Marc Tropio

ANNIVERSARY PROFILE
10 YEARS

Nathan T. Gray Special Agent in Charge (SAC) of the FBI's
Phoenix Division and Marc Tropio at Graduation Day

Name: Marc Tropio

Newspaper: Valley Newspapers

Position: Technical Services Coordinator

Number of years in the newspaper or printing business: 19 years

Job description: Help clients with technical questions and issues. Help the printing divisions with problems they may need support with. Take care of related computers, servers and systems that pertain to Valley Newspapers and most recently working to help bring in additional clients as a sales representative.

What I like best (about my job): Working with so many different people and that my job can vary so much through out the day.

Most memorable moment with INI: When I powered down the Panther Pro film-setter knowing I would never have to use it again!

Hobbies/Interests: Spending time with my wife and kids, shooting sports, camping and continuing my education and obtaining additional certifications as a first responder.

Fun fact (about myself): I volunteer for different federal and state organizations as a member of the FBI Infragard, Department of Homeland Security CyberCop, FBICAA and CERT First Responder programs.

FCNP Visits New Printer at Delaware Printing Company

“Do you smell that?” Benton exclaimed. “That smell is the
reason why print newspapers will never die.”

THE FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS CREW met with their counterparts at the Delaware Printing Company (top) in Dover, Del. on Aug. 1. The printing staff took the News-Press on a tour of their facility, including their state-of-the-art press (bottom left) and the creation of the printing plates used to layout the content on the paper.

by Dean Edwards
Falls Church News-Press

Seven staff members of the mighty Falls Church News-Press went on a road trip earlier this month to Dover, Del. to tour the sleek, modern state-of-the-art press which took over the printing operation of the News-Press earlier this year.

The Delaware Printing Company (DPC), is based on the outskirts of Dover, and prints numerous weekly publications, including several for the D.C. Metro area. Members of the DPC staff greeted their News-Press counterparts with a welcoming marquee before their general manager, Tom Bugbee, led a tour throughout the impressive warehouse of offices and machinery.

As the tour wound past the frenetic machines and busy operators at their stations, large vats of ink and reams of paper, News-Press owner Nicholas Benton remarked about the lingering scent of ink and paper of the printing press.

“Do you smell that?” Benton exclaimed. “That smell is the reason why print newspapers will never die.”

Bugbee, who has worked in printing for 35 years, replied, “I knew I liked that guy.”

The tour’s main attraction had a warehouse all to itself: the technologically cutting-edge, three story Colora Press, produced by German press manufacturer, Koenig and Bauer AG.

With a maximum production rate of 75,000 copies an hour, and a computer that monitors, with precision, ink levels and all operations big and small, the Colora Press is a revolution in printing.

For the DPC’s needs, the printer puts out more than 30,000 copies of finished product an hour.

“After years of dealing with printers, everything has changed with this technology,” Bugbee told the News-Press crew.

Most of the human labor happens away from the actual press, in the confines of the adjoining “quiet room.” There, the press operators sit in front of large computer modules, monitoring the press and its internal computers to ensure the press is functioning properly.

“The few years we’ve had this machine, there’s not been a single major problem,” said Bugbee. “Until last week, that is, when there was an issue with the cooling water, but we fixed that problem in a day.”

Upstairs is where thin aluminum plates are imprinted with the newspaper’s layout to place on the press. The diligent CTP, or “computer- to-plate,” team handles the process, and the expansive Kodak printers churn out the nightly product.

The CTP operation involves just as much automation as the German-made press, with computerized cameras following the metal sheets through the printers and cutting blocks.

“I remember when we had the old machines, we would have the fans running all night long,” said CTP teammate Burkey Emmons about the heat generated by the earlier models.

Emmons crafts the layout for the metal prints from files the News-Press sends electronically every Wednesday night. Toni Hewes, a veteran member of the CTP team, also showed the News-Press around the CTP room.

In the printing business for nearly 40 years, Hewes said with a laugh, “A whole lot has changed these days.”

Intern farewell

Lydia Woolever, a student from the University of Delaware, completed an eight-week internship with the Delaware State News on Friday, Aug. 7.

Lydia, of Chestertown, Md., was a wonderful contributor, producing nearly 40 stories for the daily. She also edited and wrote portions of the 2010 Sussex County and Kent County Profiles.

Reporting for the Delaware State News, she was able to track legislation in the final days of the General Assembly, write features from the Delaware State Fair and other events, and handle some interesting business news.

Lydia was selected by the Maryland-Delaware-D.C. Press Association’s intern committee for the Delaware State News.

Sonny Zed Postles

ANNIVERSARY PROFILE
35 years

Sonny Zed Postles

Name: Sonny Zed Postles

Newspaper: Delaware State News

Position: Circulation Sales & Marketing

Number of years in the newspaper or printing business: 35 years

Job description: Marketing the Delaware State News to our retail stores, setting up new locations for vending machines and solving problems.

What I like best (about my job): freedom, meeting people.

Most memorable moment with INI: When I went to Okeechobee Fl. For five years and fished on the big lake Okeechobee .

Hobbies/Interests: Ham Radio and doing emergency work during Hurricane handling emergency traffic up and down the east coast.

Fun fact (about myself): Ham Radio, Hunting, Fishing and camping on the Chesapeake Bay in Mathews County Virginia. The Land of pleasant living.