The Daily Miracle

In celebration of the daily production of the newspaper, The New York Times has just published this stunning 16-page photographic report from their print plant.

The delightfully meta-project is the result of 40 visits by photographer Chrisopher Payne to the print plant at College Point, Queens, over the last two years. A self-initiated project, Payne took the idea to The Times, where director of photography Kathy Ryan jumped at the idea,‘We said yes, because he was exactly the right person to photograph this.’

It’s a glorious portrayal of the process of printing the newspaper; the vast machinery with its 14 miles of conveyor belts delivering 80,0000 papers an hour. Luc Sante’s introductory text adds vital context and emotion, closing, ‘And it happens every day, over and over again. Small wonder they call it The Daily Miracle.’

It’s the first time work at the plant has been recorded like this, and as well as telling a great story, the pages are a great example of the printers’ work. It is beautifully printed, a really impressive achievement on newsprint.

And yes, the special section was printed at the very same plant it features.

Read more:
nytimes.com/2019/03/24/reader-center/printing-plant-section-christopher-payne.html

Editorial director: Caitlin Roper
Art director: Deb Bishop
Director of photography: Kathy Ryan