The Telegraph & Argus proudly boasts it is one of the most colourful newspapers in Britain - and soon it will be even brighter.

Work is under way to create a modernised, state-of-the-art printing press at the T&A's headquarters at Hall Ings, in Bradford.

Around £2.5 million is being invested in press improvements at Bradford and District Newspapers to make the company's press hall one of the most sophisticated in Britain.

When the work is completed early next year the press will be able to print papers faster than ever before and with even more pages in colour.

Production manager John Finn said: "It's a bit like conducting open heart surgery because we have to make the changes while still bringing papers out.

"But when it's all over we will have one of the highest specification presses in the North. The papers we make will be bigger and more colourful.

"And we'll be able to take on more contracts because of our extra capacity."

The work, which started in July, involves modifying the hall's existing two presses to create one giant press which is capable of printing two different papers at the same time.

The two presses were installed in 1981 when the T&A's smoked-glass press hall was officially opened amid widespread praise for its revolutionary but sympathetic design.

One press is currently being stripped and built on top of the other. Unfortunately, the changes mean that some pages in the T&A have lost their colour as equipment is moved.

But after October readers can expect to start to see the benefits of the overhaul. Managing director Tim Blott said today the investment made by our parent company, Newsquest Media Group, would benefit the paper and the city.

"I'm confident that the benefits of the new press will enhance our publications and any of those we print for other people," he said.

"I also believe that it's a significant investment for the local economy and will ultimately bring new revenue and jobs for Bradford."

Editor Perry Austin-Clarke said he was sure readers would welcome the changes to the paper.

"Our research shows that T&A readers appreciate having a bright, colourful newspaper and that's clear from the number of new readers taking it year after year," he said. "The press improvements will help us to create an even better newspaper."

Almost one million newspapers are printed each week at Hall Ings, including nearly 400,000 T&As. The Hall Ings press also prints several weekly newspapers owned by the company, including the Bradford Star, the Aire Valley Target, the Keighley News, the Craven Herald & Pioneer, the Ilkley Gazette and the Wharfedale Observer.

Each week a number of titles such as Rugby League Express as well as others from across the North-West - such as the Westmoreland Gazette, the Runcorn & Widnes World, and the Crewe Guardian - are also printed at Hall Ings.

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