By TAYLOR HARTZSTAFF WRITER Back in 1975, The Southington Observer became a source for local news in Southington, and it has enjoyed its distinction as the only local paper published and printed in town with Southington employees. For 40 years, the Observer has been rolling off the presses on Spring Street. Today, as one of the last surviving printing presses in Connecticut, more than one-million newspapers roll off the presses each month, to be distributed throughout the region. Running for 13-hours each day, two dozen fulltime pressmen print, package, and mail approximately 250,000 newspapers each week. In addition to distributing 15,000 weekly copies of The Southington Observer, editions of The Bristol Observer added a circulation of 18,000, and The Plainville Observer reaches 8,500 residents per week. But printing The Observer is just the start of a long day for Production Manager Kevin Smalley and his crew. The Observer prints more than a dozen daily, weekly, and monthly publications. Each pressman meticulously reviews and edits the thousands of prints each day, ensuring that colors line up properly, and correcting any visible flaws. “Everything we have back there is manually driven, computers do not drive our press,” said Smalley, of the three room […]
By TAYLOR HARTZSTAFF WRITER Back in 1975, The Southington Observer became a source for local news in Southington, and it has enjoyed its distinction as the only local paper published and printed in town with Southington employees. For 40 years, the Observer has been rolling off the presses on Spring Street. Today, as one of the last surviving printing presses in Connecticut, more than one-million newspapers roll off the presses each month, to be distributed throughout the region. Running for 13-hours each day, two dozen fulltime pressmen print, package, and mail approximately 250,000 newspapers each week. In addition to distributing 15,000 weekly copies of The Southington Observer, editions of The Bristol Observer added a circulation of 18,000, and The Plainville Observer reaches 8,500 residents per week. But printing The Observer is just the start of a long day for Production Manager Kevin Smalley and his crew. The Observer prints more than a dozen daily, weekly, and monthly publications. Each pressman meticulously reviews and edits the thousands of prints each day, ensuring that colors line up properly, and correcting any visible flaws. “Everything we have back there is manually driven, computers do not drive our press,” said Smalley, of the three room […]