With the change in the month also comes a change in the Old News aspect of our website.
Previously the reproductions of the newspapers attempted to reproduce the Black & White aspect of the original printed pages. As close as possible to the way they would have looked when first printed. Which is not the way the exist now.
Back when they were fresh the Ink was Black and the Paper was nearly white (newsprint stock). But newspapers will change with age. The paper becomes yellowed and browns with age. Some inks fade over time becoming dirty grays.
The two newspapers we try to bring to each week display these changes to varying degrees.
The paper stock in the Gazette is slightly stiffer and lighter in colour. The ink tends to be blacker.
The paper stock in the Evening Sun has browned much more and the ink has lightened a fair amount. So much so that in some places it appears more like dark brown ink on a light to mid brown background.
When we go to turn this into Black and White we have to define what is white and what is black and enhance them in the proper fashion. We’re not actually trying for Black and White but a range of Gray shades. Unfortunately the conditions of the newspapers in conjunction with the adhoc lighting system and single shot picture taking conspire to make this process problematic. Some of the finer detail can get lost and text can become more difficult to read. And all this can be quite time consuming.
Ultimately we had to ask ourselves whether the added extra time and effort actually added value at all. Most people know newspapers get old and yellowed with age and expect that when they see a 106 year old paper it’s going to be yellowed. And quite possibly find that satisfying enough so that it doesn’t detract from the experience of reading and old newspaper online.
So from this point on you’ll see the newspapers yellowed much as they are in the archives. There is some cleanup involved for clarity and contrast purposes but none of the information is altered. Below you can see the differences between the two methods. Both page thumbnails are buttons which will take you to the front page of that 1911 edition of the Gazette newspaper.
We hope this change will be acceptable to you, the visitors and readers, and we welcome your feedback through the channels on the Contact Us page.
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