A dingy newsroom. Coats of dust so thick they could hold archaeological treasures. Less natural light than Weaver cave.Though all good reasons for The Star to move out of its old West 10th Street home, none of these charms led to the deal being sealed. No, it was something much less obvious to your average visitor to the building.
It was the need for a new press.
“The press is what drove the whole project,” said Ed Fowler, vice president for operations.
So, after looking at some feasibility studies and considering the purchase of a rebuilt press, the company’s leadership decided on the brand-new $3 million behemoth that churns out your morning Anniston Star, as well as the Daily Home and other publications.
Six tractor-trailers brought it here from Pennsylvania, where it was manufactured. And it took a staff from DGM, the company that made it, 15 weeks to install it.
Its first days of operation were less than spectacular. On the third night, a bolt popped off, causing a brief shutdown and the late delivery of that Wednesday’s papers.
Fowler said he’s been happy with the machine’s overall performance since then, despite the bugs being worked out in the initial weeks. “We’ve had some problems, but you’d expect that during the shakedown,” he said.
Said Production Director Roger Sawyer, “The problems have been due to the learning curve, going from a manual system to a more automated one.”
Among the improvements in the new setup is a machine that allows for the automatic change of paper rolls. With the old press, rolls had to be changed three or four times a night, Sawyer said.
Sawyer said the 12 employees who operate the machine are happy with their new digs. “It’s a cleaner environment, and it’s all one floor,” he said. “You had to go up and down the stairs before.”
In the near future, Fowler said, the colors will be calibrated between different parts of production, and the pictures in the papers will “jump off the page.”
Although the new machine is double the size of the old one, there is room for still more expansion in the new press room.
“We can double the units by stacking the size,” Fowler said.
