The drip-drip of information about Express Newspapers' press upgrade continues. This is beginning to feel like a part-work...

In the latest instalment, released via KBA earlier this week, we get a few more vital snippets. It seems terribly odd, though, that Richard Desmond and his team should choose to confirm the inevitable exit from West Ferry's docklands print site via a third party.

But then, as mentioned in an earlier blog, Desmond can do exactly as he pleases.

The relocation news is no surprise, what was interesting is the extra information on the use of these presses for what is described as 'semi-commercial' work, in order to fulfil Desmond's ambitions to print his own mags. Printers elsewhere in the world are already doing this type of thing - I've sent a request to the continent to get hold of some samples as I'm fascinated to see what this semi-commercial quality is like. Where, on the scale of Private Eye to New! to Vogue, will it sit? In addition, the Commander presses will have a cut-off of 578mm, which would imply that some format changes could be on the cards too if everything goes in-house.

As previously stated, print suppliers Prinovis and Polestar must be watching all of this closely - we're talking about more than a million magazines a week here, excluding the supplements.

When we last wrote about Polestar's Express contract for the Express supplements, New! and Star! magazines, the five-year deal ran until the end of this year. Desmond's drip-feed of information about his own print plans should make for some interesting conversations in the renewal timeframe.