LAST LETTERPRESS NEWSPAPER CLOSES

What is thought to be the country's last remaining letterpress newspaper business is closing down, with the Don Dorrigo Gazette, founded in 1910, having published its final edition.

The newspaper was a staple of the small New South Wales town of Dorrigo, where it was published weekly for more than a century, printing more than 1000 copies each run during its heyday on its Heidelberg printing press, although latterly it was down to half that number. The Heidelberg is a pre-war machine that has been printing the Gazette for at least 40 years.

Owner Michael English, who have run the newspaper since 2006 when they took over from Michael's father, said the breakdown of its Intertype hot metal typesetting machine was the final straw, and although a custom fix kept it operational, it was only at a much reduced capacity, and then a mechanism failed completely.

Citing other reasons to discontinue the paper, the owners added that the internet and social media have made it hard to compete. “This has been a killer of many other newspapers that have closed, and some moved to digital only versions,” they said.

Difficulty in obtaining ink was also mentioned, as well as struggling to find appropriate newsprint paper. 

English said that the paper was originally planned to run until August, when the Heidelberg press would be donated to the Penrith Printing Museum. The museum will continue to use the press for its own printing. The Dorrigo Museum has been offered the Intertype, and other items for display.

In his editorial in the final edition, English said, "I would like to say a big heartfelt thank you to all you readers who have kept purchasing the DDG over the many years. Also, to the advertisers who have continued to advertise and support the Gazette by advertising in its pages. And a big thank you to all of you who have contributed with news, sporting results, snippets and poems."

Letterpress printing was the original print process, invented by German citizen Johannes Gutenberg in 1452, and the dominant print technology for 500 years, until it was superseded by offset litho, which took over between 1950-70, with newspapers the last industry sector to convert. 

The original hot metal line casting machines were invented by Linotype in the 1886, with the Interype machine, produced by US publisher Hermann Ridder, launched in 1911 on expired Linotype patents, essentially as rebuilt Lintotypes with a few modifications. Intertype though did launch its own hot metal type composing machines a few years later, and in 1957 launched its first photo-type composer.