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Monday, October 8, 2007
Quality Puts The Gloss On ‘Shiny’
Day-side press operator Denis Seibert makes an adjustment on a page at the computerized press console
One of the first signs the Palm Beach Daily News is different from other newspapers is our bright, white stock. Readers recognize it as the source of our well-known moniker — and registered trademark — The Shiny Sheet.
For much of the first half of our 110-year history, the newspaper was printed on a glossy book stock. But as the paper grew, so did the price of the slick stock and the challenges of printing a newspaper on it.
Today’s Shiny Sheet stock is “66% heavier and thicker” than regular newsprint, according to Bob Balfe, pictured at right, our vice president of production. And at over $1,000 a ton, it costs about 40% more than traditional newsprint. (Yesterday, we announced the Sunday paper will now cost $1 on newsstands, up from 75 cents — our first single-copy price increase in six years — due in large part to rising newsprint costs.)
Printing on heavier newsprint can be challenging. Waste — copies that don’t leave the production facility — can run as high as 25% in an industry where 2.5% is more the norm. “This is mostly due to the quantity. (The Shiny Sheet) has a short (press) run. We may have to run 7,000 or 8,000 to get 5,500 good copies,” Bob says.
On the plus side: “It doesn’t tear or break, and it looks great so the crew likes to print it and show it off,” he says.
We are so grateful to the entire production team for all they do to keep our ads and editorial matter looking sharp everyday. The team’s work has been honored many times in print quality contests sponsored by the Southern Newspaper Publishers Association and the Inland Press Association.
The Palm Beach Daily News actually is now banned from one contest because we’re too hard to beat. Bob recalls the words “unfair competition” being used. Well, we had a good run — no pun intended! And there’s a wall full of awards in our production facility to show for it.
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And The Prize Goes To…
Congratulations to Debbie Massey for her very clever and fun description of all things Palm Beach:
Aaahhhh…The ABC’s of Palm Beach
Affluence, The Breakers, Charity Balls, Diamonds, Entertainment, The Flagler Museum, Glamour Glamour, Glamour, High-End Fashions, Incredible Restaurants, Private Jets, The Kravis Center, Lake Okeechobee, Mar-A-Lago, Neiman Marcus, Oceanfront Mansions, Palm Trees, Polo and Parties, Quintessential Living, Ritzy Resorts and Rolls-Royces, Socialites, Shopping and, of course, The Shiny Sheet, THE Season (is there another?), Unrivaled Beauty, Valet Parking, Worth Avenue, EX-cellent Cuisine, Yachts, and a Zest for life like no other.
Debbie, you win the book and a bundle of Shiny Sheet goodies, which are on their way to you as I blog. Enjoy, and thanks!
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