And you wondered why US newspapers are struggling? America’s Hearst Corporation is ‘backing print’ with an order for KBA’s new Commander CL newspaper press to replace the 40-year-old letterpress plant which has been printing its titles in the New York state capital of Albany.

The four tower, two folder press will come on stream in the first quarter of 2013 at an upgraded plant in the city, and will print the ‘Times Union’, the leading newspaper in the state’s capital region in a Berliner format. The offset installation from the world’s oldest and second-largest press manufacturer replaces a letterpress machine installed in 1970.

George R Hearst III, publisher of the ‘Times Union’ says that for readers, the move will be like going “from analogue to high-definition”.

Hearst’s newspaper division has more than 4700 employees and publishes 15 daily and 37 weekly titles, including the ‘Houston Chronicle’, ‘San Francisco Chronicle’, ‘San Antonio Express-News’ and ‘Albany Times Union’. The group also has digital marketing and directories businesses, and a magazine business with hundreds of magazine titles worldwide, among them ‘Good Housekeeping’, ‘Cosmopolitan’, ‘Elle’ and the ‘Oprah Magazine’. There are also 29 TV stations and several leading cable networks.

The winner of numerous regional and national awards for its print and online editions, the ‘Times Union’ has repeatedly been voted New York’s “Newspaper of Distinction” by the state’s editors’ association.

The 150-year-old newspaper also publishes several niche magazines and hosts major regional events.

Now it will have colour capability on every page: The company says the investment affirms its commitment to a printed newspaper while invest in digital technologies at the same time.

“Our photography and graphics will be more lively and our type will be more readable,” says Hearst. “For advertisers, this advance means we’ll be able to offer great product flexibility. Not only will we be able to publish colour advertising on every page of the newspaper, but we’ll also be able to accommodate multiple-format products – including sizes ranging from traditional broadsheet to tabloid, gatefold and variable-sized specialty products.”

The new press will consist of two lines with a 470 mm cut-off and be capable of up to 80,000 32-page or 40,000 64pp broadsheet copies an hour. One of the two KBA KF 3 folders will be engineered for multiple web widths. Automation includes roller locks, ink pumping, washing systems and colour-register control, with three KBA ErgoTronic consoles networked with job scheduling and press presetting software.

KBA president and chief executive Claus Bolza-Schünemann says the press maker is delighted to welcome the publisher to its long list of newspaper customers: “Once again we have won the day with our latest innovation for newsprint, the Commander CL launched at this year’s IFRA Expo newspaper trade fair in Vienna.”

Peter Coleman