The (Nampa) Idaho Press-Tribune is bolstering its Manugraph DGM Inc. pressline with two MDGM colour towers and a folder as it prepares to print The (Boise) Idaho Statesman under terms of an agreement between the dailies' publishers. McClatchy Co. last week said it would shift production of The Statesman to the Pioneer Newspapers Inc.-owned Press-Tribune in a bid to cut costs.

At the same time, McClatchy said it would move production of the Bellingham (Wash.) Herald to Pioneer's Skagit Valley Herald in Mount Vernon, Wash. Press-Tribune Publisher Rick Weaver told Newspapers & Technology the newspaper expects to begin printing The Statesman next year, after crews install the towers and folder to the daily's existing 16-unit MDGM 440 press. When the upgrade is complete, The Press-Tribune will be able to print 48 pages with 30 pages of colour in each press run, Weaver said.

The Press-Tribune and The Statesman will also narrow their page widths to 11 inches after the press is installed. To enable that page width, crews will modify the MDGM press to print three pages across on a 33-inch web, Weaver said. The contract governing the production of the Bellingham Herald will be finalized next month, McClatchy said. See more information about McClatchy's plans in the July issue of Newspapers & Technology. (Reprinted by permission. Copyright Newspapers & Technology. www.newsandtech.com)