Sunday, October 5, 2008

Modesto Bee editor addresses poor print quality in Modesto, late deliveries

In a piece published Sunday, Modesto Bee editor Mark Vasche addresses several issues with the Modesto paper we've noted this week. Vasche tells readers he has heard the complaints: ink that smears, poor color quality, blurriness -- even late deliveries.


Many of you have complained about the ink rubbing off. We understand that. After 20 years of reading a paper that had no ink rub-off, it's not enjoyable to have the touch of black on your fingers that comes with an offset method of printing. The good news: The ink is soy-based and does wash off. We'll do everything we can to minimize the rub-off.

Many of you have complained about the uneven reproduction of text and images, about poor color, about blurriness. Those are legitimate complaints, which we are addressing as we continue to fine-tune the press.

Here is what he says about the problem of late deliveries.

Finally, many of you are upset that your paper is being delivered later than normal, and in some cases too late for you to read before you leave for work. You have every right to be unhappy, and Michael Miller, our vice president of circulation, and his team are working hard to fix that.
Questions: Are subscribers getting fed up, or will they keep paying for a deteriorating product? Do you have confidence that Vasche and the management can make the necessary adjustments? Leave thoughts in comments.
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Previous:
I emailed Modesto Bee Editor Mark Vasche...
More complaints about the Modesto Bee - updated
More on the new and improved Modesto Bee -- Update: per comments, more late deliveries on Wednesday
Hey Modesto -- how is your Bee today? (2nd update)

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

I have no confidence that print quality will improve. The few people that fully understand the difference between prepress/press are trapped in the tar pit of McClatchy inter-dept and cross division politics. Lots of bosses pointing fingers for the other boss to fix ALL the faults of the long process chain.

As for the registration issues; The plate-making and press crews are so impacted that every edition is "rush job".

As for late delivery: Big rig accidents and weather will take their swipe at the promises.

Anonymous said...

Fine tune the press?? Are you kidding?? The presses in Sactown have been running for along time.They are not "new" presses. They only reduced the wide of the paper, in which Mobee did twice in the last few years The problems are the people running the presses. In todays(Sunday) paper, H-4 is missing the magenta color. Again... this would have never left the Modesto bee pressroom.

Anonymous said...

Mark and the crew have stepped in "it" and can't wash it off. A cow pie is a cow pie and no matter how you try to sugar coat it, it still stinks. They have reached the point of no return, and the mediocre product that is being forced on the remaining subscribers will not get much better. Look at the Sac Bee and how fine their paper has looked over the years. History WILL be repeated with the Modesto product.
With time sensitive news, and time sensitive delivery times, there is NO compromise. Either you get the news late or you get no current news...OR read it on Modbee.com

Anonymous said...

..Why is soy based ink on your fingers " Good news " ? Only a latte drinking, volvo driving left wing moron would use that as an excuse. Nobody buys the paper to eat, you jerk. And yes, the Modesto Bee ink will wash off, but then, so would the old ink, before soy. If I were in Modesto, I'd wash this trash off my lawn into the gutter where it belongs. Did they give the subscribers a discount when they went from clear, crisp and ON TIME to smeared, missing and LATE ? I didn't think so.