Newspaper presses can be faster, cheaper and smaller in 20 years

Ifra’s editors have launched a seven-part “Future Press” series in ‘newspaper techniques’ magazine examining the technology’s latest developments. The series, which starts this month with a detailed report on the prospects for digital newspaper presses, anticipates the continued essential role of presses and printing in the production of paged media in general and newspapers in particular,

Twenty years from now, many newspapers could be printed on fast digital presses that are cheaper, quieter and much smaller than the web offsets used today. Each copy of the newspapers coming off those presses could be individually different from every other, perhaps with sports scores or advertising tailored to the particular subscriber or to the particular news kiosk where it is sold.

According to Ifra, 20 years from now, many newspapers could be printed on fast digital presses that are cheaper, quieter and much smaller than the web offsets used today. Each copy of the newspapers coming off those presses could be individually different from every other copy, perhaps with sports scores or advertising tailored to the particular subscriber or to the particular news kiosk where it is sold.

However, 20 years is the earliest than anyone interviewed for the ‘newspaper techniques’ report is willing to bet on realising such a future, even though the magazine’s research found that there has been a lot of recent technical progress. For the immediate future, digital presses fit into special applications for a publisher’s overall strategy of staying on the leading edge of paged-media production.

Ifra is the world's leading organisation for newspaper and media publishing with 10 locations worldwide. Its ‘newspaper techniques’ magazine of newspaper strategy, business and technology is available monthly in English, French, German and Spanish. The ePaper format can be read either online or offline on most computers.

Newspapers and providers are investigating numerous scenarios, distribution concepts and the potential of personalisation. It is all covered in the February ‘newspaper techniques’ report, which comprises eight pages in print and a direct-linked microsite of interviews, resource material, interactive discussion and user contributions.

All employees of Ifra-member publishing houses and supplier companies can receive a no-charge subscription to ‘newspaper techniques’ magazine. Through special arrangement with Ifra, no-charge ePaper subscriptions are also available to all employees of companies that are members of the Newspaper Association of America (NAA) or the Pacific Area Newspaper Publishers Association (PANPA).