A £12m investment at the Stoke Sentinel head offices will allow up to 80,000 papers to be printed every hour.

The investment by Northcliffe Newspapers means a second Goss Colorliner 80 press has been installed at the Etruria site to print The Sentinel and northern editions of the Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday.

The cash injection follows more than £2m which has already been invested at the site over the last two years to refurbish the offices, purchase new IT equipment and buy land to the rear of the site.

High-speed stacking machines have also been installed, the first of their generation in the UK, to bundle the newspapers as they come off the press.

Financial director for Staffordshire Sentinel Newspapers, Mike Hesp said: "The site is now the only one within Northcliffe that is not land locked - all of the others within the group are surrounded by roads or buildings - so there's huge potential for further development here."

The Etruria site was opened in 1986 and a huge increase in staff and technology meant that the refurbishment was long overdue.

The last 21 months saw staff move around the building and sometimes out of it as work was underway.

Newspaper sales staff now work next to the newsroom to keep up to date with breaking stories and edition changes.

And new media staff working for Northcliffe Electronic Publishing have also moved back into the office after being located at the Newcastle-Under-Lyme office.

Chris Baker, facilities manager for The Sentinel, who managed the refurbishment said: "We publish newspapers, and the refurb couldn't get in the way of that.

"We didn't lose any production because of it and I think we've managed to keep the majority of our staff happy - they've put up with whatever we've done and have been very supportive."

Reporters and advertising staff from the newly acquired Leek Post and Times group have now relocated to new offices at the Smithfield Centre in Leek while sub-editing, page design and all advertising support and printing is carried out at Etruria.

Do you have a story about the regional press? Ring 0116 227 3122/3121, or
e-mail pastill@nep.co.uk