Gannett's regional toning center

Tonight, our paper began a new image-toning procedure. We're now routing all of our photos to Des Moines where a group of 200 or so are in charge of toning our images and routing them back to us. Apparently, all Gannett papers will be doing this in the coming months. At least that's my understanding. Day One didn't go so well. News and sports sent approximately 30 images to Iowa, and by 9:30, less than half were ready. We did have a backup plan, which saved our ass and allowed us to make deadline, which was the old way. We re-routed all the photos to the imaging person who works at the press across town. And wouldn't you know, the photos got back to us in a timely fashion. We're one of the guinea pig papers, but I'm told at least 30 or so other publications are doing this. Hopefully this will get better as time goes on. But not really seeing the cost-effectiveness of this strategy if several papers are blowing deadlines.
I know Phoenix has started doing this, a few Michigan papers, Appleton and Des Moines. How's it been going for others?

 

This just seems like a really, really dumb and danger-fraught idea.

 

Yep, but it means less warm bodies. Regional toning centers, regional printers...I wouldn't be surprised in not too distant future if there were regional copy desks.
But goddammit, they're <i>LOCAL</i> Information Centers

 

Just when I thought my job couldn't get any more fucked up.

 

Yeah, that is pretty screwed up. If you have a question about a photo that you've sent, do you get put on hold to speak to the next available toner? What if that's not the one who toned your photo? What if you're on deadline and need an answer ASAP? What if you're in a different time zone? My head hurts thinking about it. But hey, if it saves money, Gannett will do it.

 

What's stopping a copy editor from toning a photo himself (or herself)? It doesn't take Ansel Adams to tell a photo is too light or too dark. Thirty seconds on PhotoShop would get the job done.

 

I worked for a gannett paper and i hated, HATED, the fact that I didn't tone my own stuff. We had to send it to an onsite person for him to tone and size and then we got them back. That meant I had to lock in my pages to a certain size photo and if I had to change stuff, it made it a pain in the ass.

There is no reason a designer shouldn't have control over that stuff.

 

We have three papers all being serviced by a image center, manned by one person a night. The problems are plentiful. If I wanted an AP photo cut out, they might say no. If they say yes, they're going to ignore whatever else comes in for the next two hours. They take dinner break in the middle of the rush. Photos get put in the wrong directories with frequency.

A few months ago we were putting together our NASCAR preview pages. Sent probably 30 photos/mugs to this guy. 90 minutes later, only about 10 are in. Call the guy.
"You wanted all those photos?"
No numbnuts, my day is so desolate and my life is so boring that the only thing I could think of to do was to send photo after photo of David Ragan to you.

bydesign77, I always got around the sizing issue by asking for every photo 5 columns. First SE figured that you could always make it smaller, but making it bigger is a bitch.

 

app,

yeah, i tried that too, but then was bitched at for making them too big and then causing problems on the output side.

i couldn't win.

 

At my Gannett shop, we have our photos toned by something called BluMunkee. Strange name, but I suppose I would be blue, too, if I always broke down, worked poorly and everyone hated me.

As you might guess, there are myriad problems with it.

It wouldn't surprise me at all if in the next five or 10 years, Gannett just goes to regional copy and design desks, especially for its Wisconsin, Ohio and Tenn groups. It's a short-sighted idea that will save $$$ and sacrifice quality. With uniform ad stacks, why not? :-\

 

Like most things Gannett does, this will not end well.

 

Sounds like my Gannett experience. Except the guy on the other end of the phone was in-house. Doesn't prevent them from being a moron.