How does Time Magazine publish so fast?

I’ve often wondered the same thing. It’s possible that the Royals released a pseudo-christening photo early or maybe Time does the layout and article and saves a spot to just paste the photo in right before going to press.

I thought of the possibility of posing it in advance (and yes, the spot had to be ready and waiting; it’s a long article with lots of photos). This christening shot is one of a group of photos, though, released after the christening and including immediate family and godparents. That’s a lot of gathering in duplicate outfits and beaming before the event.

But even if we allow that, I’ve been stunned at the speed of photos and reports published after unforeseen events such as tornadoes and hurricanes. And how about the killing of Osama bin Laden? That took place early on a Monday, and was not announced until—what, nearly 24 hours later?—and yet the full story was in the magazine I received in the mail on the following Friday, less than a week later.

It takes a while just to go through the postal mail system for delivery, never mind the running of presses, collating, binding, stitching, trimming, and labeling—even if it were to take place in thousands of local print-and-label centers around the country. No matter how you count it, that’s fast.

I agree. I have thought the same thing about the magazine “The Week” that I get and “Newsweek” before that.

Your newspaper delivers last night’s news this morning. Time has an extra day to make it shiny ;)

All the news feed togs carry laptop satellite cases to transmit images directly from the event. This actually happens real time, without the need to download a card into a computer for transfer. The camera has a wifi transmitter sending to the satellite briefcase, which then transmits to space satellite, which is picked up in the editorial office, real time as the photographer is shooting. So the magazine is being laid out as the tog is shooting. They may be finished with it even though the tog is still at the assignment. The tog has no idea what photos are being used.

As for delivery of the print, the layout is transmitted to multiple printing companies in different markets. The California magazine was not printed at the same place the New York mag was. Comes straight off the press the old school daily newspaper method, but with shinier paper and more efficient bindery. Straight to the trucks and off to your local post office. The mailman picks up the bundles just like a FedEx driver picks up his packages.

I feel the same way about that crazy, animated sitcom ‘South Park’. They dropped a new episode about the Penn State/Sandusky scandal the week it happened.

I’m not saying that one is better than the other but in Time magazine the pictures and type don’t move.

Everybody knows how Time flies.

The following photos were taken only a few hours ago…honest.
http://www.alisonjackson.com/on-kate-and-georges-arrival-in-anglesea-the-cambridges-bathe-together/

I don’t know if this still works, but at least it used to be pretty easy to expedite mail by dropping it off at a major postal hub.

I think the major magazines have made arrangements with publishers all over the country. When it’s time they send out their copy and the publishers print it and it’s sent out from those locations to individual mailboxes. This saves a lot of time in transportation, and possibly in postage.

They use Just in Time delivery.

@ucme for real?

@Adagio, it’s a great photo editing job.

@Adagio If only.
Nothing to do with editing, those are genuine lookalikes in actual photos.

Photos can be delivered digitally in seconds, and the printing process, you’d be surprised how fast that is. My partner used to work night-shift for a major British newspaper; a story coming in at 11pm would still be on time to be in print on the news-stands by 5am the next morning. And that was in 1987.