Newspaper production

[awesome_dare6005]

So I'm not new to print, having worked on some glossy perfect bound magazines for a few years. I'm due to start a new role on a newspaper. As it is UK tabloid size, I thought I'd mock up some layouts based on sizes available, but clearly this was before seeing the product – my InDesign margin, trim, bleed seem way out.

So far what I gather: newspapers don't have bleed, I assume this is correct. Editorial, and adverts are type area only unless going across two pages where you have to account for the extra 20mm centre gutter.

Also, what is this? The front half of the newspaper overhangs the back? Should this be accounted for in InDesign, or is a quirk of printing newspapers? I'd appreciate any pointers or tips on setting up InDesign, or newspaper production in general. I'm sure all will be clear once I start, but just wanted to get ahead.

[Randy Hagan · Accepted solution]

Those are color registration marks — not like conventional targets, but registration marks nonetheless — for quickly checking press alignment as the issue runs through your presses at 35-40 mph. Since you don't have measurable trim on newsprint presses, the registration marks are outside the margins but inside the folding trim for checking registration on press.

Ideally, all four of the CMYK boxes should be aligned horizontally across the page. In your example, the Key color back plate/press is aligned a little high. That may or may not be a bad thing, because the press crew might have intentionally adjusted that press to run a little high to maintain correct impressions on press.

The gray boxes to the left are likely run to measure dot gain at 50%K in straight grayscale and 4-color gray on the press. Again, the grayscale/pure K plate is running a little high, and the 4-color gray is a little fuzzy along the edges due to that misalignment/press adjustment. You'd likely have to drop a printer's loupe (to check it visually) or a spectrometer (to check it digitally) to get more precise values.

The funky fold is an adjustment on the finishing side of the presses. I'd attribute that to the idiosyncracies of your specific pressrun than a generic standard normally applied to all newsprint publications. Again, that newsprint is rolling at 35-40 mph through the press. It might be worth points to mention it to your bosses and show you're paying attention, but it's not a press standard by any means. And it may or may not be relevant to the organization if units are otherwise cranking out quality pages/forms on press.

(Edited to address both the registration marks and the funky fold issues)

Hope this helps,

Randy

[awesome_dare6005]

Hi Randy

Thank you for your reply. Some really interesting information, I was aware of registration, but usually on the products I worked on previously, you would never see them as they're trimmed off before binding. Also your comment below, that hadn't occured to me before, so good to know.

Since you don't have measurable trim on newsprint presses, the registration marks are outside the margins but inside the folding trim for checking registration on press.

Yes, I think my main concern was the funky fold, something I hadn't come across before and possibly thinking too deeply about. If it is something specific to my new company then I'll be sure to find out why, but if it isn't standard then I can continue with my mockups without accounting for this flap. 

Thanks again.

A

[Randy Hagan]

I think you've got the right mindset here. As long as the folios/ad lines/bottom of the ad blocks align when you open the page section(s), the funky fold has no effect on your layouts.

And don't be surprised if you find out designing a newspaper off the Ad Spec Sheet doesn't match how the page is actually assembled to go on press. I've done extensive consulting for the industry after spending years running the editorial/production side of newspapers, and the spec sheet rarely matches how pages are actually put together for any number of reasons.

If you've got the pull in your new organization, the best thing you could do for everybody is update the ad specs to actually match what you're printing every issue.

Randy

[Peter Spier]

In my experience, the uneven fold is intentional and allows for an automated step where a brush is used to open the the folded paper as it is fed into a machine to insert supplements

[Jeffrey_Smith · Accepted solution]

The overlapped area or extended part is known as the "lip". The purpose of the lip is to allow an area on the folded signature to be "gripped" and move it along through the post-print equipment.

For the OP's interest, the lip is taken care in the imposition process by the relative positioning of the signature on the plate. Another term you may hear is "gripper's edge" This is allowing the lip to be positioned on the correct edge, relative to equipment and fold.

[Jeffrey_Smith]

The marks appear to be for an automated registration system. In this situation, the press is equipped with optical sensors that continously scans the rolls, and makes needed adjustments. Typically the marks are added within the imposition application, not within the page composition process where Indesign would be involved.

[Peter Spier]

Have you checked to see if the paper already has templates built for layout? I'd be surprised if they don't, and I would expect them to have include pre-defined styles for text, etc. Unless they are transitioning from another layout application you almost certainly will not have to recreate the wheel.