New Fraud Magazine Revealed

GUEST BLOGGER

Cora Bullock
Asst. Editor, Fraud Magazine

I'm so excited I could pop, now that everyone is getting their Fraud Magazines (or going online to see Fraud-Magazine.com) and finally seeing what Editor-in-Chief Dick Carozza, Art Director Helen Pryor and I have been working on since last August: the redesigned Fraud Magazine. The look is clean, modern and fresh, and still maintains our commitment to professionalism.

It was a long process, with surveys, presentations, approvals and, of course, lots of brainstorming and hard work. We even picked new paper stock for the cover and interior pages. I never knew there was such a dizzying array of options: different weights, coatings and finishes. There is a science to how ink appears on these options, but ultimately it all comes down to what our eyes like and what feels good in our hands.

Because of all the changes, we decided to head up to Liberty, Mo., for a press check to see the magazine on the printing presses and inspect it the second it comes off. I was terribly excited about that, even though I knew it would take place on Valentine's Day. My husband could wait; the magazine could not! Prior to the ACFE, I worked at another magazine for 10 years, but never got the privilege of going on a press check. Here was my chance, and it did not disappoint.

It was quite an impressive operation. The printing room was deafening, so we were required to wear earplugs, and the smell of ink overwhelmed me the second we walked in. The presses at RR Donnelley were tens of feet tall and the plant manager was incredibly thorough in his tour. He showed us everything from the plate room, where chemicals etch the contents of the magazine onto giant sheets of aluminum (which, oddly, reminded me of visiting my dad, a radiologist, at the hospitals he worked, I believe because of the smell of similar chemicals), to the presses, binding section and recycling center. We deferred to Helen's expert eye as she inspected the groups of pages called lots. By the way, the pages are baked after giant drums apply the ink, but they are sent through a cooling chamber so your hands aren't scorched by paper heated to several hundred degrees. You're still left with a warm set of papers, so it really is "hot off the presses," but not as hot as it could be.

As I left clutching my freshly printed, unbound March/April copy and earplugs, I felt like a kid leaving a candy store. And I hope you all do, too.

What do you think of the new design and content? Any suggestions? Let us know in the comment section below.