The alarms sound, hydraulics hiss and the thwacking of papers stacking on top of one another fill the air at the Santa Fe New Mexican printing plaza. The immaculate concrete floor shines glossy, and for such a messy business, only the walls near the inkwell are splattered. This is where reporters’ words finally meet paper. As a reporter, I am used to creating the words, but seeing the product being painted on crisp sheets of paper was a different experience. Seeing the ink run throughout the warehouse and finally land on paper that will soon be on the doorstep of thousands of homes gave me a new appreciation of the process. The overwhelming smell of ink and paper left no doubt in my mind of where I was.
Danielle Prokop is a freelance reporter with the Daily Lobo. She can be contacted at photoeditor@dailylobo.com or on Twitter @ProkopDani.