Behind the scenes at the creation of an Airlifter newspaper

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class William Johnson
  • 436th Airlift Wing Public Affairs
DOVER AIR FORCE BASE, Del. --  Have you ever wondered how you are able to read articles in the Airlifter like you are doing now? Have you ever seen yourself in the base newspaper and thought, "How and where is the paper even made?"

Well in order to produce a single copy of the Airlifter, it takes a joint effort between the 436th Airlift Wing Public Affairs Office, Delaware State News and Delaware Printing Company.

Each copy of the Airlifter starts with our Airmen and families here at Team Dover. Everything from training exercises and real-world missions to intramural sports and Easter egg hunts; it is Team Dover and its mission, people and families that make up the stories and photos you see in the Airlifter each week.

"The Airlifter newspaper is something we truly value as a community," said 1st Lt. Sarah Bergstein, 436th Airlift Wing chief of Public Affairs. "With advances in technology and the transition to electronic platforms we see a lot of Air Force bases moving away from a hard-copy newspaper.

"We're fortunate at Dover AFB to have a large readership and overwhelming interest in continuing the Airlifter tradition," she said.

Each week a photojournalist is assigned to cover a story. After conducting interviews and shooting supporting photos, the photojournalist will begin to craft his story for publication. Once stories are edited and released, they are published on the Dover AFB website at www.dover.af.mil. Every Tuesday before close of business, the 436th Airlift Wing Public Affairs office meets the weekly newspaper deadline and the week's coverage is then sent to Delaware State News where the actual building of the Airlifter begins.

Craig Horleman, feature editor, and Jamie Fritchman, pagination and layout, both of Delaware State News, are the first people to prepare your stories for print.

"Once we receive the content, Jamie and I can then begin our part and start to arrange the stories and photos together on the layout like pieces to a puzzle," said Horleman. "In the end, you [the Public Affairs office] get a digital version of the paper called the 'proofs.'"

The proofs are reviewed by the command information section of the 436th Airlift Wing Public Affairs to ensure the accuracy of both the content and the layout. Once satisfied, the 436th AW/PA gives the okay for the Airlifter to be sent for printing.

Delaware State News sends the approved digital copy of the Airlifter to Delaware Printing Company for printing and distribution. The Delaware Printing Company has been family-owned and operated for more than 60 years and prints more than 75 different newspapers. With recent upgrades to their facility, Delaware Printing Company can print up to 75,000 copies of a paper per hour; however they only print 7,000 copies of the Airlifter each week.

"To us, the Airlifter is one of many jobs we print here around the clock," said Tom Bugbee, Delaware Printing Company general manager. "The actual printing time of the Airlifter only takes about 15 minutes."
 
The printing process begins by taking the digital pages of the paper and laser imaging them onto aluminum printing plates. The plates are then aligned and mounted onto the printing press cylinders and printing is ready to begin. Once the press is turned on, the plates are coated with a thin layer of ink that adheres to the images on the plates.  This image is transferred to a rubber "blanket" and then transferred again to the newsprint. At the end of the machine sits a folder where the various pages are collated, cut and folded into each individual Airlifter.   

The Airlifter is then packaged and delivered to various newspaper stands around Dover AFB and can be picked up at local businesses throughout Dover, Delaware.

"Team Dover has an exceptional story to tell," said Master Sgt. Jeremy Larlee, 436th Airlift Wing Public Affairs superintendent. "Our team takes great pride in shining a bright spotlight on the Airmen and families who make Dover's mission happen."