Daily Herald opinion: Acknowledging the men and women who make print publication of the news possible

Freedom of the press, it should be noted, would hardly exist without the presses - and the people who operate them.

In the 571 years since Johannes Gutenberg started a revolution in mass communication with his version of the movable-type printing press, the mechanics of commercial printing have steadily evolved and improved, and the press operation remains the hub of a newspaper's publication function even in the midst of a newly transformative era of electronic communication.

Last week, the dimensions of that function changed slightly for the Daily Herald, though not for Daily Herald readers. Paddock Publications, our parent company, sold the 21-year-old Paddock Publications Printing Center sitting on 21.5 acres off the Elgin-O'Hare Expressway in Schaumburg to an affiliate of Tribune Publishing. The deal satisfies short- and long-term goals for both companies, and, as Paddock publisher, board chairman and CEO Doug Ray said in a statement announcing the sale, will position the Daily Herald to continue its commitment to publishing "the highest quality community newspaper in the United States, focusing on local news and information and impactful journalism."

Central to that commitment are the 100 men and women of the company's production team who we note with some sadness are shifting roles from the Paddock Publications family to new positions with the Tribune and elsewhere. Today, we want to recognize and honor those individuals, who - from the currently longest-tenured staffer, former press operator and most recently press planner Ron Haskell with 46 years service, to the newest, Alberto Rodriguez of just one month - have assured award-winning printing quality for the Daily Herald, and, through our contract with Tribune Publishing, will continue to do so.

The production team is made up of more than just press operators. In addition, it includes staff working in pre-press, maintenance, electronics and packaging, all critical to getting out the stories and pictures that combine to present a unique physical chronicle of the events of our communities, neighborhoods and our world.

And it must be noted that their quality commitment has not been limited to the strictly visible attributes of the paper. Our newsroom could never count the number of times that sharp-eyed press and production staff have noticed content issues with photos, captions, text or layout and adapted quickly with editors to fix issues that readers would never know had ever been amiss.

The constant advance of the news is relentless. The job of printing and packaging it under the heat of deadlines no less so. For all the technical and quality demands weighing on a staff whose work has been recognized among the Top 5 newspaper operations in North America and Top 50 in the world, Director of Production Don Stamper still cites "always chasing the clock" as his department's biggest challenge. It's a pressure felt throughout our business.

A newspaper can too easily be judged by its words and pictures. But in fact, it is a diverse operation that could not succeed, indeed could not exist, without the committed service of people in many departments outside of the newsroom. Last week, the Daily Herald entered a new relationship with one of them, and while we look forward to their continued excellence in a different formal capacity, we want to acknowledge and honor the dedication, success and fellowship our production staff has brought to the paper.

Without it, the freedom of press we have enjoyed, applied and celebrated would not be possible nor so well presented.