Standard steps into modern era with new press

With newsprint zipping through the press, Standard press foreman Tim Hogan flips through pages of a section to ensure the quality of the work.

What’s two stories tall, 60 feet long and can print over 17,000 newspapers in a hour?

The answer is the Southern Standard’s new 10-unit press which is now up and running at the newspaper office on College Street.

“This is a major leap from what we had,” said Standard publisher Patricia Zechman. “This brings us up to more of a modern era.”

The Standard’s previous four-unit press had been printing the paper for close to three decades. That press was taken apart, refurbished, and then added to a six-unit press for a total of 10 units.

The move gives the Standard full color capabilities on more pages. But perhaps most impressively, two sections of the paper can now be printed at the same time and inserted together.

Previously, every section of the paper was printed separately and then inserted by hand. This became a tedious process, especially on Sundays when the newspaper has printed as many as seven sections.

“It has taken some getting used to,” said Standard production manager Kevin Grizzle. “Everything is different and a lot more complicated. Things we used to take for granted, like the page numbers, we have to pay close attention to otherwise what’s supposed to be page 2 might not come after page 1.”

There were several main factors that influenced the decision to invest in such an elaborate press. The efficiency of printing two sections together was one of them. The new press is also supposed to deliver better quality and can print about twice as many papers in an hour.

“If you look at towns our size, there are very few communities that can say they have a press like this one,” said Zechman.

The Standard’s customer appreciation day, held in conjunction with its Pig Week celebration at the end of February, gave most local residents their first look at the new press.

“It always surprises me how many people don’t realize we print the Standard right here in McMinnville,” said editor James Clark. “But that’s what we do here every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday night.”

In addition to the newspaper, the Standard is also looking to print more outside commercial work. The newspaper offers free estimates on nursery catalogs or any other commercial job.