Why one newspaper printer is planning for growth

Many people say the future of newsprint is bleak, but Fred Eychaner doesn't agree.

Chicago-based Newsweb Corp., Eychaner's printing company, is building a new 60,000-square-foot facility in the northwest corner of the city that will include a faster press. He'll shift his business to the new location later this year and shutter the company's existing operations on Fullerton Avenue, Newsweb President Charles Gross said. Newsweb, a private company that prints many papers with small circulations, is doubling down on newsprint just as many newspaper executives are turning to digital products for increased revenue and mulling how they can reduce the cost of their print products. Newsweb management knows it's being contrarian, Gross said.