If you have noticed that your copy of The Commercial Dispatch has looked crisper and cleaner in the last week, you are onto something.
The Dispatch has recently completed a round of press upgrades with $15,000 in new equipment.
Beneath The Dispatch offices at 516 Main St., the same press has produced our newspaper since the 1960s. It’s a reliable piece of machinery, but like any old, reliable tool, it needs upgrades.
The Dispatch brought in a consultant to advise the newspaper on how to produce the clearest, cleanest newspaper possible, general manager Peter Imes said. Before the consultant advised new equipment, he suggested changes to make the press operators better equipped to put out a quality newspaper. He suggested to Imes two things he suggests to every paper: improve lighting and have the press operators’ eyes checked.
The Dispatch also installed a new in-feeder on its press. The in-feeder helps keep the color registration of the newspaper in place, making sure each page of the paper comes out as intended.
The press also received new brakes. The brakes sit on the edge of 550 pound recycled paper rolls and help maintain constant pressure on the paper as it goes through the press, according to Dispatch circulation and production manager Mike Floyd.
Floyd said because the newspaper is printed on recycled paper, the fibers of which have been broken down repeatedly, keeping consistent pressure allows the image to imprint more clearly.
The Dispatch also began using new press plates, the surfaces upon which the content of each page is placed and pressed on to recycled paper as it zooms through the press.
The Dispatch bought its newest plates from Fujifilms. These plates are more environmentally friendly and only require one soap-like chemical to clean them, as opposed to the three chemicals needed to clean the old plates.
Dispatch press operators generally arrive for work at 6 a.m. and leave around 2 p.m. It’s a specialized trade.
Imes said many presses now operate on newer technology, but The Dispatch maintains a traditional style, making it difficult to find craftsmen who can operate the press well.
“This is a craftsman’s trade,” Floyd said. “They learn for years and years to get it down. You’re always on a learning curve, because it’s always changing.”
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