NEWS

(11/10/2021 / sbr)

New York Daily News raises the bar on newspaper print production

The New York Daily News has been serving the working people of New York since 1919. As one of the largest circulated metropolitan daily newspapers in the U.S., the Daily News is committed to informing, inspiring, and engaging the tri-state community. The award-winning newspaper was the first daily printed in tabloid format.

Recently, the Daily News evaluated suppliers and decided to extend its partnership with Agfa. The newly appointed senior director of manufacturing at the Daily News, John Frahm, noticed print variations to resolve. Calibrating the presses would reduce the inconsistencies. He pulled in Agfa sales and professional services to help.

“I was excited we decided to go with Agfa. I knew we needed to optimize the entire process, from photo editing to output on press, and I wanted skilled partners who could help calibrate each step. My goal was to maximize what our presses are capable of achieving. We wanted a higher contrast and color consistency,”
says Frahm.

Lower ink-water balance, sharper dot and less waste

The Daily News pressroom team improved the print process starting with Agfa’s violet chemistry-free plates. “The moment we started testing the N95-VCF plates, dampening went down 15 to 20 percent,” states Frahm. “With that, I knew everything would improve. Now we’re getting consistent press performance with a better ink-water balance, sharper dot, higher trapping percentages and less waste.”

N95-VCF is a negative-working, high-speed, chemistry-free plate offering run lengths up to 300,000. It saves water and eliminates developer and replenisher with a pH-neutral clean-out solution. The environmentally-safer N95-VCF provides outstanding lithographic quality with easy handling and excellent durability.

The Daily News installed Agfa’s Spiral screening technology to maximize results, which achieved higher contrast and a wide color gamut. Spiral screening controls the ink application, allowing for printing with a thinner ink layer. The traditional dot is replaced with a more economical spiral shape, requiring less ink to fill the exact same space, resulting in a crystal-clear image. After six months, ink yield improved by 8.56%.

Spiral is Agfa’s latest patented screening technology. Based on the fundaments of Sublima screening, it allows you to hold a 1-99% dot. The result is striking image quality with reduced image slur. It doesn’t break the bank either: Spiral requires zero expensive upgrades for the CTP or printing press.

Higher contrast and improved color with less ink

“Agfa products and professional services have been exceptional. The Agfa team has played an invaluable role in supporting the New York Daily News’ efforts to achieve superior print quality. Implementing chem-free N95-VCF plates and Spiral screening maximizes our entire print production. And with the help of professional services, we have our dampening and ink curves right. And, the highlights look far better. Plus, we can standardize photo quality with ProImage’s new OnColor image software.”

Customers see improved quality

From software to plates to output, optimizing the entire process achieves the best possible image sharpness, detail, and color gamut for the Daily News. The proof is in their customer’s responses. Clients have expressed their delight and appreciation for the quality improvements made so far.

According to Frahm, the publisher of one of their largest weekly newspaper customers reported, ‘I’ve always been happy with your print quality, but the quality I’m getting today has never been better.’ And it’s exciting because these outstanding results are just the beginning.

For Frahm and the Daily News pressroom team, achieving superior print quality will solidify its position in the New York market, reinforce the brand as the “country’s leading tabloid” and raise the bar on newspaper production in the United States.