New presses start to print Journal this week
You will notice a new look to your newspaper some time in the coming week when the Albuquerque Journal begins printing on a new press that dwarfs its retiring 30-year-old press in size, capacity, efficiency and quality.
For Journal readers, that will mean a more compact and manageable paper immediately, as well as more colorful presentation in the near future as the new press ramps up to full capacity.
The Journal’s installation of the new press, an investment of more than $3 million, demonstrates a long-term commitment by the newspaper to continue its 100-year plus tradition of print — even as the Journal continues to invest in its digital offerings, said publisher William
P. Lang.
“It’s a very exciting time for us,” he said. “We feel our role in New Mexico is important and, along with an evolving ABQjournal.com, this is an important step in continuing to strengthen that role.”
The new size of the newspaper aligns with most newspapers across the country. One reason for the change has been the increased difficulty in finding customsized paper that would fit the retiring press units.
The new units will increase the company’s capacity to print in color.
“We’re excited about the additional color capacity for graphics and presentation,” said Journal editor Kent Walz. “We think the format and size of the paper are definitely more reader-friendly”
Installation of the first phase of the massive new press has taken a year and half. It required raising the ceiling to accommodate the 39-foot-tall printing towers and installation of new wiring due to an almost doubling of electricity usage.
A major challenge has been continuing to publish the Journal and other publications while installing the new press. Workers removed one old press, doubling up the work on the other, to make room for the first phase of the new press.
It took more than 100 semitruck loads to get all of the equipment here from Texas, said Rod Arnold, vice president of production.
The press system is twice the size of any other press in the state and only the second in the world with certain high-tech electronic controls.
“The automation is really cool,” Arnold said. “The entire press utilizes custommade digital controls.”
All told, the new press includes seven massive towers, each weighing about 180,000 pounds. Including printing folders and other equipment, the system’s total approximate weight is 2.6 million pounds, or about 1,300 tons.
The Journal also prints the Wall Street Journal and USA Today for the Southwest region, along with its four affiliated newspapers — the Rio Rancho Observer, El Defensor Chieftain of Socorro, the Valencia County News-Bulletin and the MountainView Telegraph — as well as other commercial products.