News of Fairfax Media’s closure of its Invercargill print site has brought a flurry of criticism on the group’s stuff.co.nz website… and some curious speculation about airlifting copies.

Rather than spend an estimated $10 million on new plant, the ‘Southland Times’ is being printed by rival Allied Press in Dunedin. Eight staff will lose their jobs and another 13 part-timers be “reallocated’.

General manager of print and distribution, Danny Trainor says the decision to move the printing of the daily paper to Dunedin was not taken lightly: “Fairfax had two options – to upgrade at a cost of around $10 million, or to share the printing resource with Allied Press.”

Euipment at the ‘Southland Times’ included Krause CTP, a 13-unit Goss Urbanite – capable of only three four-colour webs – and a Müller Martini AlphaLiner inserting machine… described in the Stuff story as “a very old printing press in a half-empty building”.

Allied Press publishes New Zealand’s oldest newspaper, the ‘Otago Daily Times’, and readers have speculated online about which will be printed first… and which will have the latest news.

Trainor says some staff may find work at Fairfax Media printing sites in other parts of New Zealand: “We will work through some options in the distribution part of the business to assist with employment options.”