Waycross Journal-Herald chooses 40 inch Goss Community
Press release from the issuing company
September 30th 2003 – The Waycross Journal-Herald of Ware County, GA., USA has ordered a Goss Community press for production of its daily title of the same name.
The new press will include a four-high tower with 40” web width – the first Community 3x1 tower of its kind. The 40” / 1016 mm web width allows running 6 pages of 4/4 color when producing a 12 1/2” broadsheet page, or a 12-page short tabloid section folded into the broadsheet. Hence the wider web Community tower offers more color pages and new product flexibility solutions.
As well as producing the 11,500 copies of Waycross Journal-Herald six days per week, the new Goss Community will handle a number of existing contract print jobs. It is also expected to attract further orders from local businesses, due to its increased speed, automation, color capacity and improved print quality.
With a population of 35,630 residents, Ware County is a community that puts strong emphasis on its local history and neighborhood news. Into this setting, the Waycross Journal-Herald brings its legacy as an independent daily newspaper – one of only three in the whole State of Georgia. A family concern across four generations, it is focused exclusively on local issues.
The new Community will replace a 42 year-old Goss press, which was converted from letterpress 29 years ago. According to Roger Williams, owner and publisher of the Waycross Journal-Herald, the longevity of the company’s existing press was influential in turning to Goss for a replacement, but the combination of workhorse durability with modern production capabilities in the new Community press were decisive.
”We can’t wait to get to work with the enhanced quality and capacity of the new equipment,” states Williams. “It has become increasingly difficult to accommodate customers’ demands for greater color capacity, and we’ve recently even had to turn work away. The new press will give us so much more color flexibility, there’ll be no risk of letting any customers down, and we’ll have the foundation to grow capacity to meet requirements in the future.”
Key to the color flexibility of the new press is the 40” web-width tower, which will enable Waycross Journal-Herald to introduce extra color via a ribbon deck assembly. The remaining new press units will have conventional 35” web width, with the full Community press configuration comprising one four-high tower, three mono units with integral reelstands, three stacked units, one SSC folder and two standalone reelstands.
The investment in the new press has been made with a view to the future development of the paper. As well as the improved print quality of the new press, Williams anticipates that the speed and automation via the new Community press console will enable them to bring forward production of the main title.
“Printing between 5.00 and 6.00 am will enable us to deliver each edition in time for breakfast in most homes, thus enhancing the whole news experience for our readers,” explains Roger Williams.
“The Waycross Journal-Herald has been making an important contribution to the Waycross community ever since my grandfather bought the title in 1916. In some ways its contribution is more important today than ever, for maintaining an independent public voice in the face of media monopolies and globalization. My grandfather, and my father after him, believed passionately in the importance of community focus and resisted numerous attractive buy-out offers. This latest investment in new technology reflects our continued commitment to this ideal.”
According to Tom Reardon, Goss International Senior Sales Manager, “This is a strategically important order for Goss, being the first 3x1 in the USA. Our long-term involvement with Waycross demonstrates how a strong customer/supplier relationship can continue to provide creative production solutions.”
The new press for Waycross Journal-Herald is scheduled to be delivered in April 2004.