The "Lancaster's Written Word: Part IV" Story

Historical marker stands in front of the
Lancaster Newspapers building at
8 West King St. in downtown Lancaster,  PA

It was an ordinary day.  Just got back from my visit with Tom who for years ran presses for Lancaster Newspapers in downtown Lancaster, PA.  Asked Tom a few days ago if I could come and take a look at the two Flexoman presses that they installed in 1988.  They had been running the newspaper by the letterpress method since 1952 when they put in a new presses.  I used to visit with my graphic arts classes so they could view the processes they were learning in class.  Letterpress was a great example of the relief printing or raised printing, since the letters and photos in letterpress are raised above the background and after they are applied with a layer of ink, they would print onto paper.  Lancaster Newspapers gave me a Linotype machine in the early 1970s so I could show my classes how type was set for printing the newspaper.  Only problem was the school district got wind of it and after visiting my room decided it was too dangerous to have hot, liquid lead in the classroom.  Looking back on it now I guess they were right in their decision.  Today's method of printing the newspaper is totally different than how it was years ago.  There is no more molten metal, no more oil-based ink and no more smell like there was at one time.  The water-based ink dries much faster and allegedly doesn't rub off on their customers hands. Kind of disappointing when I first walked into the press room today and didn't get my printer's high from the smell of the oil-based ink.  The water based ink used today is much easier to clean.  The procedure used today is flexography or "flexo" as printers call it.  Flexo is still a form of relief, but utilizes a plate with a substrate on top of steel.  

This is the five-story building that
was built in 1927 at 8 West King St. to
replace the old Lancaster Press building.

The steel plate is needed, since it will hold to the press rollers which are magnetic.  Lancaster Newspapers used to coat their own plates with the plastic-like substrate, but now purchase them already coated.  They then place a film negative on top of them and expose the plate and negative to an intense light source.  This will harden the coating where the light strikes it and the remaining coating will eventually wash away.  The steel plate will then be placed on the rollers of the press.  The presses that are used at Lancaster Newspaper are matching presses that have 7 units each.  One press can be used or they can put both into action for newspapers with more pages or more sections to the paper.  The paper comes in large rolls which is the width of an open newspaper page.  Lancaster Newspapers get their paper from three distributors using either spruce or birch wood for the paper base.  The rolls can weigh anywhere from 1,500 to 2,000 pounds.  Neat to watch how the paper is placed on the press and how one roll is attached to another roll.  My only problem today is the press is not in operation.  Lancaster Newspapers has a morning delivery route so they go to press close to midnight.  

Names of the newspapers that are printed here are
displayed on the front of the building.

Years ago when I would bring my classes to visit, they ran both morning and evening editions so my classes could watch the paper being run on the press.  The press can print 70,000 copies of the newspaper an hour which is about 19 complete newspapers per second.  The machine flies!!  Lancaster Newspapers publishes the Intelligencer Journal/Lancaster New Era, a 73,000-circulation daily Monday through Saturday and the 93,000-circulation Sunday News and LancasterOnline as well as a variety of smaller editions as I stated in yesterdays story.  Naturally more papers are printed to go to newsstands, grocery stores, schools and libraries as well as other distribution locations.  Rather then try to explain any more through the written word, I'll post the photos I took while walking around the different locations needed to produce the newspaper.  Tom was a gracious host as well as a great dad who helped me when I coached baseball for years.  His youngest son was on three of the teams I coached and I always appreciated his help.  By the time this story is posted Tom will have retired from Lancaster Newspapers for the second time.  He was too valuable an asset to the paper and they talked him out of retirement to come back to work for a few more years.  They will miss him!  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.

The steel plates covered with the green substrate and the negative.  Remember to click on any image to enlarge it.

After exposing the plate and negative to a high intensity light, the background is washed away and the letters and photos are raised about the lower surface.  Process known as flexography.

Here my host, Tom, shows me how they attach the plates to the rollers.

Press is made-ready by feeding the paper through a series of many rollers.  This roll of paper is the width of the newspaper if you would open it so you can see two pages next to one another. 

After printing the paper get split by a roller and folded as seen above.

Control central.  This unit controls all 14 units of the 2 presses.

Printed pages getting split and folded.

More rollers to help lead the paper through the press.

A maze of paper as it travels so fast you can barely see the printing on the paper.  A tear at any point can cause a major problem, and they do happen from time to time.  

A better view of the printed newsprint being split.  The sharp, shiny, metal roller that cuts or splits the paper  is  above center, slightly on the right.

Rolls of newsprint are placed on the press units while another awaits it turn.  15 to 20 rolls of paper are needed to run the paper.

This roll is made from spruce wood and weighs 1,634 pounds.

Storage of the paper.  These rolls are stacked about 12-15 feet high.  

The Flexoman press from the beginning to the end.