Scottish Provincial Press, the largest newspaper publisher in the Scottish Highlands, has announced a £1m investment at its Dingwall printing centre – bringing total investment in the past five years to £7m.
The investment comes as a number of the group’s weekly titles have recorded their highest-ever circulation figures.
The £1m project will involve a new colour tower and additional monoprinting capacity. The new tower will be added to the existing Goss press at the company’s Highland Web Offset plant.
Scottish Provincial Press (SPP) managing director, Roy Fox, said: “This investment will provide a 50 per cent increase in colour capability and a 40 per cent increase in overall press capability, which will allow us to meet the demand for additional colour content within our own titles.”
Last month SPP revealed another £1m investment – in new offices for its Moray flagship weekly title, The Northern Scot.
Managing editor Nick Hunter said: “All our titles are doing well on the circulation front with several, such as the Caithness Courier, Lochaber News, Strathspey Herald, Northern Times and Forres Gazette, achieving the highest audited circulation levels in their history … and all are close to, or over, 100 years old.
“There is no doubt that people in the North and north-east of Scotland are buying local papers like never before.
With dailies in the doldrums it is clear that local news sells papers.”
By Hamish Mackay
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