Associated to upgrade to full-colour Daily Mail within three years

by Daniel Farey-Jones, Brand Republic 27-Jun-05, 14:40

LONDON - The Daily Mail and The Mail on Sunday are to go full colour by 2008 as Associated Newspapers' unveils plans to invest in a new £80m print plant and update existing facilities.

The planned facility at Didcot, Oxfordshire, will be operational by 2008 and provide the capacity to print a maximum 128-page, full-colour Daily Mail and a 160-page, full-colour Mail on Sunday.

Lord Rothermere, chairman of Associated Newspapers, said the investment was further evidence of the company's commitment to the long-term future of its newspapers.

"At present on our presses at Harmsworth Quays in London, we can produce half our pages in colour, but with the addition of the new facilities at Didcot and enhancements to our existing press facilities we will have the capacity to provide full high-quality colour throughout the country, providing even more value to our readers and advertisers," he said.

An additional £16m will be spent on adding extra units to Associated's Harmsworth Quays presses.

The Mail titles will be the first to go full colour since the revolution in printing technology began in 1986 when Eddie Shah launched the first British newspaper with on-the-run colour in Today, which was closed by Rupert Murdoch in 1995.

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