After other leading British newspapers made the move to tabloid format, The Guardian decided to go with a new format unique to England and full colour on every page.

MAN Roland Colorman presses were installed in record time, with the first new-look edition published on September 12.

Editor Alan Rusbridger, who mentioned MAN Roland on the edition’s front page, says the increased colour and new format sets The Guardian apart from other national newspapers.

“It combines the convenience of a tabloid with the sensibility of a broadsheet,” he says.

The first discussions with Guardian Newspapers Limited about three new Colorman lines took place in May 2004 and the contract was signed in August. The first press started up in May 2005 in the new printing centre in east London and the Colorman that is to print the northern editions of the Guardian in Manchester was ready to start production in June 2005.
In September the first new Berliner format Guardian was printed at both locations.

The successful start-up was due in no small part to an international team of printers that other MAN Roland users made available for a few weeks.

The onsite MAN Roland team was joined by printers from daily papers in Slovenia, Finland and Germany.
Since changing over to the Berliner format the Guardian’s circulation has risen and reader response to the new concept has been overwhelming.

Starting January 2006, another of the group’s newspapers, the Observer, will also change to the Berliner format.

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