Alex Hanson looks over sections of The Daily Herald and adjusts the ink at the plant at Paine Field in Everett. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)

Alex Hanson looks over sections of The Daily Herald and adjusts the ink at the plant at Paine Field in Everett. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)

On the move: Newer, bigger press will print The Daily Herald

For 121 years, editions of the newspaper have rolled off presses in Everett. Soon, that will change.

EVERETT — An era spanning 121 years ended Sunday with the last edition of The Daily Herald rolling off a press in Everett.

As of Monday, it is no longer printed in Snohomish County. Sound Publishing Inc., owners of The Herald, are moving from a printing facility at Paine Field in Everett to a new one in Lakewood in Pierce County.

There the paper will be produced on a newer and larger press acquired last summer from a firm in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Installation is underway. Until it is up and running in July, The Herald will be printed in Mount Vernon at the Skagit Valley Herald.

ADVERTISEMENT
0 seconds of 0 secondsVolume 0%
Press shift question mark to access a list of keyboard shortcuts
00:00
00:00
00:00
 

The company will rely on printers in Washington and British Columbia to handle press work for roughly three dozen publications and commercial contracts in the Pacific Northwest region.

Sound Publishing President Josh O’Connor said the company didn’t want to move but could not reach agreement on a new lease at the Paine Field facility. The current one expires at the end of the month.

A search for a suitable location in the area came up empty, he said.

“We had hoped to stay in Snohomish County but could not find a building with the clear height and electrical requirements that we need to operate,” O’Connor said. “We can guarantee that readers will continue to receive their Herald on time in the future. The only difference is that we need to factor in the drive time from Lakewood seven days a week.”

Sections of The Herald run through the towers of the printing press in Everett. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)

Sections of The Herald run through the towers of the printing press in Everett. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)

Sunday’s last run concluded a chapter begun Jan. 5, 1901, when the first Daily Herald rolled off a press in Everett and employees worked out of a building on Rucker Avenue.

Former Herald publisher Larry Hanson didn’t find the latest move surprising given the evolution of printing technology and the evolving economics of the industry. It did make him nostalgic, though.

“I’d be happier if it were done in Everett. It’s mostly local pride and the history of it being printed here,” he said. “From a consumer standpoint I don’t think it matters. It’s the stories that matter, not so much where it’s printed.”

Since 1901, there have been ownership changes, moves to new offices — in 1904, to Colby Avenue and Wall Street; in 1959 to California Street; and in 2013 to the Ziply Fiber building on 41st Street — and press upgrades.

In February 1956, a fire broke out in the press and composing room. Coverage at the time noted that with the big press “charred and silent,” the paper got produced in Seattle, but just for a week until the machinery was back in gear.

When The Herald relocated in 1959, that press came along, too. In the late 1960s, the company acquired another press, known by its initials HOE, which became the company workhorse for almost two decades. In February 1984, the company added a new and larger Goss press while continuing to use the HOE once a week.

The Daily Herald’s old HOE press in Everett, date unknown. (Herald file)

The Daily Herald’s old HOE press in Everett, date unknown. (Herald file)

In 1993, The Herald installed a Goss Metro Color press in the California Street building. Painted blue and standing two stories, folks often dropped by, peering through large glass windows to watch the machinery churn.

In 2013, Sound Publishing, a subsidiary of Black Press, purchased The Daily Herald from the Washington Post Co. Sound already had an extensive printing plant and distribution center near Paine Field for publications in Western Washington.

Upon completing the acquisition, the corporation switched off the presses at California Street and began printing The Herald at its Paine Field operation.

Last summer came the latest purchase, a massive Goss/Manroland Universal 70 press from Color Web Printers, which used it to print The Gazette daily newspaper in Cedar Rapids. It’s previously owned but immaculately maintained, O’Connor said.

At the time, O’Connor told The Gazette that disassembling the 220-foot long, 442-ton press would take months and require a team of experts. And he said it would take more than 55 semi trucks to transport components to Washington.

Those parts are here and reassembly is underway with a goal of getting the press operational by July.

Katharine Graham, then CEO and chairwoman of the board of the Washington Post Co., looks over a copy of The Daily Herald with Larry Hanson, then Herald publisher, during her visit to Everett in 1984. The Post. Co. owned The Herald from 1978 until 2013.

Katharine Graham, then CEO and chairwoman of the board of the Washington Post Co., looks over a copy of The Daily Herald with Larry Hanson, then Herald publisher, during her visit to Everett in 1984. The Post. Co. owned The Herald from 1978 until 2013.

It will handle the company’s current portfolio of more than 30 daily newspapers and community weeklies, plus commercial clients. In addition to The Daily Herald, the company prints The Daily World of Aberdeen, the Peninsula Daily News in Port Angeles, the Bellingham Herald and the Centralia Chronicle.

The Lakewood press’ 11 towers and five folders will give newspaper publishers and commercial customers greater printing options, O’Connor said. Sound Publishing will become one of the largest cold-set web printers in the five-state region of Washington, Alaska, Montana, Idaho and Oregon, he noted.

The shift is impacting workers. More than half of the 44 employees at the Everett plant won’t be working in Lakewood.

“All affected employees were offered an opportunity to come to the new facility,” O’Connor said. “Unfortunately, only 30% to 40% of our workforce decided to join us.”

Jerry Cornfield: 360-352-8623; jcornfield@heraldnet.com; Twitter: @dospueblos.

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Local News

Edmonds Mayor Mike Rosen goes through an informational slideshow about the current budget situation in Edmonds during a roundtable event at the Edmonds Waterfront Center on Monday, April 7, 2025 in Edmonds, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Edmonds mayor recommends $19M levy lid lift for November

The city’s biennial budget assumed a $6 million levy lid lift. The final levy amount is up to the City Council.

Community members gather for the dedication of the Oso Landslide Memorial following the ten-year remembrance of the slide on Friday, March 22, 2024, at the Oso Landslide Memorial in Oso, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
The Daily Herald garners 6 awards from regional journalism competition

The awards recognize the best in journalism from media outlets across Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Oregon and Washington.

A firefighting helicopter carries a bucket of water from a nearby river to the Bolt Creek Fire on Saturday, Sep. 10, 2022, on U.S. 2 near Index, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
How Snohomish County property owners can prepare for wildfire season

Clean your roofs, gutters and flammable material while completing a 5-foot-buffer around your house.

(City of Everett)
Everett’s possible new stadium has a possible price tag

City staff said a stadium could be built for $82 million, lower than previous estimates. Bonds and private investment would pay for most of it.

Jennifer Humelo, right, hugs Art Cass outside of Full Life Care Snohomish County on Wednesday, May 28, 2025 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
‘I’ll lose everything’: Snohomish County’s only adult day health center to close

Full Life Care in Everett, which supports adults with disabilities, will shut its doors July 19 due to state funding challenges.

The age of bridge 503 that spans Swamp Creek can be seen in its timber supports and metal pipes on Wednesday, May 15, 2024, in Lynnwood, Washington. The bridge is set to be replaced by the county in 2025. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Snohomish County report: 10 bridges set for repairs, replacement

An annual report the county released May 22 details the condition of local bridges and future maintenance they may require.

The Edmonds City Council gathers to discuss annexing into South County Fire on Tuesday, Dec. 3, 2024 in Edmonds, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Community group presents vision for Edmonds’ fiscal future

Members from Keep Edmonds Vibrant suggested the council focus on revenue generation and a levy lid lift to address its budget crisis.

Traffic moves north and south along I-5 through Everett on Tuesday, Aug. 29, 2023. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Snohomish County saw increase in traffic deaths in 2024

Even though fatalities fell statewide, 64 people died in Snohomish County traffic incidents in 2024, the most in nine years.

Some SnoCo stores see shortages after cyberattack on grocery supplier

Some stores, such as Whole Foods and US Foods CHEF’STORE, informed customers that some items may be temporarily unavailable.

A rainbow LGBTQ+ pride flag hanging from a flag pole outside of Lynnwood City Hall moves in the wind on Tuesday, June 10, 2025, in Lynnwood, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Lynnwood to develop policy after pride flag controversy

Earlier this month, the city denied a group’s request to raise an LGBTQ+ pride flag at a public park, citing the lack of a clear policy.

The Washington state Capitol on April 18, 2025. (Photo by Jacquelyn Jimenez Romero/Washington State Standard)
Washington governor wants agencies to look for deeper cuts

The state’s financial turmoil hasn’t subsided. It may get worse when a new revenue forecast comes out this month.

Members of the California National Guard and federal law enforcement stand guard as people protest outside of the Edward R. Roybal Federal Building and Metropolitan Detention Center in Los Angeles, on Tuesday. (Philip Cheung/The New York Times)
Ferguson prepares for possibility of Trump deploying troops in Washington

The governor planned to meet with the state’s top military official Tuesday, after the president sent the National Guard and Marines to respond to Los Angeles protests.

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.