Newspaper & Mailroom
Seventeen Newspaper Printers across North America Add KODAK Solutions to Meet Quality and Deadline Demands
Monday 14. April 2008 - Printers in United States and Canada select Kodak based on reliability and flexibility
The need for additional speed, flexibility and quality resulted in 17 newspaper printers from 12 states and three provinces selecting digital thermal CTP solutions from Kodak. A total of 25 KODAK Platesetters, along with digital plates, workflow systems, screening and imposition software, were included in the orders.
“Ive been convinced that thermal imaging is the way to go for a number of years. The thermal dot gets you much better reproduction and it eliminates variation in our process,” said Richard Hackney, Vice President of Operations at Sun Newspapers in Charlotte Harbor, Fla. “The KODAK TRENDSETTER NEWS Platesetter is a reliable piece of equipment. Ive never heard a negative story about a KODAK TRENDSETTER CTP Device.”
Sun Newspapers, part of Sun Coast Media Group, publishes six daily newspapers and five weeklies. The PAGE Coop member purchased a KODAK TRENDSETTER NEWS 150 Thermal Platesetter, KODAK THERMAL NEWS GOLD Digital Plates, KODAK STACCATO Screening, and KODAK PRINERGY EVO and KODAK NEWSMANAGER Workflow Systems.
“We decided to shift gears and go with computer to plate while going through a web reduction process at several of our plants. We found in a cost avoidance study that with Kodaks CTPs, we had added savings in film, chemistry, environmental costs and labor,” said Joe Boessenecker, Director of Production at Bay Area News Group in Concord, Calif. “We went with the KODAK TRENDSETTER NEWS Thermal Platesetter because it is proven technology that we are already using at plants in California, Denver and Salt Lake City. It just works and has a solid ROI.”
Bay Area Newspaper Group recently purchased seven TRENDSETTER NEWS 100 and 150 CTP Devices to serve the needs of the San Jose Mercury News, Fremont Argus, Hayward Daily Review, San Mateo County Times, Santa Cruz Sentinel, Tri Valley Herald, San Joaquin Herald, Oakland Tribune, Contra Costa Times and various weeklies. “Weve grown and needed more capacity. The equipment quality and support we have received from Kodak for our existing KODAK TRENDSETTER NEWS 70 Thermal Platesetter have been great. Kodak has quality, knowledgeable people,” said Stewart Ayers, Prepress Manager at Signature Graphics in Portland, Ore. “Weve really had minimal downtime with the existing unit, but often we are going full out five or even seven days a week. We needed the extra capacity and the redundancy because in our business we cannot really afford to have any downtime.”
Signature Graphics added a KODAK TRENDSETTER NEWS 50 Thermal Platesetter so that it could handle prepress demands for three weekly newspapers, 12 monthly publications, newspaper inserts and a variety of commercial jobs. The company also recently upgraded to the KODAK PRINERGY Workflow System 4.0.
“We save two hours plating our papers, get better registration, reduce newsprint waste and use less ink. The equipment is better than advertised,” said Garrick Feldman, Editor and Publisher at Leader Publishing in Jacksonville, Ark.
Leader Publishing purchased a TRENDSETTER NEWS 50 Thermal Platesetter, KODAK PF-N Non Process Plates, KODAK PRINERGY EVO Workflow Systems and KODAK STACCATO Screening.
Other newspaper printers that have recently purchased Kodak Solutions include:
Stellar Printing Inc. in Long Island City, N.Y., purchased a KODAK TRENDSETTER NEWS 150 Thermal Platesetter, KODAK PRINERGY EVO Workflow System, KODAK PREPS Imposition Software and KODAK STACCATO Screening to boost its production capabilities. Stellar produces several daily newspapers and weekly total market coverage publications.
In Ontario, The Hamilton Spectator, a division of Metroland Media Group, purchased two TRENDSETTER NEWS 150 Thermal Platesetters to enhance its production capabilities.
Bayou Graphics in Bastrop, La., purchased a TRENDSETTER NEWS 50 Platesetter, KODAK PF-N Non Process Plates, a PRINERGY EVO Workflow System , KODAK PREPS Imposition Software and STACCATO Screening to print various real estate publications.
Triangle Web Printing in Durham, N.C., added a TRENDSETTER NEWS 50 Platesetter and KODAK THERMALNEWS GOLD Digital Plates to boost its productivity.
The Kitsap Sun in Bremerton, Wash., purchased a TRENDSETTER NEWS 70 CTP Device, THERMALNEWS GOLD Digital Plates, STACCATO Screening, PRINERGY EVO and NEWSMANAGER Workflow Software.
Western Communications in Bend, Ore., which prints The Bulletin and commercial jobs, purchased NEWSMANAGER and PRINERGY EVO Workflow Systems, and the KODAK INSITE Prepress Portal System, to go along with the TRENDSETTER NEWS CTP Device and STACCATO Screening that it had previously acquired.
The Pioneer Press, a Media News Group newspaper in St. Paul, Minn., purchased two TRENDSETTER NEWS 150 Platesetters and PRINERGY EVO Workflow Systems or Software.
Elizabethton Newspapers Inc. in Elizabethton, Tenn., purchased a TRENDSETTER NEWS 70 CTP Device, KODAK PF-N Non Process Plates and PRINERGY EVO Workflow Systems or Software.
The Sun Journal in Lewiston, Maine, purchased a TRENDSETTER NEWS 70 Platesetter and KODAK NS Digital Newspaper Plates.
Signature Offset in Las Cruces, N.M., purchased a TRENDSETTER NEWS 70 Platesetter and KODAK NS Digital Newspaper Plates.
Master Web Inc. in Mississauga, Ontario, purchased two KODAK TRENDSETTER NEWS 100 Thermal Platesetters and THERMALNEWS GOLD Digital Plates.
Payette & Simms Inc. of Saint-Lambert, Quebec, purchased a TRENDSETTER NEWS 50 Platesetter and PRINERGY EVO Workflow Systems.
Central Web Offset Ltd. of Calgary, Alberta, purchased a TRENDSETTER NEWS 100 CTP Device and PRINERGY EVO Workflow System.
The TRENDSETTER NEWS Thermal CTP device comes in six models, ranging in speed from 60 plates per hour to more than 240 plates per hour to suit newspaper printing facilities of all sizes. The TRENDSETTER NEWS Thermal Platesetter delivers fast, reliable imaging with a standard file format interface for newspaper production systems. It is available with semiautomatic or fully automated plate loading and unloading. The machine to machine accuracy of the KODAK SQUARESPOT Thermal Imaging Heads, combined with the binary nature of thermal imaging, achieves consistent and repeatable halftone dot structures.
KODAK THERMALNEWS GOLD Digital Plates meet the rigorous demands of newspaper printing while delivering outstanding resolution for premium newspaper printing and commercial quality printing. THERMALNEWS GOLD Plates offer run lengths of more than 200,000 impressions without postbaking. Rapid imaging and processing, faster makeready and plate reliability give newspapers extra editorial time, and the clean working, low pH, low consumption developer can help reduce processing costs.
KODAK PF-N Non Process Plates are processless thermal plates for newspapers. Compatible with all popular thermal CTP platesetters, the plates provide high quality, consistent imaging performance and easy handling. They develop on press, shortening the platemaking cycle and getting jobs to press more quickly. In addition, the plates can help eliminate the purchased and maintenance costs associated with plate processors and developer chemistry, while also reducing water usage.
KODAK NS Digital Newspaper Plates are the right choice for printers who require the high resolution printing of thermal CTP and the convenience of no slip sheets. The preheat plates process quickly and cleanly. NS Digital Newspaper Plates are durable on press and off, with run lengths up to 250,000 unbaked and 1 million baked.
The KODAK PRINERGY EVO Workflow System helps newspapers deal with last minute changes easily, without causing delays. Based on the latest standards and proven PRINERGY Technology, PRINERGY EVO Software delivers exceptional PDF processing capabilities. A flexible PDF workflow featuring proven color management, late stage editing and imposition, and advanced screening options to optimize output on TRENDSETTER NEWS CTP devices, PRINERGY EVO Systems help deliver the automation, speed, control, and flexibility that newspapers need to accommodate tight editorial and ad deadlines and output large numbers of pages more quickly.
KODAK PREPS Imposition Software supports POSTSCRIPT, PDF, EPS, DCS and TIFF source files. It works with all KODAK and many major third party workflow systems. KODAK PREPS Imposition Software helps prepress professionals remove even more manual steps from their preferred workflow by providing digital imposition. PREPS Software accepts more than 200 types of file inputs. PREPS Imposition Software enhances prepress efficiency and enables greater postpress reliability by automatically generating bar codes that can be read by WST and MULLER MARTINI bar code readers.
KODAK STACCATO Screening produces high fidelity, artifact free images that exhibit fine detail and more impactful color in newspapers. STACCATO Screening creates images without halftone rosettes, screening moiré, gray level limitations, or abrupt jumps in tonewith no impact on RIPing time. KODAK SQUARESPOT Thermal Imaging Technology enables the fine dot structure of STACCATO Screening to be a reliable and practical solution for newspaper printing and an effective competitive edge for publishers.
KODAK Products are backed by KODAK Service and Support.KODAK Service and Support is made up of more than 3,000 professionals reaching more than 120 countries. It is a leading multi-vendor integrated services provider, delivering consulting, installation, maintenance and support services for the commercial printing, graphic communications, document imaging and data storage industries. KODAK Service and Support professionals are uniquely qualified to provide services that control costs, maximize productivity, and minimize business risk.