Interns visit the printing factory at Caxton Local Media
Every newspaper has its masthead color, and if the gatekeeper receives a newspaper layout with a different masthead color, he will not proceed with it.
A newspaper is a vital form of communication between journalists and the community.
Newspapers serve to inform residents about events and news happening right around them.
With that being said, advertisements are also an important part of any newspaper. The relationship between advertisements and the newspaper is reciprocity.
Advertisers use newspapers to attract customers. Newspaper advertising helps fund the newspaper and its various processes.
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Caxton & CTP Publishers and Printers held a factory tour at its Industria premises on April 10 for the 2024 Caxton interns.
The tour, led by training manager Riaan Kruger, aimed to educate prospective journalists about the publication process for newspapers.
Once newsrooms have structured their newspaper, including their articles and advertisements, they forward the complete newspaper to the pre-press.
Pre-press is where all newspaper layouts are sent for final checking, and the gatekeeper receives the newspaper layouts.
The gatekeeper checks to ensure that the newspaper layout is free of errors or unusual features page by page.
Every newspaper has its masthead color, and if the gatekeeper receives a newspaper layout with a different masthead color, he will not proceed with it.
Instead, he inquires whether a mistake was made or changed intentionally.
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Just over 20 years ago, the newspaper production process was not as automated as it is today.
There were people who did the work that machines do now, but as technology improved, the automation process has made production easier.
Printing plates are a vital part of the newspaper publishing process.
The plate is a printing surface made from metal. Using the printing plates, ink is transferred to paper in the same way as a rubber stamp works.
Yellow, low UV lights are used during the process so as not to damage the plates.
The next step in the production of a newspaper is the inclusion of written text.
Articles are placed on to the plate using a rubber blanket.
The written text is reversed and unreadable, but when it is placed on the paper, it is printed correctly.
The plate then goes to an automated punch and bend machine, where it is checked for the right colors for pictures and the right color of ink.
The balance between water and ink must be perfect to ensure color correctness for print.
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If the water content is high, the print will wash out the color of the images.
The same happens when the ink balance is too high, except the result would be that the images are printed incorrectly.
The advertiser’s specifics and features must be taken into consideration so that their advertisements appear correctly.
All newspapers are published using the CMYK method.
CMYK is a color model used in printing. It stands for Cyan, Magenta, Yellow and Key (black).
Key, or black, is used for the written text on the paper.
The colours form part of a register, and all four must be registered for the newspaper to have the correct colour balance for pictures and written text.
The CMYK colours for each page must be equal to 100% before printing can commence.
The paper rolls used for newspaper printing are called skateboards and are essentially large rolls of paper.
The rolls arrive at the printing presses sealed to avoid dirt and damage.
As the reel used for printing becomes smaller, an automated arm on the machine opens, and a new reel is pasted on the smaller reel without stopping the printing process. The next step is for the newspaper to be taken to the folder.
The paper is folded in the middle, and no sides overlap.
All the newspapers then go to the mail room.
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In the mail room, several departments ensure that newspapers are sorted according to the names of different publications and page numbers.
Inserts are placed in the paper to complete the printing process.
Once printing is completed the newspapers are separated into bundles and covered with plastic.
The plastic is shrunk onto the bundle using a specialised oven, and the newspapers are set aside, ready for delivery.
The newspapers are then picked up according to their delivery schedule and sent out to various media houses.
The printing deadlines are strict and any delay in the process means a delay in getting newspapers to their communities.
Once at the media houses, the newspapers are sent out for delivery to the community.
