Every evening at 8 pm, the rhythmic hum of the Kuwait Times printing press fills the air. This sound is more than just the start of another printing session; it’s a nightly symphony that marks the beginning of a journey to create tomorrow's news. As the clock ticks closer to midnight, the hardworking team that keeps the press alive is in full swing, ensuring every page is perfect.
Inside the bustling press, large recyclable paper rolls are carefully loaded onto each of the machine’s towers. Each tower has a special task, printing one section of the newspaper, which consists of four pages. The rolls glide into position, setting the stage for the next step.
Next comes the ink setting. The workers open cans of four different colors of ink — cyan, magenta, yellow and black. They pour each color into the towers, whose vibrant hues will soon bring stories and photos to life.
One of the most important steps involves preparing the aluminum plates. These shiny sheets are printed with the layout of each page. The plates are then carefully inserted into each tower of the printing press.
Once everything is set, an operator starts printing from the control panel. With a press of a button, the machine roars to life, pulling sheets of paper through the ink and over the plates. As each section of the paper is printed, it's sent to the folder, where the pages are gathered, folded and cut, creating a complete newspaper ready to be delivered.
In the printing press, there’s more than just machines at work. Meet Printing Manager Al-Watheq Darwish and his team. "The pressure is on these people. What they do in the daytime is critical , so that we won’t face any problems at night,” he explained. His team’s duties range from setting up rollers and ink to cleaning, maintaining and operating the press.
For them, every night is a race against time. "The difficult thing about newspapers is that you have to deliver them on the same day. You can’t postpone the job till the next day — you have to be in top shape all the time,” Darwish said.
Raed and Mustanser, the oldest members of the team, have spent 32 years dedicated to this craft. They've seen the printing process evolve over the decades, from using blocks to films, and now to the modern system. "Before, there were 17 people on the editing team. Now, one person edits the entire paper,” Mustansir recalled.
And amidst all this, a family of cats lounges around the machine. These felines have made the printing press their home, cared for by the staff. As the night wears on, the press falls silent, and the newspapers are neatly stacked, ready to be distributed. For Al-Watheq, Raed, Mustanser and the rest of the team, another night’s work is complete. They’ll be back tomorrow, ensuring that the stories continue to be told, one printed page at a time.