In a dramatic bid to shave newsprint costs, The Cincinnati Enquirer is considering a major shortening in its "cutoff," to about 15 inches, and further narrowing its web width. The daily has already printed prototypes and conducted focus groups to gauge reader acceptance, trade publication Newspapers & Technology says in a new report.Under the switch, the Enquirer would shrink to approximately 15 inches by 10.5 inches from a 22.75-inch by 11-inch broadsheet format. Sectioning would remain the same, the trade journal says. It cited the Enquirer's vice president of operations, Dave Preisser, who spoke last week to the Great Lakes/Midstates Newspaper Production Conference.
That sounds like a Berliner format, rather than a traditional tabloid. Does anyone else know the difference?
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[Today's front page, Newseum]
Looks like the Hawaii paper is doing the same thing and printing in the afternoon.
ReplyDeletewho's press are they going to print on? This isn't a quick change they can make over a weekend.
ReplyDeleteIs there a commercial shop nearby?
Which Gannett paper has a berliner press?
The Berliner press is a broadsheet type press that produces a tabloid size paper. I believe it is named so because the first one was installed by Man Roland in a newspaper in Berline. Basically you get a tabloid sized paper that has sections. It real is a miniturized broadsheet.
ReplyDeleteLafayette Ind has the only Berliner I know of in Gannett. But I doubt that they have enough press (printing couples) to print the Enquirer in one pass. Can you say earlier deadlines and preruns. The other option is conversion of presses in Vine Street to the smaller cutoff and web width. That would take some doing but it could be done without impacting production as Cinncy has way to much press capacity as a result of the elimination of the PM partner in the JOA, reduced circulation, sections and page count.
I can shed a little light. As the News&Tech story stated, The Enquirer is evaluating proposals from two firms--Pressline Services Inc. and Goss International--both of which offer press modification services that would permit the production of the new format on existing presses. Essentially, the vendors engineer the presses' cylinders to permit the printing of three, rather than two, sheets in a single revolution. That effectively reduces the height of the page by 33 percent. It also requires some modifications to the presses' folders as well as to platemaking equipment and postpress equipment packaging the reformatted newspaper. While retrofitting the presses to the shorter cutoff does take time, Cincy is only printing on two of the four presses it currently owns, thus giving crews more than enough time to finish the project without affecting day-to-day operation. This format does differ from Berliner, which measures approximately 18.5 inches high (taller than a tabloid). But newspapers do not have to buy a new press to produce papers with the 15-inch, or "compact broadsheet" cutoff. To go Berliner, a new press is required. Currently, only two U.S. papers are printed Berliner: the Journal & Courier in Lafayette, Ind., and the Reading (Pa.) Eagle. The Times in Shreveport, La., is also supposed to go Berliner in 2010 after installation of a reconditioned press. Both Berliner and the "compact broadsheet" approach allows newspapers to retain sections, an important benefit to readers and advertisers.
ReplyDeleteGood luck keeping current full-page revenue from advertisers...get more greedy with rates and you'll open the door to competition.
ReplyDelete2:31
ReplyDeletethank you
This doean't make any sense. I don't see Gannett making any investment in their printed products. I agree with 1:23. Gannett is looking at closing the press and outsourcing the printing.
ReplyDelete@1:40 p.m.: Vine Street? Man, you are an old-timer.
ReplyDelete(sigh) As am I.
Well said, Tony.
ReplyDeleteThat is smaller than the size of the Berliner in Lafayette (also a Gannett property, and the first N. American paper to switch to the format, but it's too far away to be printing Cincy's papers). The Journal & Courier is about 11 inches by 18.5 inches today. When it first switched in 2006, it was wider, but earlier this year they shaved newsprint costs (and column inches) by getting skinnier.
ReplyDeleteLafayette may be too far away to print the Enquirer, but Buchanan had no problem firing 30 plus people a few years ago and moving the printing of 27 Community Press weekly newspapers there.
ReplyDeleteInvesting in Cincinnati's plant to shrink the size for the Enquirer and bring that work back makes sense, but Buchanan seems more intent on sending every bit of work out of Cinci.
So much for leading the way when it's safer for her and other Gannett lifers to follow whatever they are told.
1:40 here again, Opps I meant Western Avenue. DP will never forgive me.
ReplyDeleteThis guy gives a pretty good visual comparison to the current Enquirer size vs. Berliner vs. proposed size.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.visualeditors.com/apple/2009/04/cincinnati-enquirer-reportedly-considering-odd-format-size/
Great link. Sort of really drives home the revenue and content questions even more...that Gannett will seek to keep as much of it as it can of the former and cut as much at they can un-noticeably away with the latter.
ReplyDelete