The Anderson (S.C.) Independent-Mail in April debuted a new format that transformed the former broadsheet to a size slightly larger than a tab but smaller than a Berliner.

The result, a paper 15.5 inches high and 11.5 inches wide, is made possible by running a 31-inch wide web on the Independent-Mail’s Goss International Corp. 10-unit singlewide Urbanite press and then folding it in half, said Jim Lasley, vice president of operations. The daily formerly measured 21.75 inches high by 11.5 inches wide.

“The rationale in making the conversion was reducing newsprint,” he said, adding that the Independent-Mail hopes to realize as much as $400,000 in savings from making the move. “We looked at this switch not from a marketing standpoint but from a production standpoint, and everything worked.”

 

The modification also boosted color placement, allowing the Independent-Mail to produce color throughout its 32-page press run.

A pull-out sports section lets readers separate the section from the rest of the paper.

Keith Dobbins, production manager, said managers’ interest in adopting the new format was tempered by concerns about registration and postpress.






The reformatted Anderson Independent-Mail made
its debut on Earth Day. The newspaper expects to
reduce its annual newsprint bill by more than $400,000
from the move.
 

Worried about spread

“We were worried about web growth and how we could keep the paper in registration,” he said, adding that press operators faced significant spread issues in the past whenever they ran wider webs.

The solution came in the form of Kodak’s Prinergy Evo software, which the Independent-Mail uses as part of its computer-to-plate management. The app includes a module specifically engineered to compensate for web growth as it travels through the press.

Dobbins said the Independent-Mail will further bolster the press’ registration capabilities by installing web bullets under each lead to improve tension.

To make sure its Muller Martini Mailroom Systems Inc. SLS 1000 inserter could accommodate the new size, crews modified the system’s vacuum system and made other alterations to pockets and other peripherals, Lasley said.

“This has made my life a lot easier,” Dobbins said about the paper’s new format. “Nothing is hanging out when it’s inserted; the paper looks better and has better registration. It’s beautiful.”