio Maruggi confirming that the machine will carry a price tag of $2.5 million.
HP already markets its Indigo line of high-quality-4-color presses for general commercial and direct mail products.
Its inkjet newspaper press will run at speeds of 400 FPM at 600-by-600 dpi.
Newspapers & Technology Editor Tara McMeekin contributed to this article.
TAMPA, Fla. — The evolution of digital presses and their potential role in the newspaper industry took center stage during the digital panel at September’s International Newspaper Group conference.
“The fewer people you reach, the more valuable they are,” said Peter Vandevanter, vice president of targeted products at MediaNews Group, explaining the difference between finely targeted publishing — what MediaNews Group terms the individuated newspaper — and traditional mass-market distribution.
MediaNews is one of a number of newspaper publishers examining how digital presses might make niche distribution more profitable (see Newspapers & Technology, September 2008).
“A personalized newspaper will always be more interesting than the postcard you might get in the mail,” he said.
Five vendors — Agfa, Hewlett Packard Co., Kodak, Océ North America and Screen USA — took turns rolling out their digital press road maps.
Océ’s manager of business intelligence, Andrew Gordon, pointed to digital printing as a remedy for an industry under fire in terms of circulation, readership and advertising revenues. The solution, he said, will come in the form of revenue from online advertising, direct mail and the growth of free weeklies and niche products.
“Do you focus all your energy on getting the water out of the boat or do you focus some energy on building a new boat?” Gordon said. “Surviving this period of transition requires developing strategies that move away from the broad-reach circulations dictated by underutilized fixed assets.”
Gordon said newspapers need to deliver significantly higher performance to advertisers and niche products offer them the opportunity to make that move.
“Obviously this won’t happen overnight and most publishers won’t concede their broad-reach positions,” he said. “However, at some time in the future, there will be an inflection point where broad-reach, highly rich and relevant content meets high-performance advertising. This is already occurring with electronic communications and will evolve in print as well.”
Quality, not quantity
Gordon said publishers need to focus less on print quantity and more on print quality — fewer pages, smaller circs — and that digital printing offers newspapers an avenue to do just that. Gordon pointed to Gannett Co. Inc., Cox Newspapers and Morris Publishing Group as examples of newspaper publishers driving new print products.
Gordon also touted the value of international distribution through local channels, citing Océ’s Digital Newspaper Network.
One DNN participant, Carlstadt, N.J.-based Global Document Solutions, has for the past five years printed 300 black-and-white copies of The Guardian for distribution on an Océ 9210 wide-format machine (see Newspapers & Technology, July 2008).
Six other DNN sites produce 15 additional newspapers, including The New York Times, Los Angeles Times and (Toronto) Globe and Mail, printing more than 5,000 copies a day, Gordon said.
Digital printing offers simplified workflows — no plates, no waste — plus the ability to accept late ads and news right up to press time, Gordon said.
Océ’s entry-level products include the Océ 2110, 3165 and 8465 models, the CS series and the VarioPrint 6000 series. Océ’s products for mid-volume printing include the VarioStream series 7000/8000 and 9000 series and the ColorStream 10000. Océ last year rolled out a high-volume digital press, the JetStream, with output speeds of between 328 and 656 feet per minute.
Portugal printer producing digital
Agfa, which introduced its Dotrix DGNews digital press at this year’s drupa, focused on the technology behind the machine.
Kristof Dekeukelaere, sales manager of Dotrix North America, said the DGNews uses 48 print heads, which deliver up to 1 billion drops per second. The machine prints on 48-gram newsprint, he said, giving the look and feel of a newspaper, and has a maximum printing width of 24.8 inches, allowing for broadsheet printing.
In July, Agfa placed its first DGNews machine at VASP, a Lisbon, Portugal, newspaper printer. VASP is using the press to produce almost 2,000 newspapers each day for distribution. VASP takes care of all the costs associated with producing the papers and sends a royalty fee to participating publishers.
Dekeukelaere said DGNews, which can output as much as 85 feet per minute, will have its capacity almost doubled, to 165 feet per minute, by 2010.
Screen, which has offered a digital press for more than two years, is banking on its Truepress Jet 520 digital system to lure newspapers, said Bill Brunone, vice president of targeted inkjet systems.
It’s snared one publisher, U.K.-based Associated Newspapers, which in cooperation with Newsworld, this year will produce New York editions of the Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday (see Newspapers & Technology, September 2008). Half of the 96-page editions will be in full color.
Screen’s machine has output speeds up to 420 FPM, or approximately 200 broadsheet pages per minute.
Targeting communities
Kodak’s Don Allred, director of business development for inkjet printing solutions, said newspapers can benefit from combining digital printing with software, such as Kodak’s Microzone Publishing app, to generate finely targeted publications.
“As microzoning gives rise to more community newspapers and outer ring focus, digital printing can provide a cost-effective solution to multiple short run titles,” Allred said.
Kodak is marketing two products, a high-speed-on-press inkjet developed in concert with manroland, and a digital short-run newspaper press.
The inkjet, installed on a colorman press, enables in-line variable digital printing at press speeds of up to 90,000 copies per hour.
Kodak’s VL2000 digital newspaper system can produce between 500 and 1,000 600-by-600 dpi newspapers per hour. A continuous-stream digital press, slated for delivery in 2011, will boost that output, Allred said.
Hewlett Packard, which expects to make its HP Inkjet Press available next year, was the only vendor to mention cost when discussing its digital newspaper offerings, with Vice President and General Manager Aurelio Maruggi confirming that the machine will carry a price tag of $2.5 million.
HP already markets its Indigo line of high-quality-4-color presses for general commercial and direct mail products.
Its inkjet newspaper press will run at speeds of 400 FPM at 600-by-600 dpi.
Newspapers & Technology Editor Tara McMeekin contributed to this article.
4 Questions with Bill Brunone
Newspapers & Technology continues its 4 Questions series with digital press vendors. This month, Bill Brunone, vice president of targeted inkjet systems for Screen, talks about Screen’s newspaper offerings.
How is Screen approaching newspapers and how do you see Screen fitting into this industry?
The Truepress Jet520 is a drop-on-demand, water-based, color inkjet press that can print a variety of publications and direct mail, but is especially suited for newsprint because of its small drop size, grayscale heads and high resolution. With no special modifications, the TPJ520 press is the center of a three-part package for newspapers. This includes workflow and composition software — Screen’s Newsworker — that takes into consideration the fact that in newspaper production, each section is printed, stacked and folded in-line, not statically printed and collated later.
The second part is the Truepress Jet520, and the third component is specialized cut/stack/folding (finishing) equipment from Hunkeler.
This combination is proven and ready for placement in the appropriate segments of the newspaper industry.
According to Screen, what are the benefits of drop-on-demand versus continuous inkjet technology for newspapers?
Using DOD technology translates to greater uptime and higher print quality.
Screen’s Truepress Jet520 system is based on Epson’s piezoelectric head technology and inks are supplied in airtight bladders. Because of this, ink never contacts air or contaminants before being projected from the printhead. This significantly reduces the need for maintenance and speeds startup and shutdown procedures.
Because of the small printhead size, Screen has brought the distance between application of colors to very close proximity, minimizing paper slip and stretch issues that would destroy color-to-color registration.
DOD allows for grayscale printing, and the use of very small droplet sizes gives the reader yet another tier of image quality and clarity. In the unlikely event that there is a problem with a printhead, it can be replaced quickly by the user.
What trends do you see in digital printing for newspapers as far as news products, niche products, etc? What new technologies/features do you see emerging in digital presses that could potentially benefit newspapers?
Once newspaper publishers embrace the idea of distributed print as well as the advantages short-run and variable personalized printing can offer, they will find almost unlimited potential.
From the hardware manufacturers’ point of view, what you see is just the beginning of the industry’s offerings. You are already seeing variations of printing devices: faster, wider and higher-quality systems, but you will probably also see less-capable systems offering better economics in specialized situations.
The newspaper industry has been talking for many years about the potential benefits of digital printing. Is the technology really ready to deliver these benefits?
We think that the productivity and uptime of the Truepress Jet520 is certainly ready for the newspaper industry, based in part by the fact that the press has been commercially available and in operation by customers for more than two years.
We think that there are situations in which digital printing can be leveraged to reduce costs, increase advertising response or increase the readers’ experience. However, we do not think that digital print technology will replace large-run offset printing in the near future. This is primarily due to the greater cost of consumables required — compared to offset printing.
Some of the situations in which digital print for newspapers can be profitable include those (in which) a publisher has geographic areas that are difficult or expensive to service by traditional central print and delivery methods. Placing a digital press close to the delivery point can reduce the cost of distribution and increase customer satisfaction by giving the reader more current content, since printing is done in close proximity to the delivery point, and at the last possible moment.
Publishers can leverage what the direct mail and commercial print industries have known for years: Personalization increases reader response rates, thus allowing publishers to command higher prices for personalized print advertising.
Publishers can also create unlimited microzones, without regard to plate change costs, thereby increasing the appeal of the publication.
Océ kicks off customer center as firm targets newspapers
By Mary L. Van Meter
Publisher
BOCA RATON, Fla. — Océ last month opened its Customer Experience Center as the digital press vendor demonstrated its continued commitment to the newspaper and graphic arts industries.
Mal Baboyian, president of Océ’s North American production printing systems unit, encouraged printers to avoid standing still, particularly in the face of the global economic downturn.
Océ’s 18,000 square-foot Océ Customer Experience Center in Boca Raton, Fla.
“We are committed to strengthen our core business and advance our technology,” he said as he formally opened the 18,000-square-foot center. “We have increased our printing speeds and technology innovations as printers demand scalable and modular solutions in order to achieve profitable growth.”
Newspapers, which are beginning to evaluate the role high-speed digital presses might play in the future, are a prime target for Océ, Baboyian said.
The vendor beefed up its JetStream family of inkjet machines, adding models capable of producing up to 3,000 40-page newspapers per hour.
In addition, Océ bolstered its 1100 and 2200 product lines with magnetic ink character recognition. The MICR systems are the first of their kind to integrate magnetic ink directly with the print engine, Baboyian said. MICR support allows printers to produce a wider variety of marketing materials and promotions. The MICR-equipped presses will be commercially available in February 2009, Baboyian said.
Océ’s integrated MICR ink unit, far right, is located directly on the print engine.
All of Océ’s presses are equipped with DigiDot, a piezoelectric, drop-on-demand technology. The ICC profile compliant technology varies the size and amount of each ink drop, Baboyian said.
Océ has also launched an education program to help printers implement digital production. The Graphic Arts Alliance Program “will help simplify (printers’) transition from offset to digital workflow,” Baboyian said.
Publisher
BOCA RATON, Fla. — Océ last month opened its Customer Experience Center as the digital press vendor demonstrated its continued commitment to the newspaper and graphic arts industries.
Mal Baboyian, president of Océ’s North American production printing systems unit, encouraged printers to avoid standing still, particularly in the face of the global economic downturn.
Océ’s 18,000 square-foot Océ Customer Experience Center in Boca Raton, Fla.
“We are committed to strengthen our core business and advance our technology,” he said as he formally opened the 18,000-square-foot center. “We have increased our printing speeds and technology innovations as printers demand scalable and modular solutions in order to achieve profitable growth.”
Newspapers, which are beginning to evaluate the role high-speed digital presses might play in the future, are a prime target for Océ, Baboyian said.
The vendor beefed up its JetStream family of inkjet machines, adding models capable of producing up to 3,000 40-page newspapers per hour.
In addition, Océ bolstered its 1100 and 2200 product lines with magnetic ink character recognition. The MICR systems are the first of their kind to integrate magnetic ink directly with the print engine, Baboyian said. MICR support allows printers to produce a wider variety of marketing materials and promotions. The MICR-equipped presses will be commercially available in February 2009, Baboyian said.
Océ’s integrated MICR ink unit, far right, is located directly on the print engine.
All of Océ’s presses are equipped with DigiDot, a piezoelectric, drop-on-demand technology. The ICC profile compliant technology varies the size and amount of each ink drop, Baboyian said.
Océ has also launched an education program to help printers implement digital production. The Graphic Arts Alliance Program “will help simplify (printers’) transition from offset to digital workflow,” Baboyian said.
Industry eyes turn to digital press workflow options
By Tara McMeekin
Editor
Now that digital press vendors have trotted out their wares to newspapers, the next logical question the newspaper might ask is this: What kind of software will be needed to drive these machines?
The answer? Vendors are still working on it.
Kodak, which has brought to market its Versamark VT 3000 digital press, will approach workflow in two components — device controllers and workflow systems, according to Stephen Miller, product manager for packaging and newspaper workflow.
“All presses include a workflow component that renders input into some file format that is used by the press to put ink on substrate, “ he said. “This component also controls press actions, monitors performance, etc. Upstream from the device controller is a broader workflow solution that assembles and prepares content for production.
“With today’s use of industry standards — PDF and JDF — most press suppliers can interface with almost any manufacturer of the upstream workflow components.”
Hewlett Packard, which plans to bring its digital press to market next year, offers the HP SmartStream Ultra Print Server, which is not currently a newspaper-specific workflow system.
The vendor said it plans to adapt SmartStream to work on its forthcoming HP Inkjet Web Press.
“The SmartStream umbrella portfolio consists of both HP and third-party software — HP digital processing controllers and third-party post print production solutions — to meet a broad range of market segment and application needs ranging from newspapers to books to direct mail to transaction documents,” said Scott Schiller, director of marketing for inkjet high-speed production solutions. “The system supports many standard formats, such as PDF, and for the newspaper segment specifically, additional capabilities and third-party solutions will be added over time, as needed.”
Océ is currently marketing Prisma software to newspapers purchasing its digital press products. The app is well-suited to Océ’s various products because of its scalability, according to Andrew Gordon, manager of business intelligence.
Screen, meantime, last month announced Trueflow SE, version 6.0, the latest iteration of its PDF/JDF workflow. Trueflow has evolved from an intelligent RIP application for CTP workflows to a universal app for hybrid offset/digital workflows.
Specific to newspapers, Screen also offers Newsworker software, according to Bill Brunone, vice president of targeted inkjet systems, and its TruePress Jet 520 digital press .
Editor
Now that digital press vendors have trotted out their wares to newspapers, the next logical question the newspaper might ask is this: What kind of software will be needed to drive these machines?
The answer? Vendors are still working on it.
Kodak, which has brought to market its Versamark VT 3000 digital press, will approach workflow in two components — device controllers and workflow systems, according to Stephen Miller, product manager for packaging and newspaper workflow.
“All presses include a workflow component that renders input into some file format that is used by the press to put ink on substrate, “ he said. “This component also controls press actions, monitors performance, etc. Upstream from the device controller is a broader workflow solution that assembles and prepares content for production.
“With today’s use of industry standards — PDF and JDF — most press suppliers can interface with almost any manufacturer of the upstream workflow components.”
Hewlett Packard, which plans to bring its digital press to market next year, offers the HP SmartStream Ultra Print Server, which is not currently a newspaper-specific workflow system.
The vendor said it plans to adapt SmartStream to work on its forthcoming HP Inkjet Web Press.
“The SmartStream umbrella portfolio consists of both HP and third-party software — HP digital processing controllers and third-party post print production solutions — to meet a broad range of market segment and application needs ranging from newspapers to books to direct mail to transaction documents,” said Scott Schiller, director of marketing for inkjet high-speed production solutions. “The system supports many standard formats, such as PDF, and for the newspaper segment specifically, additional capabilities and third-party solutions will be added over time, as needed.”
Océ is currently marketing Prisma software to newspapers purchasing its digital press products. The app is well-suited to Océ’s various products because of its scalability, according to Andrew Gordon, manager of business intelligence.
Screen, meantime, last month announced Trueflow SE, version 6.0, the latest iteration of its PDF/JDF workflow. Trueflow has evolved from an intelligent RIP application for CTP workflows to a universal app for hybrid offset/digital workflows.
Specific to newspapers, Screen also offers Newsworker software, according to Bill Brunone, vice president of targeted inkjet systems, and its TruePress Jet 520 digital press .
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