The Atlanta Journal-Constitution is racing headlong into computer-to-plate, purchasing three high-speed platesetters from Kodak.

The Journal-Constitution is the first newspaper to buy the 300-plate-per-hour Generation News thermal machines, which were introduced at this year’s Nexpo. The Los Angeles Times, meantime, is beta testing the platesetter at its downtown plant (see Newspapers & Technology, May 2008).



Photo: The Atlanta Journal-Consitution
Members of The AJC’s staff visited Kodak’s plate manufacturing facility in Windsor, Colo., last month. Left to right, Don Alger, Kodak’s solution sales manager, newspapers; Stuart Foster, platemaking manager for The AJC; Mike Hendrix, project manager for The AJC; Richard Hawes, director of operations for The AJC; and Mike Bonham of Kodak’s sales department.
 

The AJC (daily, 326,907; Sunday, 497,149) will install its first Generation News line at its Gwinnett County production facility in August and the second and third units in September, according to Richard Hawes, director of operations. The paper is in the midst of shifting all of its production to Gwinnett County and closing the doors to its existing downtown facility.

 

Updates demand better platemaking

The move to CTP, Hawes said, was fueled in part by the paper’s recent press upgrade. The AJC is adding new controls from ABB and color towers from TKS (USA) to its four TKS presses, which date back to the mid-1980s (see Newspapers & Technology, May 2007).

“Because we’re adding paging and color capacity we needed better platemaking,” Hawes said.

The three platesetters will replace imagesetters from Western Lithotech.

Hawes said AJC execs began interviewing CTP manufacturers last summer and narrowed the list down to two before choosing Kodak.

“We sent out information requests and invited companies to come and meet with us,” Hawes said. “As a follow-up, we talked to newspaper users of each” vendor.

Those interviews resulted in a detailed request for bids, which The AJC sent out last fall.

“That defined all of our specs and requirements and then those vendors did presentations and proposals and we then talked to more newspaper users,” Hawes said.

“Early on we formed a broad team of people from different areas of production, IT, maintenance and prepress,” Hawes said. “It was a committee that sat through everything and came to a collective decision.”

Other Cox Newspapers properties also use Kodak CTP, and Hawes said the Dayton (Ohio) Daily News, a paper he said he believes exemplifies a successful automated platemaking operation, provided valuable insight.

Ultimately, Hawes said managers opted for Kodak’s thermal foundation over violet because they believed thermal yielded more advantages.

“There are no safe lights and it’s more environmentally friendly — we can put the chemicals down the drain and consumables are a little less expensive,” Hawes said.

The Generation News’ output speed was another factor, as was the system’s plate storage capacity — up to 4,800 at a time.

“One of the things we learned is that if you properly integrate platemaking and plate handling equipment you can automate the platemaking operation,” Hawes said. “That stressed the importance of having an adequate plate supply.”

No reservations

Hawes said The AJC had some initial reservations about adopting just-released technology, but those concerns were alleviated after seeing the unit in operation during trips to Kodak’s platesetter manufacturing facility in Vancouver, B.C., and platemaking operations in Windsor, Colo., last month.

“It’s a new machine, but it still has a lot of components of the (Trendsetter News) models,” he said.

Like Kodak’s flagship Trendsetter News, the Generation News is based on the vendor’s Squarespot technology. Physical architecture is among the main differences of the Generation News, including the platesetter’s built-in plate loading feature.

The AJC tapped Nela to provide plate-handling equipment, and at press time, had not yet made its final selection of a plate supplier.

All of the daily’s workflow will be managed through the paper’s Agfa Arkitex software, Hawes said.

Going green in Fla.

The weekly Lake Worth (Fla.) Herald, meantime, transitioned to thermal CTP, opting for a Trendsetter News 50 along with Kodak’s Prinergy Evo, Staccato and Preps apps, and Kodak’s non-process plates in a bid to reduce its environmental impact.

Lower operating costs were a major factor in the decision, according to President and Publisher Mark Easton.

“We don’t have to run an oven or processor so there was a major electricity savings,” Easton said.

Working with Kodak became even more appealing, Easton said, when he began researching the vendor’s PF-N non-process plate technology.

“I have regular visits from the EPA and now I don’t have that chemistry to worry about,” Easton said.

The PF-N plate requires no gumming and no rinse solution.

“It goes into the Trendsetter dry, it comes out dry and it’s never touched because it’s processed by fountain solution and ink on the press,” Easton explained. “Quality is there — it’s sharp, crisp and clean and I don’t have to make adjustments to fountain solutions.”

The Herald’s in-house community pubs include the Coastal Observer, Greenacres Observer and Outdoor Florida, and the publisher prints a number of regional publications as part of its commercial operations.

Transitioning to CTP and stochastic screening will enable the Herald to pick up additional commercial work, Easton said.

The biggest learning curve for the Herald’s 21 employees, according to Easton, was the Prinergy app.

“It was a lot different because we didn’t have a workflow before, so we dove into everything all at once,” he said. “After a couple days of training we had it down.”