Bits and pieces

New press supplier

Most readers noticed a subtle change in the Wellington Advertiser the past two weeks.

The paper stock is whiter, printing brighter and it’s marginally larger.

Huron Web, a printer based out of Wyoming, Ontario, purchased a press from a plant closure in Toronto. After months of installation and tinkering, it is up and running. We are happy about that.

For us here, this Ontario supplier limits the risk we have faced in the past two years with delivery from Montreal. Weather and the typical trucking woes over such a long distance proved major obstacles we can now avoid. 

Some people quizzed us during those years about the need for printing in Quebec. It was a matter of press closures, consolidations, time of week and press capacity. As one of the larger print jobs in the province, it isn’t a contract everyone can accommodate. Plus, we are quite stuck on the format. The size and shape allow us to insert flyers and deliver a presentable package to doorsteps each week.

We see this new relationship as welcome news for us and countless other newspapers across Ontario. It is an option that didn’t exist before, so we are proud to join Huron Web as a customer.

Finally, some good news and, with the weather, perfect timing.

New website

After weeks of effort, our new website has gone live. 

This will be version four or five. It’s hard to keep track since our first primitive effort back in 1997.

We anticipate it to be faster, using the most up-to-date software on the market. In recent years, most readers use their smartphone to access news and updates.

As with most things new, there will be some bugs to work out. Automation of forms and interactions with readers and customers will no doubt require some tweaking, but our team is on it.

Breaking news or important stories make it to the web first. Travelers can check in while away and researchers have access to our vast archive of stories. At last count, over 76,000 articles can be recalled spanning roughly 25 years online.

We hope you enjoy our new site. 

As always, we value your feedback. Visit us at wellingtonadvertiser.com.

RIT ends print program

For many years we enjoyed attending conferences in the U.S. 

The Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) was often front and centre.

Along with convention halls filled with printers and different machinery, we also took in many educational sessions. Chief among those classes was a speaker named Frank Romano, who taught at RIT. 

His topics were engaging and germane to an ever-evolving print eco-system. Xerox, a brand well known in the printing industry, did extensive testing at RIT.

Looking back at some of the whacky ideas we have witnessed, from early colour photocopiers and thermal printers, the current complement of print options is simply astounding. 

The quality is incredible and the cost has dropped substantially, almost to the point where digital printing is quite competitive with traditional processes.

Having reached that pinnacle of success and perhaps believing the industry will handle any upcoming changes in technology, RIT has backed off print. The fundamentals will still be taught, but – and this we found amusing – their program will now focus on the packaging industry. 

Try as society might to cut back on packaging and superfluous material, growth in packaging to meet consumer demand is full steam ahead.