Oita Godo Shimbun orders
two Mitsubishi 4x1 DIAMONDSPIRIT presses
Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Printing & Packaging Machinery announces its contract with Oita Godo Shimbun Inc for the purchase of two Mitsubishi 4x1 DIAMONDSPIRIT presses. The new presses are scheduled for delivery in 2015 and will be housed in the publisher’s new printing center in Oita, Kyushu. Founded in 1886 and through a consolidation in 1942 of two local newspapers, Hoshu Shimpo and Oita Shimbun, Oita Godo Shimbun has remained the only local newspaper published in Oita.
Oita Godo Shimbun currently prints 4,40,000 daily copies from one plant located in Oita that houses two newspaper presses manufactured by another press supplier. Both Mitsubishi 4x1 DIAMONDSPIRIT presses for Oita Godo Shimbun are rated at 80,000 cph with a web width of 1,626 mm (64 inch). Each will be configured with three 4/4 tower printing units, two 1/1 tower printing units, one 2:2 double rotary folder and five reelstands. The presses will be operated by the Mitsubishi press control system with automated features that include ink presetting with CtP interface, various press presets, automatic colour register control and other production-enhancing offerings.
In addition, the DIAMONDSPIRIT presses will be equipped with fully automatic rail-type webbing up system, which enables individual webbing up of two ribbons even through turner bars and bay windows up to RTF without manual intervention, and automatic dual web tension control, which reduces cutoff fluctuations by individually controlling web tension at the reelstand as well as the infeed. With this latest order, Mitsubishi further focuses on solution-targeted marketing, growing with customers in both domestic and overseas markets.
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Polaris Trykk goes for
maximum reliability with mRC-3D
Polaris Trykk Trondheim, one of the largest printing plants in Norway, reinforced its trust in Q.I. Press Controls. After the investments for register and colour control in 2005, 2011 and 2013 for their plants in Trondheim and Alesund, they now will be the first Norwegian printer to install the mRC-3D technology for colour registration and cut-off registration controls including sidelay on their new 96-page KBA Cortina press which will be installed in the fall of 2014.
“In our Trondheim facility we print approximately half of our total group production, which is about 46.5 million newspapers annually. Reliability is then of the utmost importance. With the positive operational and financial results achieved with Q.I. Press Controls solutions in two of our facilities, there was no doubt about having Q.I. Press Controls’ mRC-3D on this new KBApress”, says Trond Singstad, maintenance manager, Polaris Trykk Trondheim.
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The New York Times replaces top editor
The New York Times recently replaced its executive editor Jill Abramson by her deputy Dean Baque less than three years after the former took over one of the most dignified jobs in journalism. Dean had been managing editor of the paper and he is the first African-American to take up this position.
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WAN-IFRA’s fresh ideas
on newspaper advertising
The World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers (WAN-IFRA) has set a series of forums on fresh ideas needed to protect the essential role that advertisements play for news media. Hackathon will be held on June 07-08, 2014 prior to the World Advertising Forum organising concurrently with World Newspaper Congress and World Editors Forum on June 09-11, 2014 at Torino, Italy.
These days, newspaper advertising is in free fall in many markets, putting enormous pressure on the journalism funded by that advertising. In this perspective, WAN-IFRA believes the need of the hour will be some fresh advertising ideas to protect the role of advertisements for news media, which the association will be carried out through Hackathon at the World Advertising Forum, World Newspaper Congress and World Editors Forum to be held from June 07-11, 2014 in Torino, Italy. Stephen Fozard, director, WAN-IFRA Media Innovation Hub Project said journalism should not be allowed to die because of out-dated advertising models. “They need rethinking from innovative and creative angles,” he added.
The 66th World Newspaper Congress, 21st World Editors Forum and 24th World Advertising Forum are considered to be the most significant annual gathering of the world’s newspapers and news publishers. The events provide best case studies and presentations by global industry leaders on subjects of pressing concern to the news industry: new digital revenues, innovation; strategies in turbulent times; newsroom evolution; audience loyalty; advertising networks; multimedia operations and much more.
Get set for Hackathon
Hackathon will bring together advertisers and newspaper teams with designers, developers, art directors and others to create new concepts in newspaper advertising during an intensive weekend of brainstorming and prototype-building. According to Stephen, “Bringing a group of people together from different non-newspaper related creative disciplines, with a common goal of revitalising newspaper advertising, will bring inspiration and a serious creative boost to the participating newspaper teams.”
To be held at Scuola Holden, a writing school for storytelling and arts performance at Torino, Heckathon will stage the concept that web designers, art directors, event organisers, film makers and journalists can create something new in newspaper advertising like the way that coders and digital designers team up to produce prototypes of out-of-box, mind-blowing, creative or crazy results in 24 hours.
Key speakers
The World Advertising Forum is a relatively new addition to the Congress and Editors Forum. Originally a standalone event, it was added last year to create a one-stop event covering all aspects of the business and content of newspapers and news publishing. The forum themed on ‘New Voices, New Reality, New Energy’, will have a host of keynote speakers, namely, Tim Gentry, revenue director, Guardian News & Media; Abba Newbery, director, Advertising Strategy, News UK Commercial; Alexandra Salomon, senior director, International Interactive Advertising Bureau; Fabien Magalon, MD, La Place Media, France; Suzanne Raitt, VP-marketing and innovations, Newspaper Canada; Marco Bertozzi, executive managing director, EMEA VivaKi; and Kirk MacDonald, executive vice president-sales and sales development, Digital First Media.
As always, the events are accompanied by an array of social events and gala dinners designed to be the premier opportunity to meet colleagues from around the world. This year, the series of events are expected to attract more than 1,200 publishers, advertising directors, CEOs, MDs, chief editors and other senior news publishing executives.
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Heider Druck boosts contract printing
with more KBA colour capability
Koenig & Bauer (KBA) Colora in operation since 2006 at Joh Heider Verlag and its associate Heider Druck in Bergisch Gladbach, Germany will be extended by a four-high tower and a console in autumn this year. Together with a KBA Journal installed in 2002, the press line will be equipped for 4-over-4 printing of up to 64 pages in Berliner format. With this extension contract Joh Heider Verlag continues its longstanding partnership with KBA. Established in 1889, Joh Heider Verlag is managed by the fourth generation of the founding family and after starting out as a newspaper house has developed into a versatile publishing, printing and media enterprise.
Today its broad portfolio encompasses brochures, magazines, books, calendars and many other commercial products. In addition to web offset, an automatic five-colour Rapida 106 sheetfed offset press with coater was fired up at Heider Druck in May 2009. After the recent extension, the press will comprise two separate and couplable 32-page sections with four Pastostar RC reelstands and the KBA Patras M reel-logistics system, two Journal and two Colora printing towers, two centrally-located folders as well as four EAE consoles. High-volume products can be printed at speeds of up to 75,000 32-page copies per hour.
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KBA not affected by Heartbleed bug
Remote maintenance goes on safely!
Various media reports have warned about issues regarding encrypted communication via OpenSSL, the so-called ‘Heartbleed bug’. Remote maintenance on sheetfed and web offset presses as well as security presses from KBA is, however, not affected by this bug. KBA relies on encrypted connections via IPsec for its internet-based remote maintenance. This technology is free from the bug. Only the hardware’s configuration interface via an encrypted connection by means of HTTPS firmware versions 8.0.0 and 8.0.1 uses the vulnerable version of OpenSSL. KBA does not implement these firmware versions.
Furthermore, for security reasons the configuration interface is set by default that it is only accessible from the press network, hence from the internal interface. Innominate, the manufacturer of the hardware implemented by KBA, has issued a security advisory which provides more details on the Heartbleed bug and measures to remedy the problem.
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New MD & CEO at Kasturi and Sons
Kasturi and Sons, one of the big brands in the domain of newspaper publishing in India, has recently appointed Rajiv C Lochan as new MD and CEO of the group w.e.f. June 01, 2014. Earlier, Rajiv was partner with McKinley and Co.
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HT Media allowed to use IRS data
A big relief from the speculations, Bombay High Court recently allowed HT Media Ltd to use the data released by Indian Readership Survey (IRS) in January this year for purposes to market ad space. In February, some media groups had questioned the absurdity in the findings of IRS surveys.
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Vprint upgrades GOSS heatset
presses with Q.I. Press Controls’
automation solutions
Belgian printer Vprint, based in Mouscron and one of the largest family-owned companies in the direct mail industry in Europe, has signed for the upgrade of their three Goss M600 heatset presses with Q.I. Press Controls’ total automation solutions: mRC-3D, IDS and IQM. Vprint is an established name for more than 60 years in the European market for promotional materials of personalised direct mailing. Their three Goss M600 presses will be fitted with 6 mRC-3D cameras for colour register control including motorised bars, front to back control and anti-embossing and 6 IDS cameras for controlling colour including print defect detection.
“About three years ago we opted for an offline solution,” explains Thierry Ngoma, production manager, Vprint. “At that time it seemed to be a good investment, however, the quality demands have increased over the past years. As our three Goss M600 presses print from roll-to-roll and thus samples cannot be taken while printing, it requires more waste before having a good quality copy,” he adds. He continues, “One of our demands was to have a solution that would be employable for all productions as in some of our productions there is no space for colour bars. Q.I. Press Controls’ IDS has a markless mode in which it reads from the image. This fits our needs perfectly.”
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Pressline participates
in Print Pack Arabia 2014
Debut Print Pack Arabia 2014, organised by Expo Centre Sharjah in partnership with IPAMA from April 07-10, 2014 at Sharjah, witnessed the participations of a horde of Indian companies among which Pressline India Private Limited was one of the show stoppers at the premier exhibition. This company boasts of manufacturing a gamut of state-of-the-art web offset machines, incorporating highest level of engineering for the newspaper industry worldwide.
Pressline machines offer flexible and modular designs in tune with the expanding requirements of the newspapers, making them the best choice for the industry worldwide.
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First short-grain
64-page LITHOMAN coming to Germany
As its latest move, manroland web systems has taken another step towards a comprehensive, finely calibrated product range. The company will deliver the first short-grain 64-page LITHOMAN this year to Germany. Every printing company wants a press that perfectly suits to the needs to hold ground in the competitive print and media industry. The short-grain 64-page LITHOMAN achieves this aim and takes its place as one of the production heroes for commercial printing – alongside the market leading 96-page LITHOMAN (six installed presses) and the 160-page LITHOMAN, which was installed at Kraft-Schlötels in Wassenberg, Germany.
Currently twenty 48-page LITHOMAN units are producing short-grain format around the world. This expertise was transferred to the 64-page LITHOMAN, and the first press is coming to Germany and will be ready for production before 2014 is over. Josef Aumiller, sales manager, Germany at manroland web systems said, “For this project, the customer recognised that the 64-page LITHOMAN is the ideal press for their order structure.”
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Italian printer expanding eco-friendliness
with second GOSS Universal XL
Viterbo-based Union Printing will add another Universal XL press to its existing facilities located north of Rome. The decision to expand has come up as a result of the increasing demands for the company’s services and high-quality coldset print solution. Universal XL consists of a four-high tower, with 578 mm cut-off and 1700 mm web width, plus a folder equipped with quarter fold. “We have built on the success of our first Universal XL press installation,” says Roberto Pepponi, MD, Union Printing. “So, it was a natural next step for us to develop further with the technology and applications that have been proven for quality so well," he adds.
Founded in 1974, Union Printing is a family-owned company, dealing in commercial and semi-commercial printing using a range of high-end printing equipments. Despite challenging times in the market, Roberto has continued to build his business through an unconventional approach to providing a more environment-friendly and cost-effective print service. The original Universal XL installation at Union Printing resulted directly from Pepponi’s unique vision to harness the power of top-quality coldset printing for application to a traditionally heatset product type.
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Digital finishing: Focus of manroland
web systems at Inkjet Summit
Second edition of Inkjet Summit held from April 07-09, 2014 at Florida catered exclusively to digital inkjet users. The summit attended by 79 companies from four market segments (book, direct marketing, transaction/transpromo and general commercial printing) promoted the growth of digital inkjet printing. Now more than ever before, there is the need for highly-efficient finishing systems that can keep pace with the increasing speed of inkjet printing systems, and which in turn cater to rising print production demands. In this respect, manroland web systems’ Foldline and Formerline product lines are the answer to those seeking flexible, industrial-strength solutions for digital finishing.
During the Inkjet Summit, manroland web systems presented a case study based on a company called Rotolito Lombarda in Milan. It was presented to printers in the book industry and focused on the need for a finishing system to be efficient yet flexible. Book printers buy equipment to cope with peak capacity demands, and their equipment may often be underutilised in off-peak business periods.
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The New York Times
releases innovation report
Led by Arthur Gregg Sulzberger, a metro reporter and Arthur Sulzberger Jr of The New York Times recently released a report on newsroom innovation. Research for the report was conducted at the request of executive editor Jill Abramson and its aim was to extend the reach and impact of the newspaper and to make recommendations about where their digital landscape could be improved.
The report recommends that the newspaper focuses on attributes such as audience development, social engagement, page optimisation, user experience and content management systems.
The five recommendations include: i) Creating an audience development team; ii) Creating an analytics team; iii) Creating newsroom strategy team; iv) More collaboration with reader-focused departments on the business side of the newspaper; and v) Digital media professionals to assist with the digital transition.
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European Digital Media Awards presented
Honoured at the recent European Digital Media Awards in London on April 07-09, 2014 were some of the world’s most innovative news media companies, ranging from the giants like The Guardian and Verdens Gang (Norway’s second largest newspaper) to the smaller DOTYK (first tablet-only weekly in Czech Republic). Here’s a sneak review of the award event.
European Digital Media Awards, the annual prizes from WAN-IFRA, recognise outstanding works by European publishers in digital advertising, data visualisation, tablet publishing, mobile service, news websites, reader engagement, online video and outstanding new projects. About the precious awards conferred on some of the best European news media majors, Vincent Peyrègne, CEO of WAN-IFRA conveyed, “Nothing changes faster than digital media, and these awards reflect the diversity of innovative approaches that news media are adopting in the face of disruption.” He appreciated that the brilliance and appeal of these winning projects is inspiring for the entire industry.
WAN-IFRA’s Digital Media conferences have become a referent in the digital publishing industry, with more than 1,000 delegates from around the globe attending the Digital Media Europe (DME), Digital Media Asia (DMA), Digital Media India (DMI) and Digital Media Latino America editions last year.
European Digital Media Awards attracted 107 entries from 48 European publishing houses in 21 countries this year and the winners under their respective categories are:
Best Data Visualisation Project
1st place: DB Medialab (Dagbladet) – Null CTRL/Zero CTRL, Norway.
Special mention: Verdens Gang – ‘The fairytale of the Soria Moria government’, Norway
Best Digital Advertising Campaign
1st place: Anzeigen & Marketing Kleine Zeitung – General Election, Austria
Special mention: Agora – Trasy Magiczne, Poland
Best in Tablet Publishing
1st place: Tablet Media – ‘DOTYK, the first tablet-only weekly’, Czech Republic
Special mention: Verdens Gang – ‘VG+’, Norway
Best Mobile Service
1st place: Omni – ‘Omni’, Sweden
Special mention: Russmedia Digital – ‘VOL.AT Mobile Service Strategy’, Austria
Best News Website
1st place: Guardian News & Media - The Guardian, UK
Special mention: Telekurier Online Medien - KURIER Website, Austria
Best Outstanding New Project
1st place: Verdens Gang - godt.no, Norway
Special mention: Times Newspapers - The Times, UK
Best Reader Engagement
1st place: Verdens Gang - World Chess Championship 2013, Norway
Special mention: Aftenposten - What has the wealth done with us?, Norway
Best Use of Online Video
1st place: BBC News - How to put a human on Mars?, UK
Special mention: Anzeigen & Marketing Kleine Zeitung – General Election, Austria
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World Young Reader
Prize breaks new ground
This year, World Young Reader Prize, which annually honours news publishers engaging in capturing young readers, has launched five new categories to reflect the changing media habits and needs of younger generations evolving media environment and new players who can help in the effort. Larry Kilman, secretary general, WAN-IFRA said, “These prizes make known the excellent but often hidden work that news publishers are doing to assure a new audience of literate, civic minded citizens who care about and can contribute to excellent journalism.”
Four new categories that have been added for the World Young Reader Prize 2014 include: ‘Digital First’ for news publisher that most creatively engages the young through mobile telephones, tablets and other digital devices. This category is supported by CCI Europe. ‘Going Green’ supported by Germany’s GreenTEC Campus is for projects that give the young guidance and hope for improving the environment. ‘Playing with News’, supported by Denmark’s Capital of Children, is for inventive activities that teach 10 to 14 years old readers about the news by doing the news. And ‘A Great Help’ for a win-win partnership with a financial supporter that helps sustain excellence in news publisher engagement and service of youth. July 15 is last date for entries.
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Mondi’s high-speed inkjet portfolio
2.0 enhanced
The international paper and packaging group Mondi has recently introduced its new high-speed inkjet portfolio 2.0 that features a larger colour gamut, increased opacity and new grammages of 60, 70 and 230 g/sq m. With its high-speed inkjet (HSI) portfolio 2.0 the company has further developed and optimised the paper manufacturing, which in turn brings a number of benefits to printers and end-users. The larger colour gamut in critical colour areas, such as reds, compensates the magenta weakness of current high-speed inkjet systems and thereby enables improved accuracy when it comes to logos or reproduction of images.
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Punjab Kesari Group flags off 366th
truck of relief materials to J&K villages
Vijay Kumar Chopra, CMD and editor-in-chief of Punjab Kesari Group recently flagged off the 366th truck of relief materials sent by Lala Jagat Narayan Nishkam Seva Society and Shri Gyan Sthal Mandir Sabha to the migrants camping in the border villages of Khojki Chakk, Simbal, Kulian, Sanghol, Kotli Jawahar and Dhinda in J&K. Also present at the philanthropic occasion in Ludhiana included Jagdish Bajaj, Hardial Singh Aman, Ramesh Gumbar, Joginder Kapur, Ashok Goyal, and Lion JB Singh Chaudhary.
The relief materials were distributed to the migrants in the border villages in presence of commandant Ramesh Kumar and coy commander Ankit Tomar of BSF, Paramjit Singh, sarpanch Ramesh Pal, Khojki Chakk, Parveen Kumar, Mamta Devi, Kotril Jawahar, Balwant Singh Dhinda, Hans Raj, among others.
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Spain to introduce new law
against news aggregators
New legislation is set to be introduced in Spain to prevent news aggregators from reproducing other’s content without payment. New or not, news aggregation today is provoking fierce debate in media circles. Some argue that it has a ‘disruptive and positive’ influence with advantages for ‘both curator and creator.’
Irene Lanzaco of Association of Spanish Newspaper Publishers remarked that news aggregators have created ‘an unbalanced situation between publishers and tech companies’ and have the potential to ‘weaken the trademark of newspapers.’ She is hoping to pass legislation in Spain that will require all aggregator sites to pay compensation to publishers whose materials they copy.
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Two newspapers from US win Pulitzer Prizes
The Guardian US and The Washington Post won Gold Medal for Public Service Honouring excellence in journalism and art since 1917, the 2014 Pulitzer Prizes were budging with the entries in different categories in journalism and art from all over the world. This year there were 14 journalism categories and 1,132 entries were submitted (51 more than last year), among them two news organisations won Gold Medal for Public Service – The Guardian US and The Washington Post among the winners representing 12 organisations. This year, The Guardian US and the Center for Public Integrity won their first Pulitzer Prizes. Substantial online and multimedia content was submitted, most of it from newspapers.
