Producing a mix of 50 daily and weekly newspapers at 16 print sites is tough. Making a computer-to-plate choice that meets the needs of all those sites and publications is even tougher.

As most newspapers that have deployed CTP know, one size does not always fit all - but Landmark Community Newspapers Inc. just might have found one that comes close.

The News-Enterprise of Elizabethtown, Ky., was one of three dailies owned by Landmark Community Newspapers Inc. to install thermal computer-to-plate units from Creo this spring. The daily installed one Trendsetter News 100.
Photo: LCNI

This spring, the publisher began the deployment of thermal CTP units from Creo, now a subsidiary of Eastman Kodak Co., at its three daily newspaper operations. According to Joyce Ford, production specialist for the publisher, LCNI hopes to eventually deploy the thermal CTP units at all of its properties.

“We would like to do that, it just depends on the ROI that we put in - we have to make that decision for each operation,” she said. “But I see thermal being the future and analog plates disappearing, so we’ll have to make that decision as we go along.”  

LCNI deployed the first CTP system at its largest daily, the Carroll County Times in Westminster, Md., which took possession of two Trendsetter 70 units in April. Similar installations followed at the Citrus County Chronicle in Crystal River, Fla., and the News-Enterprise in Elizabethville, Ky.

Film still has its place

Ford said all sites will retain their film imagers as backups, with the exception of the Carroll County Times because it installed two CTP units. The old film imagesetters from that newspaper will find new homes at LCNI’s smaller sites, she said.

The switch to CTP at the three dailies went smoothly, according to Ford.

“It was an excellent transfer,” she said. “Two of our operations were up and 100 percent within two weeks.”

LCNI chose Southern Lithoplate as its plate supplier, having purchased plates from the vendor in the past.

“We had a really good relationship with Southern Litho before we even knew Creo,” Ford said. “We worked on this for a year and a half and had a lot of discussions with Southern Litho and Creo, but (Southern) was pretty instrumental in us making the decision.”

Ford said despite some initial reservations on how the switch to CTP would go over at some of the operations, she has been very happy with the new technology and everyone is on board.

In addition to the CTP units, the Carroll County Times installed Creo’s Prinergy workflow and Staccato screening apps. Ford said the Citrus County Chronicle and The News-Enterprise began installing those apps in late June.

If Creo’s thermal CTP is in fact adopted group-wide, Ford said LCNI would likely convert a couple more sites next year.

Other papers opt for thermal

Additional newspapers that have recently purchased thermal CTP units and associated software from Creo include:

-Transcontinental Media Inc.’s Cape Breton Post in Sydney, Nova Scotia: purchased a Trendsetter News 50 and Prinergy Evo PDF processor software.

-Rust Communications’ Southeast Missourian in Cape Girardeau: purchased a Trendsetter News SA (semi-automatic) CTP unit as a backup to the Trendsetter News 50 it purchased last year.

-Knight Ridder Inc.’s Centre Daily Times in State College, Pa.: purchased two Trendsetter News 50s, Prinergy Evo Processor, Preps imposition software and Staccato screening.

-Freedom Communications Inc.’s Jacksonville (Ill.) Journal-Courier: purchased two Trendsetter News 100s.

-The Black Press Group Ltd.: purchased a Trendsetter News 70 for its Van Press site in Burnaby, British Columbia, which prints a combination of daily and weekly newspapers.

-Blue Island Newspaper Printing Inc. of Harvey, Ill.: purchased two Trendsetter News 70 units that will be used to produce several daily newspapers.

-Home News Enterprises LLC: purchased a Trendsetter News 70 and Prinergy Evo PDF processor to produce the Daily Reporter in Greenfield, Ind.

-Castle-Printech Inc. of DeKalb, Ill.: purchased a Trendsetter News 70  and Prinergy software to produce weeklies and inserts.

-George J. Foster & Co. Inc., which prints Foster’s Daily Democrat in Dover, N.H.: purchased Synapse NewsManager software to complement its existing Trendsetter News CTP unit.