Open to entries for any platform including iPhone, Android and iPad, the new category recognises the burgeoning growth of newspaper apps for smartphones and tablets.

PageSuite marketing manager Ben Edwards said: “Our experience shows that newspaper apps will become an integral part of a newspaper publisher’s portfolio. We are excited with publishers’ reaction to new digital and mobile technology, with a variety of innovations and strategies, which we are delighted to recognise with this new award.”

Newspaper Awards director Gary Cullum said: “The explosion of new digital technologies, in particular tablets which will boost their sales by 55 million units in 2011 alone and are set to hit 154 million by 2013, has led to a number of digital editions coming on stream every day.

“Traditional newspapers are evolving new business strategies and monetising digital offerings and there is a rich future for a combination of print, tablet, smartphone and internet news media offerings.”

To download an entry form visit www.newspaperawards.co.uk.

For further details on entries, table bookings and hotel rates contact Helen Hargreaves on +44 (0) 1869 340788 or helen@newspaperawards.co.uk

THE Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh met staff and viewed the latest methods in the production of newsprint when she toured the Palm Paper factory in King’s Lynn, Norfolk. More pictures on page 2.

“NEW times demand new journalism,” declared Rupert Murdoch, chairman and chief executive officer of News Corporation, as he launched the industry’s first US national daily news publication created from the ground up for the iPad.

“The magic of great newspapers – and great blogs – lies in their serendipity and surprise, and the touch of a good editor,” said Rupert Murdoch. “We’re going to bring that magic to The Daily – to inform people, to make them think, to help them engage in the great issues of the day. And as we continue to improve and evolve, we are going to use the best in new technology to push the boundaries of reporting.” He described the iPad as the most innovative device to come about in his time.

The Daily’s mix of text, photography, audio, video, information graphics, touch interactivity and real-time data and social feeds provides its editors with the ability to decide not only which stories are most important but also the best format to deliver these stories to their readers, he said.

The Daily is the first application made available on the App Store as a subscription, which will be billed directly to an iTunes account. It costs 99 cents a week (or $39.99 for an annual subscription) but is only available to US iPads at the moment although the Murdoch team confirmed it was looking at international models.

“We believe The Daily will be the model for how stories are told and consumed in this digital age,” he said.

One UK media analyst said: “There’s no sign yet when it might launch for the UK. Clearly a decision to focus on the US market is down to its density of iPad users, but there’s also the dynamics of the newspaper industry to consider. A vibrant, quality news product might fit well in the dry US newspaper scene, even if the crossover audience between news and gadget geeks is relatively small – but how well would that translate to the UK?”

More at www.newsmedia.org.uk, along with a YouTube clip of The Daily in action.

The Society of Editors Regional Press Awards will judge the work of regional and local newspapers during 2010. They will be organised on behalf of the industry by the Society of Editors with revenue generated by entry fees, table sales and sponsorship. It is intended that any surplus will go to the Journalists’ Charity.

Entries will open on 14 February and close on 8 March and shortlists will be published in early April. Newspaper consultant and designer Peter Sands will chair the judges. A lunchtime awards ceremony will be held in London on 11 May, to coincide with the Newspaper Society annual meeting and Local Newspaper Week 2011 (9-15 May).

Details on how to enter the awards and full details of all categories will be published shortly on a dedicated website www.regionalpressawards.org.uk.

Robin Esser, president of the Society of Editors and executive managing editor of the Daily Mail said: “We are glad to help recognise the tremendous skills and achievements of regional newspapers that report tirelessly on behalf of the communities they serve.”

Georgina Harvey, president of the NS and managing director of Trinity Mirror Regionals, said: “It’s more important today than ever to celebrate the unique strengths of our industry.

“The regional and local press has a long and proud history of journalistic excellence and photographic prowess and I’m delighted we’ll have the chance to pay tribute to our best journalists and photographers with these new awards.”

PJ wants to report on how your newspapers are reaching out to their audiences to encourage environmental awareness and protection campaigns.

Got a good green story to tell? Email a brief synopsis to mark@cullumpublishing.co.uk and we’ll be in touch click the Green Challenge button at

PICTURED with her Harley- Davidson Fat Boy is Archant Dialogue editorial director Zoë Francis-Cox who has been riding for five years and who spends most weekends ensconced in her garage, customising her beloved bike.

In addition to Zoë, managing director Mick Hurrell has ridden motorcycles since the age of 16 and currently rides a Yamaha R6 while group editor Amy Nicholson is currently swotting up for her motorcycle theory test before starting lessons.

For five years, the Archant Dialogue team has worked with Harley-Davidson Europe, Middle East and Africa on a range of marketing and communication materials. Between them, they have attended more than 50 biking rallies and events across Europe. The advertising team, led by Sam Overton, has strong links with the major manufacturers and suppliers throughout the biking world.

BMF chairman Anna Zee said BMF membership wishes are quite specific.

“Archant brings to the BMF talented writers, editors, designers and sales staff who will develop Rider to reflect those wishes,” she added.

THE Queen unveiled a plaque to mark her visit to the £400 million Palm Paper plant in King’s Lynn, where she was accompanied by the Duke of Edinburgh.

During their 40-minute tour of the operation where newsprint for national and regional newspapers is produced, the couple also had the chance to chat to workers from all departments.

They were shown around by Palm Group chief executive Wolfgang Palm who said: “That is the most important day I have ever experienced.”

Palm Paper is a subsidiary of Germany-based Papierfabrik Palm. It began production at the Norfolk site in August 2009.

IT’S good to see some industry-backed editorial awards back in the calendar after the former Press Gazette Regional Press Awards failed to run last year. On the front page, PJ reports that the Society of Editors, supported by the Newspaper Society, has launched the Society of Editors Regional Press Awards that will celebrate editorial excellence.

The launch of the awards follows an arrangement between the SoE and the Newspaper Publishers Association, representing national newspapers, to bring the National Press Awards back into the industry this year.

At a time when journalism generally has been under the political and media spotlight, both these awards schemes will focus clearly on the best of British newspaper journalism.

And NS president Georgina Harvey, managing director of Trinity Mirror Regionals says it is more important today than ever before to celebrate the unique strengths of our industry.

“The regional and local press has a long and proud history of journalistic excellence and photographic prowess and I’m delighted we’ll have the chance to pay tribute to our best journalists and photographers with these new awards.”

To avoid any confusion given the similar deadlines for entries, the new awards are not to be confused with The Newspaper Awards that recognise and reward production excellence and are run by the Newspaper Society’s PJ in association with Fujifilm. PJ’s awards, an entry form for which is inserted with this issue, are now in their 15th year and take place at a gala dinner at the Hilton on London’s Park Lane on Tuesday 24 May.

Entries are invited across all sections of the industry, from the largest national newspapers to the smallest weekly publisher and independent printer. They are now flooding in to the PJ office as the closing date of 18 March approaches. The full list of sponsors and categories appears on the back page of this issue and, of course, on the enclosed entry form. More details at www.newspaperawards.co.uk

DEPUTY prime minister Nick Clegg on page 3 says local newspapers are the envy of other media. And while he acknowledged that the industry was going through a “tricky transitional period” he believes the regional press is better placed to “understand, explain, and articulate” central Government politics to the regions than other parts of the “Westminster media bunker”.

Speaking about the Coalition Government’s plans to devolve power from central Government to the regions, he said he hopes regional papers will make sure “we hear the voice of the regions”.

And he believes “regional newspapers are better placed to connect the national with the regional, the Westminster to the town hall, than many other media are, and in a way that goes with the grain of what people want from their newspaper these days”.

JOHNSTON Press has renewed its waste management contract with print waste specialists J & G Environmental.

The association between the two companies started in 1993 and the latest contract renewal means Blandford-based J & G will continue to collect all general print waste, including chemicals and litho plates, from the five Johnston Press print centres in mainland Britain.

J & G looks after the waste disposal needs of more than 1,500 UK print companies, including major newspaper groups, and its ongoing programme of developing recycling and reuse opportunities for print waste has enabled the company to reach the point where less than five per cent goes to landfill.

J&G is again participating in a recycling scheme for toner cartridges and mobile phones with all profits donated to Breast Cancer Care.

JONATHAN Barry, picture editor of the Worcester News and Paul Walters, director and picture editor of the South West News Service, are joining the photography board of the National Council for the Training of Journalists (NCTJ).

The new appointments to the board were prompted by a decision to increase the involvement of picture editors from the industry, the recent change in photography course leader at Sheffield College and growing interest in delivering the qualification from new centres.

Speaking at the Newspaper Conference annual lunch, the Deputy Prime Minister said high levels of reader trust in local newspapers were “the envy of many other parts of the media”.

He said that in age of globalisation, people had responded by wanting to “grab hold of and hold onto the world that they know best, the world around them, their local area, the village they live in, the city where they live, the region in which they work.”

He said he agreed with the regional press industry’s wish to see the Government moving quickly and, Mr Clegg added, “honour our commitment” to rein in council newspapers.

He added: “The underlying strength of your newspapers seems to be growing rather than diminishing. You’ve got more and more readers, and crucially you have rates of trust in what you produce which is the envy of many other parts of the media.

“How you commercialise that in a world in which commercial advertising revenues are restricted and public advertising revenues have certainly been very severely restricted, I understand, is tricky and I think you’re going through a transitional period.

He added: “I also think that some of the big, big challenges that we as a Government are facing are challenges which, dare I say it, you are in a position to understand, and explain, and articulate, often much, much more fully and with greater insight than is often the case from the Westminster media bunker.”

Speaking about the Coalition’s plans to devolve power from central Government to the regions, Nick Clegg said he hoped that regional papers would make sure “we hear the voice of the regions”.

He added: “I think you are much better placed to connect the national with the regional, the Westminster to the town hall, than many other media are, and in a way that goes with the grain of what people want from their newspaper these days.”

Taking questions from guests, Nick Clegg also spoke about topics including fuel prices, the manufacturing industry, Government cuts, and the effect of the weather on the economy.

Chairman of the Newspaper Conference Sam Lister, parliamentary correspondent for Press Association Lobby Extra, said that measures announced by the Coalition to reform libel laws, and announcing proposals to curb council newspapers, had been welcomed by the regional press industry.

“We hope these can be implemented as quickly as possible and are not subject to any further delays,” Sam Lister said.

She added: “The Newspaper Conference and the regional lobby play a vital role in scrutinising politicians and holding them to account, and reporting back to people in all parts of the UK what’s happening here in Westminster. We hope to continue our critical but constructive relationship over the coming years.”

Newspaper Society president Georgina Harvey, managing director of Trinity Mirror Regionals, gave the vote of thanks. She said: “We are a medium that has more journalists on the ground, day in day out, than any other. This highly professional and well-trained force of local journalism is largely funded, as we know regional media is very different to national media, by advertising revenue.”

She said she hoped in times “of unprecedented change and challenge” that local and central government would not be “tempted” to continue to withdraw muchneeded advertising revenue.

“We are an industry that is navigating very well through extremely choppy economic waters but I know that we are resilient and tough and we are absolutely committed to the communities that we serve.”

THE Seattle Times and The Record in Stockton, California, have installed ProImage OnColor ECO ink optimisation software in a bid to reduce ink costs.

The application analyses PDF files and determines the exact amount of ink needed to produce the best quality, using less ink. It converts pages containing both pixel and vector data to the right colour space, regardless of whether objects are RGB or CMYK, while preserving the original colour appearance.

Rick Shafranek, ProImage America vice-president of sales and marketing said: “Whilst for the publisher the immediate benefit is less ink cost and faster drying, improved print quality is a real benefit for advertisers and less show-through and rub-off a benefit for readers. With a very short ROI this technology should be an integral part of every printer’s workflow process.”

THE Evening Times has held the first of its Glasgow Community Champion Awards which recognise community heroes from different parts of the city.

More than 300 people attended the evening ceremony in the city at which heroes from Glasgow’s East End were honoured. Ceremonies will be held in four more parts of the city with all winners invited to a gala finale in December.

The awards are run by partners the Evening Times, Glasgow City Council, Glasgow Community Planning Partnership, Strathclyde Fire and Rescue, Strathclyde Police and Glasgow Housing Association. They honour those who make a significant contribution to Glasgow’s communities.

MOVES have been announced to close Harmsworth Printing Ltd in Surrey Quays, in London’s Docklands, and relocate to a new £50 million development on a greenfield site in Thurrock, Essex.

The proposal has been unveiled by A&N Media, the consumer media division of DMGT which produces the Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday.

The planned investment would result in an upgrade and refurbishment of the existing flexo printing presses which would be reconfigured more efficiently, says A&N Media, adding that the investment is an incremental spend of £30 million to £35 million over that which would otherwise be expected to be invested at Surrey Quays.

Presses would be transferred from Surrey Quays to Thurrock over a period of three-and-a-half years, at the end of which the 11-acre Surrey Quays site would close.

The new plant will have the capacity to print a full colour 128-page Daily Mail and 160-page Mail on Sunday.

A spokesman said: “We are constantly searching for ways to produce our copies more efficiently. The plan to move to Thurrock is part of this process and it is expected to deliver significant savings once implemented.”

A&N Media will retain four print sites in Britain ensuring security of supply to readers, retailers and wholesalers.

The Surrey Quays plant opened in 1989. In recent years, the 11 acre site has increasingly become surrounded by mainly residential property development. A&N Media will be retaining the Surrey Quays site and marketing it to and talking with interested parties about its future usage.

The DMGT announcement follows the news – first reported by PJ in June last year – that West Ferry Printers is to move from its London Docklands home of the last 24 years to a site in the M1/M25 corridor in Luton, Bedfordshire.

A SERIES of events and activities are being planned to celebrate the National Council for the Training of Journalists’ (NCTJ) 60th anniversary.

The NCTJ was established in 1951 to run the newspaper industry’s training scheme following the findings of a Royal Commission on the press. Since then thousands of journalists have trained and qualified to the NCTJ’s exacting standards.

Special events and activities include a UKwide competition for young aspiring journalists, a photographic exhibition to showcase the work of talented press photographers, and a 60th birthday party in the summer. The year will end with an extra special Journalism Skills Conference.

ENGINEER Shaun Nicholas is to cycle from London to Paris to raise funds to help a toddler with Cystic Fibrosis, and sufferers like her.

Cystic Fibrosis affects the salt and water movement about Ruby’s body, which in turn makes it difficult to digest food and for her lungs to be clear from fluids. Treatment consists of daily physiotherapy, food enzyme supplements and a high fat content diet.

Shaun said: “At the moment Ruby enjoys her life with the unbound energy that all children of her age should have. Unfortunately some children with the condition are not as well and suffer terribly with the illness. At present there is no cure, but life expectancy of sufferers has risen over the years. After researching the condition I realised that Ruby may not live much more than 30 years of age.

“The continued search for a cure cannot go ahead unless adequate funding is available, which is why I did a tandem skydive a couple of years ago and am now doing the bike ride.”

Shaun will also be blogging his way into Paris and details will be posted on the Just Giving site. To support Shuan and his efforts to raise £1,000, visit his Just Giving page at www.justgiving.com/Shaun-Nicholas

NEWS deliverer Kate Kileron has won £200 in a safety and awareness competition organised by the National Federation of Retail Newsagents (NFRN).

Kate, who delivers newspapers for Milbank News in Darlington, beat off strong competition from 50 deliverers in the annual competition run by the NFRN’s Northern District.

Second prize went to Connor Smith of Annon News in Cumbria who won £150 and George Rudman of Rowlands Gill News in Rowlands Gill, Tyne and Wear, received £50 for coming third.

There was also a prize draw to encourage newsagents to get their news deliverers to enter the competition. This was won by Brian Bell of B&J News in Consett who received £50.

Competition organiser Tony Pucci said: “Safety is paramount for news deliverers but especially during the darker mornings and evenings when they are at greater risk. We ran this competition as we saw it as a good way of reminding deliverers of the importance of being alert and of keeping the safety message at the forefront of their minds.

“We were delighted that so many local paperboys and girls took part and we congratulate our three winners.”

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Are your newspapers reaching out to their audiences to encourage readers to undertake green projects designed to protect the environment?

Are you a publisher or printer already taking steps to cut your carbon footprint?

Tell us about the green schemes that you are working on with your community and let PJ showcase your environmental initiatives and projects to the rest of the industry.

Email your details to us at mark@cullumpublishing.co.uk and let’s make a difference.

BACK in 2007, Exeter’s Express & Echo launched its Green Shoppers campaign which resulted in more than 20,000 hessian bags being distributed to Exeter’s shoppers in a bid to reduce plastic bag use. An impressive figure, considering that the population of Exeter is 100,000.

“Green Shoppers was such a huge success, especially among the young, that we just had to carry on with another environmental initiative,” editor Marc Astley told PJ.

What came next was the Green Team initiative. In partnership with Exeter City Council and local company Gregory Distribution, this campaign has captured the imagination of schoolchildren throughout the Exeter area, promoting practical and innovative environmental projects such as cycle days, waste audits, energy reduction, recycling bins and composting.

“We saw how readily schoolchildren engaged with the Green Shoppers campaign, especially when it came to the design of some of the hessian shopping bags, and we decided that school kids would be the ideal target for our next environmental initiative,” explained Marc.

“Rather than go to the schools with a ready made plan, we decided that it would be best to give schools the opportunity to help form the details of the Green Team project. Engaging with young readers from the word go was key to the success of Green Team. Asking young people to help shape the campaign made us far more confident that it would be a success.

“The end result is simple. Schools are given the opportunity to form their own Green Teams and for every environmental task they carry out they receive a leaf and then for every 10 leaves they get a branch. Once they have a complete branch they are given £50 to spend on environmental projects and once they amass three branches they receive a virtual tree and a further £150. They also receive a sapling to plant in the school grounds.”

Since the launch of Green Team two and a half years ago, 26 schools have adopted the project with many having a waiting list for Green Team places.

Additionally, the newspaper has run a weekly page which reports on Green Team projects and features a professional cartoon depicting characters designed by some of the children. Also, a regular league table is published so that every school can see how it is performing against others in the area. During 2011, Green Team will celebrate its 100th page in the Express & Echo.

“For a scheme like this to really work it is vital to work in partnership with other organisations in the area,” said Marc. “There is no way that we could have mounted and sustained a campaign of this magnitude without outside help. This came in the form of financial and administrative support. As well as helping with the cash, Exeter City Council provided a member of staff to liaise with schools and co-ordinate the project. Gregory Distribution funded the cartoon strip which meant that more money was freed up for the schools’ environmental projects.”

In the second year of Green Teams, a new element was introduced where an additional £1,000 is made available for schools to fund even larger projects. Schools are invited to submit their ideas and the winners share out the extra fund. The first school to win this fund built a sensory garden.

Another new Green Team initiative is the Acorn Awards in which schools and individuals are given extra prizes for outstanding effort. More than 140 children attended the inaugural awards ceremony which was hosted by TV naturalist Nick Baker.

Marc said: “Green Team has been a tremendous success and we have every intention of continuing it for the foreseeable future. It’s been a great way of raising environmental awareness among schoolchildren and it’s really brought the Express & Echo right into the heart of the community.

“I am hoping that Green Team will also have helped many youngsters get the newspaper reading bug, something they will hopefully carry through into their adult lives.”

INTEGRATION of business activities and consistent processes are are forming part of a growth strategy at press manufacturer manroland where personnel changes have also taken place.

The small newspaper presses (Plauen) and large newspaper presses (Augsburg) business units merged on 1 January and are under the leadership of Georg Riescher (52), formerly executive vicepresident small newspaper presses.

Anton Hamm (52), previously head of large newspaper presses, is now executive vice-president of the technology centre for webfed printing systems. The centre combines training, engineering for testing and processes, as well as the implementation of innovation projects.

The move has been described as “remarkable” by umbrella lobbying group, the European Newspaper Publishers Association (ENPA). It said that the abolition, which came into effect on 1 January, brought an end to a law that had been in force in one way or another for more than 100 years.

In a briefing note prepared by policy adviser Laurent Boll, ENPA said: “The newspaper sector needs room for growth to cope with the challenges posed by the shift from paid printed content to free news on the internet. Any absolute restriction on the size of newspapers would impede the future operation of newspapers.”

The Dutch government said that the relaxation in public intervention in the media market was acceptable because:

Competition law already assures that media mergers would not lead to unreasonable price increases. In case of any merger or acquisition the Competition Authority maintains scrutiny to ensure sufficient consumer choice remains and preserves a pluralistic media landscape.

Any restriction of market power, even if increased to 50 per cent, is inappropriate to prevent accumulation of disproportionate amounts of opinion power in one organisation.

The Temporary Law on Media Concentration was in danger of impeding multimedia development of newspapers and put at risk the existence of small regional papers that need a take-over to survive.

Scheduled for shipment at the end of April, the double-width, doublecircumference (16-page) Goss Uniliner press will print up to 80,000 papers per hour and will be configured with five splicers and one folder.

It will complement production from a similar four-tower 4x2 Uniliner press line and a five-tower 4x1 (doublewidth, single-circumference) Uniliner press line in printing key Hong Kong titles for Sing Tao News Corporation. These include flagship broadsheet Sing Tao Daily, one of the world’s most widely read Chinese daily newspapers, and the English free newspaper The Standard, as well as the Headline Daily.

Peter Kirwan, Goss International vice-president of Asia Pacific newspaper sales, believes that Goss Uniliner technology has exceeded expectations at Sing Tao. “The nature of the Uniliner press design allows us to expand press lines with minimal inconvenience and minimal downtime, and this initially provided Sing Tao with the reassurance of a straightforward potential growth path,” he explains. “As their production requirements have changed in line with market conditions, they have exploited this capability, while the Uniliner model continues to be their ideal technology for its combination of powerful performance, quality and future flexibility.”

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ARCHANT has partnered with property search and information website Zoopla.co.uk which is to power the publisher’s online property channel homes24.co.uk.

Under the terms of the deal, Archant will invest in the promotion of the homes24.co.uk brand using its online and offline media assets, while Zoopla will operate and power the homes24.co.uk website as part of its exclusive partner network.

It is anticipated that the new homes24.co.uk website will launch in early March.

Archant business development director Serge Taborin said: “This partnership will allow Archant to provide our users with a marketleading online property search product and focus on maximising traffic to the homes24.co.uk website, while giving our local estate agents significantly greater exposure and helping them generate even more leads.”

THE World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers (WAN-IFRA) has included a session on ‘The New Game: Tablet Advertising’ in its 21st World Newspaper Advertising Conference, to be held in Malta on 24 and 25 February.

THE World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers (WAN-IFRA) has combined two of its major digital media conferences into one new event – Digital Media Europe – which will be held in London on 11 to 13 April.

The new event will have days devoted to digital trends, mobile media, iPads and tablets and is the successor to WAN-IFRA’s Beyond the Printed Word and Mobile Media Day.

For information visit www.wan-ifra.org/dme

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THE industry has confirmed its support for the Press Complaints Commission after a “funding dispute” resulted in Richard Desmond’s Northern & Shell pulling out of the self-regulatory system.

The company publishes the Daily Express, Daily Star and OK! magazine. It also acquired Channel Five TV station in July last year.

The Newspaper Society has joined other bodies representing the press industry in supporting the PCC. NS president Georgina Harvey said: “Over 1,000 regional and local newspaper titles subscribe to the self-regulatory process and agree to be bound by PCC decisions for the benefit of the public. For the regional and local media sector it is business as usual – independent and responsible journalism subject to adjudication by the PCC.”

Clive Milner, chairman of the NPA, said: “The PCC exists to ensure national newspapers conform to clear editorial standards which are independently regulated. All NPA members are committed to upholding this system of press self-regulation which protects and serves members of the public so effectively and maintains a free, responsible press.”

Michael Johnston, president of the Scottish Newspaper Society, said it was “illogical for any publisher to withdraw from the system” and deny readers the right to an independent means of resolving complaints.”

And Barry McIlheney, chief executive of the PPA, said: “The magazine industry totally supports the PCC and the UK’s self-regulatory system. It provides a unique service to readers and ensures we meet the highest possible standards.”

Society of Editors executive director Bob Satchwell added: “The vast majority of editors in newspapers and magazines support the Editors’ Code and the PCC that ensures compliance. They recognise the value of the system to their readers and therefore to journalism and the industry itself. Knowing that newspapers and magazines uphold a strict code of practice has improved confidence in the press which is vital when so many vested interests seek to undermine its work in informing the public.

The PCC said that a “funding dispute” was the source of the Northern and Shell withdrawal. PCC chairman Baroness Buscombe said: “It is disappointing that Northern & Shell no longer wishes to provide funding for the PCC and be part of the system of self-regulation. This means that they will not now be able to demonstrate to their readers that they are committed to adhere to the set of standards which are independently enforced by the commission.”

THE managing director of the Jersey Evening Post, Jerry Ramsden, is to retire in April after 14 years in the role. He is to be succeeded by Paul Carter, a former managing director of the Guernsey Press who was also former the advertising director of the JEP.

Jerry, who will be 60 in April, is also managing director of Guiton Publishing, which includes the Guernsey Press. On his retirement, he will remain as nonexecutive director on the boards of the two newspapers.

Jerry joined the Jersey paper from Plymouth where he was a managing director with Northcliffe. Two years later, he took the helm at the Guernsey paper on its acquisition by the Guiton Group.

Group chairman and chief executive John Averty paid tribute to the retiring managing director, saying: “The board wishes to express its appreciation to Jerry Ramsden for the way that he has led the group’s publishing division for more than 14 years, ensuring that our two daily newspapers remain the number one media in their respective islands.”

Jerry said that he was “proud to be leaving two newspapers that are still read by 7.5 out of 10 adults in each island”.

Paul Carter, 48, was deputy managing director and advertising director of the Express & Star, Wolverhampton, before returning to the Channel Islands to become managing director of the Image Group in Guernsey.

He re-joins the group in February before taking up his new role in April.

LAURENCE Roberts joined Agfa UK in March 1992 as sales and marketing director for its Graphics System division. Previously, he had worked for GEC (he won a GEC scholarship to go to university where he gained a degree in electrical and electronic engineering) and for DHL where he was the sales and marketing director of its electronics communications arm.

As a result Roberts admits: “I didn’t know anything about printing when I joined Agfa, nothing whatsoever.”

In fact, he believes that this was one of the reasons why he was hired.

“Agfa had bought Compugraphic in around 1986 but had not really amalgamated it. The Compugraphic people thought themselves superior and the Agfa people thought Compugraphic people were a bunch of flash spivs. So there was not a lot of meeting of minds and there was too much baggage from the past.

“Also, although Agfa had been extremely successful selling film, what really changed things was that in 1989 Agfa sold something like 2,200 Repromaster cameras in the UK and in 1990 they sold 20. It was unbelievable. It absolutely went off a cliff.”

Because of this, plus the recession in 1990/91, it was decided that instead of having a number of divisions, Agfa needed one organisation, which it called Graphic Systems, and one sales director.

Roberts continues: “When I went to Agfa in Antwerp, they were shocked and horrified that I didn’t know anything about printing. I said to them, “As I understand it, you want someone to put this all together. Someone who is dispassionate’.”

At that time there were some 120 salesmen in the UK, the vast majority of whom had done a trade apprenticeship, he added. “So I guess if there is a problem with a piece of kit someone will know what to do. I don’t think you need 121 people who know. I think what I bring to the party is what you don’t have and what I don’t have you’ve already got, so where’s the problem?”

They saw his point and Roberts duly joined the company. However, that was not the end of it since he was then expected to go to Antwerp for two weeks technical training. He lasted a week.

“They were lovely people and incredibly proud of their technology but they thought more about the technology than where it fitted in the marketplace and how the market was changing. So it was a bit of a shock I guess on both sides, to be quite honest. It was certainly a shock for the salesmen here but it was a bit of a shock for me. I hadn’t frankly expected it all to be quite so, shall we say, trade orientated. I mean that in the nicest way… ”

When Roberts joined Agfa there were considerable changes taking place as the market first moved to computer to film and then to computer to plate, and it became essential for Agfa to move into the plate business. So, on 1 January 1996, the group bought Hoechst whose plates in the UK were being sold by Printing Techniques Ltd (PTL). This was followed in March 1998 by the acquisition of the Dupont/Howson business.

“We had lots of complaints from other people in the marketplace,” admits Roberts. “But had we not done that we would have just faded away and died because we would have been just a film company.

“Almost unbeknown to the Belgians because they bought the business for the Howson factory, what we also got from the acquisition was a number of people who had worked for Crosfield. This gave us access to the Wydnet software which meant that for the first time we had access to newspaper software which worked.”

Other acquisitions followed including that of Autologic in 2001.

FORMER graphics sales manager Dave Spencer has succeeded Laurence Roberts in becoming Agfa Graphics’ managing director, UK and Ireland.

A European-wide revamp of the group’s senior management structure also means Agfa also has a new vice-president of its European operations, Frederik Dehing, who returns to a European role after three years running Agfa’s business in Oceania. Spencer reports to Dehing.

AdFast continues to develop through these difficult times as we strive to bring you the complete managed, tracked and archived internet based artwork delivery network, owned and operated by the NS.

Our new Portal sites allow publishers to have their own, customised delivery channel, operated by AdFast but branded to suit the individual publisher. Files arrive through the normal AdFast channel, requiring no additional software or change to pre-press practices.

Portals come fully featured with AdFast tracking, management and technical support, archiving and even, if required, our ‘Kill/Change’ messaging service, which uses the acclaimed AdFast tracking system to allow the sender of a file to tell the publisher not to use it, and to expect a new piece of copy.

See these in action, together with our new file delivery system developed with our partners RPS, featuring full pre-flight checking, colour management and soft proofing.

All the tools you need to make artwork production and delivery quick, simple and reliable, together with the acclaimed AdFast archive which finally consigns copy disputes to history.

If you would like more details, please talk to us: call Rob Fogwill on 07774 191992 or email admin@adfast.co.uk. We’ll show you how AdFast can help your workflow and speed your production processes.

AdFast handles up to 1 million files per annum, quickly, reliably and without fuss, 24/7/365. There when you need us.

Adstream Ltd T/A AdFast, The Newspaper Society, St Andrew’s House, 18-20 St Andrew Street, London EC4A 3AY

Telephone support line: 0870 240 2717 ?? E-mail: admin@adfast.co.uk

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“We got some good technical people from Autologic. Then we bought Lastra, again for the plates, along with Western Litho. We also bought PTL and then about three years ago we bought ProImage. So, over a 14 year period, we have absorbed a whole load of companies.

“If you ask me what gives me pleasure looking back is the fact that we have been able to absorb all these people. You wouldn’t really know now, if there were 20 people in this room, where they came from. You would have thought they were all Agfa people and that’s been a good thing, I think.

“In fact, the vast majority of people I have fired in my time have been old Agfa people. It sounds brutal but their knowledge was from the past. They were good people but we bought these companies for the future.

“From a personal point of view, I am also proud of the fact that if you talk to people who have worked for me for a long period of time I think they would all say we tried hard to be fair to everybody, and that we have been a pretty good company to work for: I think that’s good.”

The Agfa acquisitions had a significant impact on the newspaper market according to Roberts.

“We would not be where we are in newspapers without having done all these acquisitions. In fact, we would be dead. Just to give you an idea, if you take all the current newspaper sites in the UK, not including those which have disappeared, there are 165 ctp devices of which we have 124, that is 75 per cent. That is amazing.

“We put our first Polaris system into the brand new site in Weymouth at what was then Southern Newspapers in 1998/99. At Drupa 2000, we did a deal with DMGT. They said that they were looking for about 30 machines over the next two to three years. In fact, we installed 33 machines. Then, in 2002, Johnston Press gave us their first order and subsequently ordered about 30 machines. In 2005, we sold machines to West Ferry, Broughton Printers, the Guardian, and so on, involving another 20 machines, which were followed by the 10-year deal with News International in 2007/08.

“We have had some major deals. Okay, the kit was good but so was the software. It is amazing what we got from that link with Crosfield’s Wydnet.

“Things are changing, though, if you look back at the number of production sites there were, say, two years ago and the number which are now left. So, for the long term from Agfa’s point of view, the greatest thing is the NI deal because there is no way that they have finished utilising those 20 triple-width machines.

“My own view is that in the longer term you will have the three huge NI sites, Johnston Press’s two big sites – Dinnington and Portsmouth – plus one or two large sites with Trinity Mirror. All these guys are going to have to make sure that they are running more than, shall we say, eight hours a day. And that’s great for us because the more work that is put through the presses the more plates they need.

“It seems inevitable to me that you will have more and more of the business being taken by these large sites with the smaller guys sub-contracting the work and focusing more on being publishers. It seems totally logical that printing is handled by the printers and the publishers concentrate on the publishing.”

Does Roberts believe that Agfa should do more 10 year deals similar to that with NI?

“Only with a greenfield site. The whole point with the NI deal was that it was all brand new. The deal was for 10 years and we knew that the kit would last 10 years. And, of course, NI was already working with Aktrion.

“The real issue, especially in the first year, was the looking after the equipment at say one or two in the morning, making sure that the people we had doing it were of the right calibre.

“I think the deal has proven to be good from everyone’s point of view. What I wanted to do was to sell NI plates and I sell them loads of plates and now they are printing the Telegraph it is just fantastic.”

Roberts says that he plans to spend much of his spare time in retirement raising money for the Children’s Trust at Tadworth in Surrey where his daughter spent two years after she was injured badly in a car accident.

“I have raised some money for them in a casual way but I am going to do something more formal, though not all day, every day.

“I don’t want a full time job. They are trying to build a new rehab centre and they need £5 million. It’s a lot of money so I am going to spend some time doing that.

“I think that when you retire you should enjoy the fact that you don’t have to work 70/80 hours a week but you have to do something. You have to rebalance your life. I have worked since I was 18 and I am now 65, so frankly I think I’ve worked enough.”

Roberts concludes: “Working at Agfa has been interesting. I have enjoyed it and we have had some good laughs along the way. I have met some very, very interesting people, though not all of them would I want to invite home for dinner, I have to say!”

NICK Lester, left, parliamentary lobby correspondent for Northcliffe, has been appointed chairman of the Newspaper Conference.

He succeeds Sam Lister, parliamentary correspondent for Press Association Lobby Extra.

He paid tribute to Sam’s achievements over the past year and added: “The Newspaper Conference plays a vital role in ensuring local and regional media has good access to the most senior government ministers. It is also extremely important that politicians have a good understanding of the issues facing the industry and the Conference has an important part to play in helping to make that happen.”

Nick, 40, writes for the Plymouth Herald, Torbay Herald Express, Exeter Express & Echo, Gloucester Citizen, Gloucestershire Echo, and Bath Chronicle.

THE IAA is hosting a panel discussion and debate on the future business models for media. The event takes place in London on 16 February.

The international advertising association panel discussion will include insights into how global clients are changing strategies and investment to respond to the changing media landscape.

Panellists include Nick Burcher, head of social media and digital innovation, ZenithOptimedia WW; Michael Iskas, global head of integrated communications planning, Aegis Media; Adam Smith, director, GroupM Futures; and Michael Read, SVP, MD Europe, comScore Europe.

For more information visit the IAA website at http://tinyurl.com/6732okz

A REVIEW of the National Certificate Examination has begun with the launch of an online survey of the views of newspaper editors across the UK. Focus groups for editors, publishers, trainers and reporters who have recently passed the NCE will follow.

CULTURE Secretary Jeremy Hunt’s plans for a local TV network could undermine existing local media companies which provide the only effective source of local journalism, speakers at a Westminster Media Forum seminar were told.

Keynote speaker John Fry, chief executive of Johnston Press, noted the opportunities offered by local TV but warned that government subsidies to get it off the ground “might squeeze some players out of the picture and create potentially dangerous distortions”.

Geraldine Allinson of Kent Messenger Group also raised concerns over increased competition in an already highly competitive environment, while Adam Foley of Starcom MediaVest said there was “no incremental [advertising] revenue whatsoever” for local TV and that is would simply cannibalise the revenues that currently go to local media or national TV budgets.

The Culture Secretary launched his action plan “to make his vision of local TV a reality” at the Oxford Media Convention last month. The scheme forms part of David Cameron’s ‘Big Society’ vision and Mr Hunt said the initiative would offer communities a “new voice” and provide local perspectives directly relevant to them.

The proposal is for 10-12 TV stations, with each local provider generating two to three hours of local news and other programmes daily, all linked on a digital terrestrial channel. Funding would come from £25 million of start up costs from the BBC, with a national broadcaster selling £15 million a year in national advertising to the service.

The plan builds on the recommendations made to the Government by investment banker Nicholas Shott in December last year.

The Shott report said that, in the short to medium term, no more than 10 or 12 local TV services would be sustainable via digital terrestrial television and only then if certain minimum conditions were met. It said that “in the long term, local TV can be commercially viable, as and when IPTV gains sufficient market penetration”.

Roy Greenslade told the Westminster seminar: “We have local news organisations already – let’s get behind them. There is a danger this is creating a set of organisations that are likely to stretch the organisations which are already there.”

Professor Natalie Fenton pointed to consumer research which underlined the importance of local newspapers in print. “We were taken aback by how much people wanted a local newspaper – the physical object they could pass around. It’s really important to them.”

Other speakers included Richard Horwood of Channel 6 who said local TV should partner with local media businesses and not compete with them. Claire Enders explained how the Shott panel had reached its conclusions about the commercial viability of local TV. She added that existing local media companies were “extremely active in developing their own models”.

David Reitman of KPMG said the local media industry was responding and adapting to the challenges it faced, developing communities and exploiting the internet. “To be strong, it needs to be successful. To be successful, it needs to be profitable,” he said.

New and existing media providers have been invited to register their interest by 1 March and come forward with suggestions on how a channel dedicated to local news and content could work best. The first licences will be awarded by the end of next year.

ENGLAND 2018 World Cup bid chief of staff Simon Greenberg has joined News International as director of corporate affairs.

In his new role, which he was due to start at the end of January, Simon becomes a member of the executive team and leads a dedicated corporate affairs function. The former Chelsea Football Club director of communications and public affairs reports to chief executive Rebekah Brooks who said: “Simon has great experience at very high levels in professional sport and the media, making him ideal for this new and wide ranging corporate affairs role.

“I am delighted that he will be joining News International in such a senior capacity.”

THE Southwark News has surpassed expectations with a campaign that has secured 149 apprenticeships in just 100 days.

In September, the newspaper launched its campaign asking local businesses and organisations across the borough to create apprenticeships. The campaign, which aimed to get local people skilled up and into jobs and careers in Southwark, went over its initial target of 100 apprenticeships in 100 days by nearly 50 per cent.

Southwark Newspapers managing director Kevin Quinn said the initiative mimicked a challenge run in conjunction with the National Apprenticeship Service in Bristol with the Bristol Evening Post..

DO you ever spread the last knife full of Anchor Butter on your toast and wonder if you can recycle the aboutto- be discarded hard plastic tub, asks Gary Cullum.

I do, and the three different people I have spoken to at my local council in recent months don’t know whether or not I can drop the container in my box for plastics recycling.

Some weeks the council’s refuse and recycling collectors take it, other weeks they pull it out and leave it behind. The same applies to clear plastic ‘blister’ packaging.

And can I put an all-newsprint, if I rip the cover off, telephone directory in my newspapers bin, one of five waste and recycling bins that currently gloriously adorn my front garden like an outbreak of beautiful spring snowdrops.

Just this morning, when looking out of the kitchen window I realised the Megaflow hot water tank upstairs in the airing cupboard needed its pressure valve ‘tweaking’ after I heard a drip, drip, drip sound on the pavement below. How much water have I wasted in recent weeks?

And why do I drive to the office each day when its actually only a six minute walk from home – and I have a perfectly useable bike in the garage.

I have a pretty low emission car these days, but its carbon output is far greater than my size seven footprint.

Do I live in a borough where I could leave my decaying Christmas tree next to my green bin and the ‘binmen’ would take it? I did, and they did, although it was really a trial and error experiment rather than an action based on knowledge.

These questions don’t keep me awake at night, but they do make me think our industry at national, regional and local level has a huge educational role to play. From major national newspaper environmental campaigns to the smallest weekly newspaper running a double page spread (no pun intended) on whether or not I can recycle my butter container – a canand- can’t, do-and-don’t feature would be an asset to the community. And newspapers taking campaigns into schools, especially primary schools, to encourage the young to care for their own future and tomorrow’s planet, has to be a great way of enticing young people to pick up a printed paper.

Take a look at PJ’s Green Challenge this month on page 6 and see what A&N Media’s Express & Echo at Exeter has been doing to champion the cause, especially within the city’s schools.

From little acorns...

THE cover price of Johnston Press flagship title The Scotsman has gone up. The daily is now 5p dearer Monday to Friday, selling at 85p, while the Saturday edition has risen to £1.20 and Scotland on Sunday has increased to £1.70.

The move follows lobbying by the Scottish National Federation of Retail Newsagents (NFRN) whose members will benefit from pro rata terms.

Scottish NFRN president Abdul Qadar said: “It’s great to see the New Year getting off to such a positive start with newspaper publishers really showing their support to independent newsagents.

“We have been lobbying for price increases on Johnston Press titles for some time so we are delighted that the publisher has listened to our concerns.”

The move by Johnston Press came as the Daily Record announced that it was increasing the cover price of the Saturday edition by 5p to 70p, with pro rata terms.

He added: “The NFRN is delighted to have such a good relationship with Scottish publishers and I would urge all NFRN members to work with them to increase sales.”

Abdul Qadar has praised publishers and wholesaler Menzies Distribution for their efforts in getting newspapers and magazines out to newsagents during December’s heavy snowfalls.

And he congratulated fellow newsagents for keeping their stores open, mobilising their news deliverers to be extra vigilante and providing essential grocery supplies to their customers along with their regular newspapers and magazines.

He said: “All parts of the supply chain deserve a huge pat on the back for their sterling efforts during such horrendous conditions.”

ARCHANT has acquired a 50 per cent stake in Tickles.co.uk, a local group-buying website where traders offer discounts on a specific product or service in return for a guaranteed minimum number of sales over a limited time period.

The service is free to users, who sign up to receive local offers. They purchase a voucher online which they can redeem with the merchant, but only if a minimum number of people required have signed up for the offer.

Since its launch in May 2010, local ‘Ticklers’ have saved more than £200,000 in Norfolk and Cambridge through the deals available on the tickles.co.uk website, and the service is set to launch in Ipswich, and across the rest of the country in coming weeks.

Archant group business development director Serge Taborin said: “This concept is extremely valuable to merchants because it is virtually risk free – not only are the economics of each successful deal known in advance, but if the deal does not attract a pre-agreed number of Ticklers, the deal lapses and neither the merchant nor the users are charged a penny. This encourages interested Ticklers to share the offers with their friends, often through Facebook and Twitter, so that the minimum number is achieved.

“Just as importantly, Tickles is a group-only deal – merchants don’t discount prices for individuals or passing trade, so they can maintain their existing pricing structure. This makes it a novel and cost-effective way of attracting new customers who can then be introduced to additional products or services, while protecting the core business model.”

There are already more than 20,000 local Ticklers and the number is expected to swell with Archant’s backing and promotion.

Archant chief executive Adrian Jeakings commented: “Archant’s longstanding presence in the local communities we serve means that we are ideally positioned to negotiate the best deals with local businesses and then give them maximum exposure to attract local customers through our newspapers, magazines websites, mobile sites and apps. This addition to our portfolio of products demonstrates Archant’s drive to find the most innovative and cost-effective ways for our local advertisers to reach their target audience.”

A BID to delay a Government crackdown on local council publications by ministers has been fiercely resisted by Local Government Minister Grant Shapps.

He issued a spirited defence of the Government proposals after the Communities and Local Government Select Committee published a report calling for any reining in of local council newspapers to be delayed pending an independent review into the impact of such publications on independent local media.

Responding to the report, Mr Shapps said: “We will of course consider the Select Committee’s recommendations. However we are clear that few things have done more to undermine local democracy than the explosion in town hall Pravdas bankrolled by hard pressed taxpayers.

“Similarly the murky practice of government lobbying government has had a corrosive effect on the public’s trust in politicians. The age of wasting taxpayers’ cash on pet projects like local propaganda sheets or employing lobbyists to push a certain agenda is over.”

The committee’s report into proposed changes to the Local Authority Publicity Code acknowledged a need to regulate local authority publicity and said “there is a clear concern that some local authorities are using council taxpayers’ money to promote their local politicians or policies”.

But the committee says that, while “the evidence suggests that a quarterly, or less frequent, publication will be sufficient to meet a local authority’s need to communicate with residents,” it feels this does not need to be specified in the new Code.

The Newspaper Society gave oral and written evidence to the Select Committee last year. Director of Communications Lynne Anderson told the committee that, according to the Audit Commission, 150 council publications took private advertising. “You don’t need your local council competing with you for scarce advertising revenues,” she said. “Those are the very ad revenues which keep journalists in their jobs. Councils should not be in the business of competing.”

The local media industry and the NS had previously submitted evidence to the Government’s consultation on the proposed changes to the Code, calling for third party advertising on council publications or other council media platforms to be banned, and stressing the importance of effective enforcement to avoid councils bypassing the proposed controls.

The NS submission stated: “The Code and our proposals would certainly not prevent local authorities from providing their communities with information relevant to them, the council and its work in any effective form. The NS has always made it clear that it has no complaint with the traditional type of non-competing council publication, such as an A-Z of council services, published two or three times a year.

“The NS and its members have also provided the Government with examples of local councils and local media working together on initiatives to inform and involve their local communities.”

The submission also outlined NS opposition to any move to remove statutory obligations to publish public notices in local newspapers, pointing out that this could result in important information becoming inaccessible to a large section of the UK population who do not have access to the internet.

“Recent research has shown that the vast majority of people in the UK rely on their local paper to keep them informed about local council plans and decisions and to allow them to make their voice heard on important issues which affect them.

“We hope that all local authorities will therefore be encouraged to use the local media, which remain the bestread and most trusted form of local news and information,” said the NS.

TWO councils in West Sussex are to save an annual total of £100,000 after scrapping their council magazines, the Worthing Herald reported.

Vibe was published three times a year since 2007 but now Worthing Borough Council is pulling the plug on it after Whitehall’s grant for 2011-2013 was reduced by £1.13 million.

Published by neighbouring Adur District Council, Adur Outlook is also to be axed. Worthing Borough Council leader Paul Yallop said the 13th and final edition would be published in February. “We cannot afford it,” he said.

And as PJ went to press, North Yorkshire County Council had scrapped its North Yorkshire Times which cost almost £400,000 a year to produce, and was embarking on a six-month trial that will see the council pay for editorial space to publish statutory public notices and announcements in local newspapers. Fortnightly Lambeth Life was axed by Lambeth Borough Council and Tower Hamlets Council’s East End Life faces an uncertain future as a review was launched into the cost-effectiveness of the weekly publication. East Riding Council axed East Riding News just before Christmas.

The latest closures of council publications follows the announcement by Communities and Local Government Secretary Eric Pickles in October that local authority ‘newspapers’ are to be reined in. He outlined moves to restrict the frequency of their publication, their content and their appearance.

THE Daily Sentinel in Grand Junction, Colorado, is implementing the complete suite of missioncritical publishing solutions from Digital Technology International (DTI) as software-asa- service (SaaS). The agreement makes the Seaton Group publisher the first in the world to seal such a deal, says DTI.

All solutions will be served via DTI Cloud. The Daily Sentinel’s existing DTI ContentPublisher and Advertising software will move from on-premises to DTI Cloud and will expand to DTI Financials and Circulation.

DTI vice-president, sales, Americas, Dan Paulus, said: “When selecting our cloud publishing solution, a major strategic factor for The Daily Sentinel was the vast reduction in their own hardware needs, and therefore their capital cost requirement.”

The deal will see Heidelberg USA distribute EFI’s VUTEk GS2000, GS3200, and GS5000r as well as the inks, parts, consumables, accessories and upgrades related to these printers. Heidelberg will also provide customer and technical support for the VUTEk GS series of printers including installation and training.

The new Community SSC press will have four four-high towers and a Goss N40 folder with quarterfold capability. It has been specified with a 560mm cutoff in common with most newspaper presses in Turkey, and will accommodate web widths of up to 889mm. The configuration has been devised to provide maximum flexibility by the most cost-effective method.

Among other features, Goss International has sourced three zero-speed splicers with dual unwind facility, enabling Girne Grafik to run two separate webs into the press from each reelstand. It will be capable of outputting a 32-page full-colour tabloid or a 48-page tabloid comprising 16 pages in full-colour and 32 pages of spot colour.

Chairman and managing director Mr. M P Veerendrakumar said: “After an intensive evaluation of different mailroom suppliers we have decided for Ferag as our future partner.

“We believe they are offering a highly efficient and reliable system. Also their innovative added value products such as trimming, folding, stitching and Memostick offers us great opportunities for enhancing our market share in the future.

“Of utmost importance to us was also, that Ferag India with its local subsidiary can provide us with a sophisticated 24/7 after sales service programme.”

The business founded in 1923 has its head office in Kozhikode and produces its publication over 10 print sites throughout the state of Kerala.

Twelve inserting-lines of the type MSD2-C with speeds up to 75,000 copies per hour and fed by Universal Conveyor UTR will evacuate online modern press technology from Japan.

The Navigator, the innovative control system from Ferag which was launched at IFRA in Hamburg last October, will be responsible for the programmed production of the highspeed stacking system MultiStack. The project starts in March and is scheduled for completion in 2013.

Manroland Greater China managing director Adam Yuen said: “It is great to see China’s economy continue to grow and thanks to the significant support from our old and new customers, manroland Greater China has achieved huge business success in the sheetfed, webfed, printservices, and printcom sectors in 2010.”

Within the webfed sector customers keep repeating their orders with manroland. After working with four Uniset web offset presses since 2004, Sichuan Ribao in Chengdu has recently opted for two Uniset again. The new printing systems are equipped with five reel splicers, four printing towers, and two folders and will start production in July 2011.

A dryer enables heatset printing and enlarges Sichuan Ribao’s production possibilities. The Unisets feature 80,000 copies per hour which makes them one of the most capable printing systems in China. Since 2006 the company has been a manroland sheetfed user, too, with an eight-colour Roland 700 and a four-colour Roland 700.

The Hangzhou Daily Press Group complemented its manroland machinery park with a Rotoman commercial web offset press, to be delivered at the end of March – its second Rotoman purchase since 2007.

Steffen Dittmann, general manager web offset sector of manroland Greater China, said: “We are glad to see that our products meet the needs of our customers and help them stand firmly in the competitive market.”

NEW ProImage is implementing its browser-based NewsWay workflow management and integration solution at Media General’s Bristol Herald Courier in Bristol, Virginia.

Media General director of IT Matt Hadley said: “The ability to handle three-up page imposition with more than one section on the same plate was critical to the selection of NewsWay. We wanted the ability to approve pages and plates prior to imaging.”

At the Bristol Herald Courier, NewsWay delivers integration of many other systems including MediaSpan JazBox, OneVision Asura, EAE Ink Presetting, and Screen Thermal CTP equipment. It automatically load balances the RIPs and locks colour separations to the same device, thus ensuring high quality.

The software also plans and tracks broadsheet as well as tabloid impositions, provides soft proofing, burns text and furniture on to plates and provides support for double trucks. It also supports outputting to two folders simultaneously.

ABB’S Centre of Excellence for Printing in Switzerland says that it has maintained its order intake, despite difficult trading conditions for the industry.

Global manager Christian Villiger paid tribute to his team and said that the automation supplier had seen”significant growth” in the retrofit business and in workflow solutions..

“This leaves ABB’s printing business in a healthy condition and well prepared for the challenges that 2011 will throw at us,” he said.

For more products and services offered by the above companies, and live links to their websites, visit www.newsmedia.org.uk

To be included in SupplierLink contact Cullum Publishing on 01442 235065 or visit our newsmedia.org.uk website