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from b/w to color

Michelle Garcia, Editor, The Oswegonian, 11/15/2004, 10:35:03 AM

The Oswegonian is a free 16-page paper with a circulatino of 6000 and we pay $28 per page printed. Lately, I've noticed readership has been significantly lower than the previous 2 years. We're thinking about printing the front and back cover in color (Very fancy, I know).
In order to afford this, I think we would have to reduce the circulation to about 3500, but it's feasible.
Has anyone worked at a newspaper during the transition from b/w to color? What are some of the problems you faced? Were there any little things you overlooked that can be avoided? Any answer will be much appreciated
-Michelle

Responses

Matt, 11/15/2004, 6:00:37 PM
We moved from a b/w newspaper to color on the front & back (the center spread was included), and here's what I can tell you from my experience.

It's not as easy as dropping a color photo in. You'll learn to love photo color management, because what's on the screen is way different than what prints out on paper.

That, plus you'll have to worry about color schemes, what works well and issues like that. Don't use color for the sake of using color!!! Be very selective and tasteful in your color choices -- that's the biggest "small thing" that you can overlook.

Color is a great way to generate interest; word around campus is that we've never looked better, and everyone's enthralled with the color. It really does add a whole new dimension to what you are trying to accomplish.

Before you dive in headfirst, talk to your printer about it. Ours made it a smoother transition by providing the tools, tips and tricks we needed to make sure all went smoothly.

Good luck!

Kim Owens, 2/23/2005, 7:15:38 PM
If your paper accepts advertisements, the best thing to do would be to attact advertisers with color. They often will use it to get an edge over their competitors. When we get about one full color ad or a few 1 or 2 color ads (based on CMYK), we basically have the color on our paper paid for! It is best to see what your printer charges you for color, but we charge $75/per color and $300 for full color; ad size doesn't matter on color price.

We have found that more students want a color paper and that it definitely grabs more attention and more students pick it up when we have more color photos.

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