Comments on: Clackity, clackity, clack http://blog.newspaperclub.co.uk/2009/12/23/clackity-clackity-clack/ A work in progress Tue, 20 Jul 2010 10:26:43 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0 By: Royston http://blog.newspaperclub.co.uk/2009/12/23/clackity-clackity-clack/comment-page-1/#comment-749 Royston Wed, 20 Jan 2010 13:53:55 +0000 http://blog.newspaperclub.co.uk/?p=250#comment-749 Re: "... the printing presses, which have changed relatively little in the last couple of decades" This is partly true: advances in conventional web-offset have mostly been in ease of use and maintenance - leading to "lights out" print factories controlled from the desktop, rather than fundamental technology changes. But a new class of press is emerging - based on high-speed digital inkjet technology - which are closing on the cost-per-page of conventional W-O, which can print on newsprint, and which, crucially, can produce a different impression on every page, transforming the economics of personalised newspapers such as yours. Agfa, Kodak, Océ, and HP all have products in this category. I have contacts at HP, email me if you would like an intro. Nice site. Good luck with the launch. Re: “… the printing presses, which have changed relatively little in the last couple of decades”

This is partly true: advances in conventional web-offset have mostly been in ease of use and maintenance – leading to “lights out” print factories controlled from the desktop, rather than fundamental technology changes. But a new class of press is emerging – based on high-speed digital inkjet technology – which are closing on the cost-per-page of conventional W-O, which can print on newsprint, and which, crucially, can produce a different impression on every page, transforming the economics of personalised newspapers such as yours. Agfa, Kodak, Océ, and HP all have products in this category. I have contacts at HP, email me if you would like an intro.

Nice site. Good luck with the launch.

]]> By: Ivan Pope http://blog.newspaperclub.co.uk/2009/12/23/clackity-clackity-clack/comment-page-1/#comment-490 Ivan Pope Wed, 30 Dec 2009 23:19:28 +0000 http://blog.newspaperclub.co.uk/?p=250#comment-490 My dad was a newspaperman of the old school - Fleet Street (well, Shoe Lane actually) from 1947 to the early eighties. He worked on the Evening Standard mostly, also the Express, Mail, Paris Presse (how I came to be born in Paris, 1961). As kids we used to visit him at work and be taken down to see the compositors and the huge three story presses, the hot metal machines - the lot in a very old fashioned newspaper world where the papers were put together and printed in the same premises. He was Features Editor of the Standard and the Mail during his career. He loved the papers and the process, as did all his colleagues. He died on Dec 6th this year - we had a great turnout of the remains of a dying breed at his funeral. A few years ago I visited the Amberly Museum (http://www.amberleymuseum.co.uk/) including the Print Museum, which has a brilliant collection of newspaper machinery including hot metal machines and linotypes etc. They had an old flat bed press in the foyer with the 'last' page the Express made up on it - Charles and Diana's wedding day front page. I told my dad about this and he calmly said, Yes, that's my old press, I used to make up my pages on it. I suggest you contact and partner with the Print Museum at Amberly because they are great and will blow your socks off. My dad was a newspaperman of the old school – Fleet Street (well, Shoe Lane actually) from 1947 to the early eighties. He worked on the Evening Standard mostly, also the Express, Mail, Paris Presse (how I came to be born in Paris, 1961). As kids we used to visit him at work and be taken down to see the compositors and the huge three story presses, the hot metal machines – the lot in a very old fashioned newspaper world where the papers were put together and printed in the same premises.
He was Features Editor of the Standard and the Mail during his career. He loved the papers and the process, as did all his colleagues.
He died on Dec 6th this year – we had a great turnout of the remains of a dying breed at his funeral.
A few years ago I visited the Amberly Museum (http://www.amberleymuseum.co.uk/) including the Print Museum, which has a brilliant collection of newspaper machinery including hot metal machines and linotypes etc. They had an old flat bed press in the foyer with the ‘last’ page the Express made up on it – Charles and Diana’s wedding day front page. I told my dad about this and he calmly said, Yes, that’s my old press, I used to make up my pages on it.
I suggest you contact and partner with the Print Museum at Amberly because they are great and will blow your socks off.

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