When readers grab a copy of the Reveille’s latest issue, they may not realize there’s a bigger story that isn’t on the pages – it’s behind them. Beyond the purple and gold ink and bold front cover headlines, each issue is a product of giant machines, heavy rolls of paper and teamwork at the Baton Rouge Press.
The life cycle of a Reveille newspaper starts with the stories, of course. After stories are written by reporters and polished up by editors, they are then finalized for print. From there, the final prints are exported as a digital file and uploaded onto a secure server. This is where the printing press takes over.
After the press receives the files, their pre-press department downloads and checks these files for issues to make sure that the papers print correctly. If they are approved, those files are sent to a CTP (computer to plate) device that creates printing plates and runs proofs. The plates are then mounted onto the press and printed out for clients to use and distribute.
Baton Rouge Press handles over 75 different publications locally with an estimated 100,000 copies printed daily. Stacey Coffing, the production and business development manager at the Baton Rouge Press, has been involved in the print industry for over 40 years.
Coffing says that print has come a long way. She recalls when print was done through film strips, and even before that, people would use different machines like laser printers to copy and paste their stories to be printed.
The printing press gets very busy, with Wednesdays being their most action-packed days. The various professional equipment takes a lot of effort to handle with the average roll weighing almost 1000lbs.
“Each person’s doing their part to get the job out, and it’s just steady,” Coffing said. “And there’s communication and people are talking to each other about what’s going on. These presses are big, and you have to pay attention to what you’re doing, or you can get hurt.”
Coffing mentions that while printing with the equipment runs smoothly most of the time, there are some instances where things can go wrong.
“When you’re in a newspaper industry, where everything is news, your deadlines are really tight and your turnarounds are really tight,” Coffing said. “So, if you incur equipment issues, you can miss a deadline. Nobody wants to read old news, right? They want to have current news. So, it’s very critical that the equipment works and works properly.”
There aren’t many printing presses still around, so attaining materials for print isn’t as easy as it used to be. The Baton Rouge Press sources some of their materials from paper mills out of state and even out of the country.
Baton Rouge Press has been printing out the Reveille for over 12 years.
“I think that the commitment by the Reveille to get the news out to the students has been good,” Coffing said. “There’s a lot of other colleges that don’t have that same commitment, and you see a lot of them struggle.”
Coffing says that there are a lot of stories that she finds connections to. She takes pride in the fact that she can walk into an establishment and find work that she’s printed herself. She believes that because there are so many niches that require physical copies, print will remain in demand.
“I think there’s still a place for the printed word,” Coffing said. “I think that college students would rather read a book than read a computer. So, I don’t think that print is dead, but I definitely think it has gotten smaller. I can see the change from how I grew up and how my kids are growing up, but not all change is bad. Things change, and you have to go with it. “
The life cycle of a Reveille newspaper is vast and intricate, transporting from the newsroom to the pressroom and finally into newsstands. Next time you pick up a copy, remember it’s more than just a paper printed with ink. The Reveille represents hard work and dedication from everyone who brings it to life.
