I was stuck in NY PENN station waiting for my train and I struck up a conversation with the business man sitting next to me. We got around to talking about what we do for a living and when I told him I print newspapers he became quite interested in the whole process. It is at this point I realized most people have no idea how their newspaper is printed. So here I will attempt to tell and show you.

Most newspapers are printed on non-heatset offset web presses. These are large presses taking up a few hundred feet in length and usually two or three stories high. Here is a press by TKS. This is a press from MAN ROLAND. Here is another from GOSS.

Let’s begin by following the paper as it transforms from large 1800 lb. rolls to a completed newspaper. The newsprint rolls begin their transformation in a reel stand at the base of a printing unit. In this picture you can clearly see one roll of paper in a reel stand. There are usually two or three rolls of newsprint in one reel stand and one stand at the bottom of each printing unit. The TKS printing press above has ten printing units. The paper is pulled through the press and off the roll while the press is running as the roll expires it is pasted to the incoming roll and a new roll is now loaded into the reel stand. This is all done while the press is running so that it does not have to be shut down for more paper.

The paper travels out of the basement or reel room and through the printing unit. This can either be a mono (or black) unit or a color unit. The mono units are simple and print blanket to blanket applying black text to both sides of the newsprint at the same time. Color units are more complex. Most color sequences on offset litho printing will be CMYK although KCMY can also be used. The color can be printed back to back in a Tower configuration or on a satellite using a Common impression cylinder or CIC.

After the ink has been applied, slitters (circular cutting knives), angle bars, and former pans are used to position sheets in certain locations and to create the sections of the newspaper. Here is a great head on photo of a former pan. You can see how as the paper travels down, it gets folded in half (along the spine on a broadsheet, along the top and cut on a tabloid). Newspaper presses have 2 to 4 former pans and can create 2 to 8 sections with these.

Remember, the sheets are still long continuous sheets of newsprint at this point. But they are folded neatly into their sections in the proper order. The last step is for the paper to continue being pulled into the rotating folder and cut at exactly the correct moment. The jagged edge you see at the top and bottom of your newspaper is this cut. Moments after being cut a Tucker Blade forces the paper into a set of Folding Rollers and out of the folder onto a conveyor delivery system off to the mail room for packaging. That last trip through the Folding Rollers creates the fold everyone sees when the paper is sitting on the news stand.

TA DA! you now know (very crudely) how a newspaper is created on an offset lithographic press. If anyone would like clarifications on anything please email me or leave a comment.