NEXPO 2003, Las Vegas, NV -- (June 16, 2003) – Creo Inc. features the new face of newspaper printing with Staccato screening at NEXPO 2003, from June 16-19. North American newspapers are now enjoying improved color and halftone stability on press by using Staccato screening for daily newspaper production. This advanced technology provides consistent, reliable, high-impact print production. It produces high-fidelity, artifact-free images that exhibit fine detail without halftone rosettes, screening moiré, gray-level limitations or abrupt jumps in tone—without impacting rendering time.
NEXPO visitors are seeing Staccato samples produced by North American newspapers such as The Bulletin of Bend, OR and St. Joseph News-Press of St. Joseph, MO. Both dailies use the Creo Trendsetter NEWS 70 computer-to-plate (CTP) system that images up to 70 plates per hour.
“Within six months we were printing our paper with 100 percent Staccato screening,” says Rich Creighton, production manager of St. Joseph News-Press. The 42,000 circulation daily (45,000 Sunday) uses the Brisque workflow management system, the Creo Trendsetter NEWS 70 thermal CTP platesetter with SQUAREspot imaging for efficient production. “CTP and Staccato have helped prevent misregistration as well as color shifts, and moiré is gone completely,” says Creighton. “We’re noticing details that were never there before, particularly on quarter-tone and three-quarter tone areas. People within the company, clients, and advertisers are all asking what we’re doing different.”
With a daily circulation of 30,000, The Bulletin is also using Staccato screening and the Creo Trendsetter NEWS 70 CTP system. “After we made the change, I heard comments from our advertising staff about how great the quality of the printing was,” says Mike Greening, director of operations. “Detail and sharpness are probably the most noticeable things. Diagonal lines don’t break out, thanks to 25 micron Staccato screening. You see it best in reverse knock-outs, especially in photos that have fine details, and in charts and graphs. You can clearly see things that you never could before.” The Bulletin intends to leverage Staccato screening into new business opportunities, including higher quality commercial print jobs.