Nautical Northwest magazine has successfully completed the publication’s first press check for its inaugural issue at Portland, Oregon-based Journal Graphics on January 12, 2026.
“I think it looks great,” said James VanNess, account executive at Journal Graphics who guided the visiting Nautical Northwest team through the process on the plant floor. “The press check is one of the best parts of my job.”
Nautical Northwest was first envisioned in the summer of 2025 to be a publication that informs, educates, and entertains the greater Pacific Northwest marine industry and aquatic-facing community. The idea to bring together the various sectors and cultures of our waterways into one iconic print magazine solidified during a creative session between owner/publisher Todd Feinroth and editor in chief Norris Comer at the legendary sailor’s pub The Sloop Tavern in Ballard, Seattle. Finally at press check several months after the creative light bulb went off, the hardworking team actually held the physical fruits of their labor.
“There are many exciting maritime related things happening in our region and these stories are not adequately being shared with the greater Pacific Northwest community,” said Feinroth. “The Nautical Northwest team is compelled to tell these stories and share relevant information while promoting our strategic business partners so everyone can enjoy our waters.”
“It’s not very often that I get to start at the beginning with people,” said VanNess. “It feels good to start with someone at the very beginning.” VanNess, who has worked at Journal Graphics for 30 years, has noticed an uptick in print media business at the printer in recent years and described the industry as “strong”.
“I think when digital first came out, print went down 15% or so,” explained VanNess. “Now it’s back, probably a little above where we were at that time as far as how many customers we have and how much work we have in the plant.”
The Nautical Northwest crew poured over the many signatures (“sigs”, printing speak for sheets of magazine pages) while the mighty presses whirred out thousands of copies with mechanical precision. The inaugural issue is 100 pages, including the cover stock that also got the deluxe UV light glossy treatment. After standard amounts of minor color alterations (“moves” in the biz), Feinroth ultimately signed each sig, giving those pages the final seal of approval.
Anticipated delivery of the magazines will be in the coming days—stay tuned for details by signing up for our e-newsletter for updates and following along on our budding social media channels.
