Salem Publishing Co.’s New Press Gives More Features
From the 1994 editions of the New Castle Record
This year we didn’t have to go outside of our own building to see progress. A new press was delivered to the Salem Publishing Co. at the beginning of July, and this marks the first progress edition of The New Castle Record printed on it.
The press is a Goss Community. It has the capability of printing up to 16 pages of newspaper-sized sheets at once. A tabloid can be printed up to 32 pages at once.
The feature which makes it most attractive is the ability to use color without losing much production capacity.
The press will replace an old press, which has been used since 1960. It’s the only press that owners Ray and Jeanne Robinson have had in Salem. The Vanguard made the move to the present building from the office located downtown more than 29 years ago.
The old press could only print eight pages at a time, and if color was used, the capacity dropped to four pages.
With the Goss, four pages of printing capacity are lost for each color used but dropping from 16 to 12 should not be a problem very often. If it happens, the papers section will be inserted as they have been in the past.
The new press is nearly twice as long as the one it replaces. When Robinson decided the best way to expand the business would be to invest in a new press, he knew he would need an addition to the building, located on West Main Street. In the summer of 1992, a 2,400 square foot addition was built to house the press and store newsprint. That addition was used primarily for storage until the press arrived on July 1.
How the new press will ultimately affect the production of the paper remains to be seen. There is now the capability of printing full-color pictures, but it is an expensive process which will not likely be used very often.
Spot color-the use of one color to highlight a feature, nameplate or advertisement-will be the most notable change for the readers looking at the aesthetic of the printed page.
Like always, the number of pages is determined by the amount of advertising. The more advertising, the more pages. The opposite is also true. Ideally, a newspaper is half advertising, half editorial copy-news, opinion, contributed items and sports.
The number of pages is one of the first decisions made about each edition. After the number of inches of advertising is determined, the number of pages which approximates twice that amount of space, is determined as the ideal for the newspaper. Of course, only an even number of pages can be printed.
One criticism which we sometimes hear is about the number of ads is that they are crowding out news. In fact, ads make room for news by requiring more pages.
That why there is occasionally an extra section in the paper. The Progress edition is designed to show the improvements business in Craig County has made, but it is funded by the advertisers you see in that section. They are the ones who have kept the area economy alive and well. They are the reason we can print special sections and have a new press.
-Prepared By Lisa King
