APIA: The Monday edition of Samoa Observer was printed at its new press today.
The Goss Community Press is housed at the Samoa Observer Newspaper Group’s (SONG) new building located at the Vaitele Industrial Zonein the capital of Apia.
It is a stone’s throw away from the new market being built there.
The new press, shipped in from New Zealand, was used for the first time last night to print the Sunday Samoan.
This was done under the watchful eye of New Zealand engineer Peter Broersma and Printer Bruce Nilson, of Webco Company Ltd, Tauranga.
Broersma and Nilson are in Samoa to set up the new press and provide training for local staff members.
They are assisted by Shane Ash, who is in charge of SONG’s printing facility in South Auckland, New Zealand, where two other SONG publications, New Zealand Pacific Today and the Samoa Observer New Zealand, are printed.
Nilson says the Goss Community press, one of the best in the world, can print up to 30,000 copies an hour.
“In the Pacific, there are only three other machines like this,” he says. “There are two in Fiji and one in the Solomon Islands.”
Editor-in-chief Savea Sano Malifa is excited about the new printing press.
“It’s an exciting development for the Samoa Observer and we believe it’s an exciting development for our readers,” says Savea.
“We are constantly looking for ways to improve our product. We believe this new press can lift the quality of our newspapers by adding more colour and allowing us to be more creative.
“We are committed to serving our readers to the best of our ability and that is why we have invested in this new press.”
The builders are putting the final touches to the building, which will soon become the Samoa Observer’s headquarter in Samoa. - Samoa Observer/Pacific Media Watch
Pacific Media Watch
