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Story: Newspapers

Web-fed printing press, 1887

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Web-fed printing press, 1887

This illustration appeared in the Star in August 1887. It shows the newspaper's new Victory web-fed printing press, which could print up to 20,000 copies of a four-page newspaper per hour. Unlike earlier printing presses, which printed on single sheets of paper, the steam-powered Victory used a large roll of paper (visible at left). It could print on both sides at once, then cut, fold, stack and count each copy. This and other technical advances enabled newspaper production to keep pace with the information demands of New Zealand's increasing population. 

Using this item

National Library of New Zealand, Papers Past

Reference: Star, 6 August 1887, p.6

Permission of the National Library of New Zealand, Te Puna Mātauranga o Aotearoa, must be obtained before any re-use of this image.

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How to cite this page

Mark Derby, Newspapers – Growth and expansion, 1860–1900, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/document/43177/web-fed-printing-press-1887 (accessed 15 June 2026).

Story by Mark Derby, published 31 October 2013.