The presses have started rolling on a new £1.5m press extension at the Evening Star, Ipswich.

The facility was opened by the Mayor of Ipswich who also unveiled a gold plaque to mark the installation of the new unit.

The Evening Star was the first paper to be printed on the new press and will be the main beneficiary, doubling the colour capacity of the paper.

It will also be used to print around 20 weekly papers, including the West Suffolk Mercury and the Lowestoft Journal, as well as a number of contract print titles.

Evening Star editor Nigel Pickover and Peter Dodds, managing director Archant Print, both paid tribute to the print production staff who endured difficult working conditions with great spirit and humour during the 10-month press expansion project.

Nigel said: "They've kept the Star going brilliantly well on one hand whilst installing and testing the new unit on the other.

"It is a hugely important development for us and for our sister weekly titles which are printed on the Ipswich press."

Graham Wells, senior production manager at Archant Print, said this was a major event in the history of the paper.

"It will double the colour in the paper, but it also has meant we've needed to modernise the rest of the press to accommodate it.

"This press is electronically driven, making it easier and cleaner than the current one. At the moment we are introducing a further eight pages of colour every Monday and by November half the paper will be colour.

"Next Thursday's paper will include a 24-page autumn property guide in full colour and 24 pages of news, making a total of 48 colour pages - the most ever!"

The new unit, built, assembled and installed over the last nine months, was given a royal seal of approval on July 17 when the Queen inaugurated it by remote control from Felaw Maltings while on her jubilee visit to the town.

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