Investor’s Business Daily wrapped up a project it began last December to improve proofing capabilities at its 12 U.S. print sites.

IBD is using Newscolor LLC’s Newscolor proofing software to streamline, simplify and improve its proofing process, said Joe Posey, IBD’s national production manager. Prior to deploying Newscolor, IBD generated all of its proofs at its Los Angeles hub before physically shipping them to its regional print sites.

“We’d been looking for a way to not only improve our proofs, but to distribute them more efficiently,” Posey said. Many of IBD’s print sites were using Newscolor’s former proofing app, SeeColor so IBD had been exploring the possibility of using that software. But it wasn’t until 2006, when IBD relocated three print sites, that the prospect of using Newscolor group wide became more viable.

Increased coverage

“When IBD relocated those three sites the Seecolor coverage increased and it then became practical for us to consider this more seriously,” said Chris von Lunen, national technical operations manager for IBD. “After evaluating several proofing options Newscolor was the obvious choice due to their track record in the industry and their willingness and ability to allow us to utilize existing software.”

In the first phase of the project, IBD licensed Newscolor at the Los Angeles hub and then began installing the latest version of Newscolor (v 4.3) at additional sites in Texas, Illinois, Ohio, Georgia, Florida, Colorado, Virginia, and Washington state. Following the rollout of the software in Los Angeles, IBD upgraded and piggybacked onto the existing Seecolor apps at the additional sites.

A proposed phase two of the project would allow IBD to install Newscolor at two remaining print sites in northern California and Iowa, which do not currently have Seecolor installed. 

“The first phase was just to get the 10 sites up and running and then come back and review a potential second phase for the other two,” von Lunen said.

For the time being, IBD will continue to ship proofs from Los Angeles to the northern California and Iowa plants.

	"If CTP systems are properly maintained, printers are routinely calibrated and ink density is controlled on press, we are consistently able to print a paper to a known specification." — Chris von Lunen National Technical Operations Manager, IBD
	"We have found our print edition is now more consistent across all markets." — Joe Posey National Production Manager, IBD

The publisher’s myriad print sites and disparate printing infrastructures at each facility made the project technologically challenging, von Lunen said.

“At the onset of the project we had two big questions for Newscolor — one was could we piggyback their existing software that was out there using existing printers, different inks and different papers and still be able to produce virtually identical proofs,” von Lunen said. “Whereas other companies might be able to control those consumables — they might supply the paper, the printer, the ink — we didn’t have that option.”

Because of that, IBD had to work within the confines of its print sites’ existing equipment and consumables.

“It wasn’t realistic for us to ask them to switch out to a standardized paper or keep track of inks or things like that, so we had to work with what they had,” von Lunen said.

Another big question given those variables was whether or not Newscolor could create a color match that would allow IBD to produce virtually identical proofs that all of the print sites would be able to match.

After running a press test at each site, Posey and von Lunen said Newscolor was in fact able to create a color match for IBD that accurately represents what all sites can print. 

“The Newscolor proofs are an excellent representation of what the presses at each site can print,” Posey said, adding that IBD and Newscolor created a standard at each print site to ensure consistency nationwide.

Calibration key

Routine calibration of proofing devices at each site is key to generating accurate proofs, according to Posey.

“As long as each site calibrates each week (using Newscolor’s  printer linearization software) the proofs are virtually identical from site to site, and because the proofs are easily matchable, we have found our print edition is now more consistent across all markets,” he said.

Meantime, each individual site has reaped the benefit of upgrading from aging Seecolor apps to the latest version of Newscolor.

“We feel it worked out well for everyone,” von Lunen said.

After each site was upgraded, an IBD queue was created using Newscolor’s ColorMatch app. All IBD files move automatically through the IBD queue.

The proofing upgrade project is part of IBD’s initiative to improve overall quality and gain better control of the processes in its print editions. In addition to more consistent results, IBD realized significant cost saving by eliminating the need to ship proofs to 12 locations.

“All of our processes are based on a known specification and the conversion to Newscolor proofing was one process that needed to be improved,” von Lunen said. “If CTP systems are properly maintained, printers are routinely calibrated and ink density is controlled on press, we are consistently able to print a paper to a known specification.”

Posey and von Lunen said they’ve been pleased with Newscolor’s ability to deliver on the publisher’s demands and that IBD plans to look at some of the additional products and features Newscolor offers that might help the publisher further enhance its print edition.

“We intend to explore those possibilities,” von Lunen said.