After 41 years of wear and tear, The T&D’s press is being rebuilt
The second phase of the most significant press rebuild project to occur at The Times and Democrat (Orangeburg, S.C.) in four decades is complete.
"It is like taking an engine down to the block and rebuilding it," T&D Operations Manager Jerry Harvill said. "This was a huge project. I have seen them work on a press, and I have worked on presses, but I never have seen one torn down to the frame and new parts put in."
The second phase of the rebuild project, which occurred in September, included the replacement of parts for three of the press' seven units or towers.
The work entailed the removal and replacement of press bearings, bronze brushings, copper rollers, rubber rollers, press blankets, plate lock-up bars, ink plates and ink balls.
"Every department of The Times and Democrat is vital to its operation, but the press is truly the heart of a newspaper," T&D Publisher Cathy Hughes said. "When the press cranks up and begins running, then you can hear the heartbeat of the newspaper."
The press's pneumatic system was also upgraded. The system turns on the rollers and holds the cylinders in place using compressed air.
"If we had to replace an air valve on it, it would take upwards of two hours to replace one. With the new set of air valves, it can be done in four minutes," Harvill said.
The work was overseen by Lee Enterprises Manager of Pressroom Operations Don Kelly and press technician Bill Novicki of Illinois-based Lion Web Components Inc. Lee Enterprises is the parent company of The T&D.
T&D Press Foreman Russell O'Cain also worked on the project.
The four remaining units will be rebuilt by the end of 2014.
The cost of the entire project will be approximately $500,000.
Hughes said the rebuild will maintain the press' reliability.
"The rebuild should decrease the likelihood of a serious breakdown of the press, which obviously would cripple our ability to produce the newspaper," Hughes said. "Our skilled press crew has always done a phenomenal job of maintaining the press on a day-to-day basis, which has gone a long way toward the achievement of never missing an edition."
"Some parts were worn out, like the plate lock-up bars," Harvill said. "When they get worn, they don't hold the plate in register as tightly as they should, making it harder to register color. Some of the copper rollers were worn and did not transfer ink correctly."
As a result, color quality in the paper's center pages was less clear or sharp, Harvill said.
"Our pictures are made up of little fine dots," he said. "Those really fine dots, depending on the shape and size of the dot, will determine how much color will come up. They have to be lined up. You can't put colors together and have them off at an angle and expect it to look good. Some were off at an angle."
Hughes hopes readers will be able to notice the color quality difference, especially in the center of the paper and on double trucks, where one image covers two pages. Two-page advertising layouts should be cleaner and clearer.
The entire rebuild project was done without halting paper production, as four units were still operational while the other three units were down for upgrades.
"There was a lot of teamwork to get the paper out," Harvill said. "We had to limit color and limit the number of pages. The reader was not affected. If we needed more pages, we added another section."
Hughes said unlike many papers, The T&D has not outsourced printing or decreased publication days.
"We have invested heavily in the printing capabilities here and we continue to produce a printed paper seven mornings a week," Hughes said. "With the most recent investment in the press rebuild, we hope the print reader will enjoy improved quality in the newspaper each morning."
"Simultaneously, we are investing in technology and training to stay up-to-date on distributing information via our website TheTandD.com, which by the way, has won best newspaper website four of the past five years in S.C. Press Association contests," Hughes said. "Together, these two means of distribution enable us to reach a bigger audience each day than ever in our history. And we are reaching that audience all day long through various means: printed product, desktop, mobile, app, tablet, social media."
O'Cain, who has worked on The T&D press for 34 years, said the project is the most extensive he's encountered.
Most was done by hand, though there were points where heavy lifting was involved.
The boring machine, estimated to be about 300 pounds, was lifted using a forklift, O'Cain said.
The process required precision.
"The brushings were hand fitted to both the shaft and press frame," Harvill said. "The tolerance is so tight that if you turned it slightly the wrong way, you would not be able to fit it in. It was made to fit in just perfectly."
Harvill said the press is constantly monitored and basic maintenance is done regularly.
The first phase of the project was completed four years ago when the newspaper rebuilt the folder unit with new parts.
"The folder takes the flat web (reel of paper) and turns it into a single fold," Harvill said. "It folds it and then folds it again and cuts it."
O'Cain said that project was very different from the one just completed.
"We could get in there and fix something and it could be running at night," O'Cain said. "Units are a different thing."
The paper has also converted to a computer-to-plate technology, which eliminated the need for negatives in the printing process. The T&D also purchased new stackers.
The newspaper was founded in 1881, starting out with a hand-operated press. Within four years the paper switched to a powered press and doubled its size from four to eight pages. Another press, with twice the speed, was installed in March 1903.
In 1965, The T&D moved from Russell Street to its present location and a new press was purchased. This press only lasted about seven years, until The T&D was destroyed by fire in October 1972.
Despite the fire, The T&D still managed to get the paper out. During the transition period, the paper was printed out of Sumter and Rock Hill.
The new press – a five-unit Goss Urbanite, at the time the fastest in the world – arrived seven days after the fire. Within 30 days, the pressroom building had been rebuilt around it.
In the 1980s, two additional press units were installed.
The press uses an offset printing process, with the printing plate never directly touching the paper. The image on the plate is transferred to a rubber "blanket" on a roller that is offset to the paper for the final impression.
Contact the writer: gzaleski@timesanddemocrat.com or (803) 533-5551.
Keywords
Orangeburg, printing press, Harvill, Hughes
