After printing its newspaper on the same letterpress since 1967, The Ann Arbor News was ready to improve the look of its newspaper. However its existing location left no room for expansion to accommodate new presses. Industrial architect Albert Kahn designed The News’ downtown facility, which the newspaper has occupied since 1936. The conceptual design for the new facility draws references from Kahn’s printing plant designs of the early 20th century, which celebrate the industrial process. His use of transparent materials in building facades exposes the press to users and visitors, and to the public viewing the building from the outside.

This visual connection provided the inspiration for the facility’s design. The News purchased two new Goss Magnum offset presses capable of producing up to 40,000 copies per hour.