The €2m (£1.8m) investment was made as part of a contract between AMC and worldwide newspaper distributor Newsworld Corporation.

Newspapers from the UK, Europe and the US will be contract printed on the Screen Truepress Jet520 press and distributed across the Gulf region, with the press being commissioned as early as April this year.

According to the two companies, talks are already at advanced stages with a number of, as yet unnamed, publications with a view to being digitally printed.

John Ashfield, chairman of Newsworld Corporation, said: "This area is of great interest to publishers who are looking to reach the increasing number of business executives, expatriates and visitors to Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Bahrain and Kuwait with timely, relevant news and information."  

Last month, New Jersey printer AlphaGraphics began printing copies of the Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday as part of a similar deal with Newsworld.

And Newsworld's chief executive believes that newspaper printing, which had its future questioned last week by Guardian News and Media managing director Tim Brooks, will move further into the digital printing arena in the near future.

He said: "There was a time when consumer magazines printed in the millions but that model eroded and after much soul searching, they changed to more targeted segments, with more magazines produced today than ever before.

"This is perhaps the way newspapers will need to evolve.  Through our investment in technology and as we continue to form partnerships worldwide, it is becoming more easily available for newspaper publishers to grow their brand, not only targeted to a local or specific readership, but in a more effective and efficient way.

"The real challenge for the industry is driving this change while still believing in the core values of editorial excellence and reader interest."

Also see: Could digital muscle in on newsprint?

Newsworld buys Screen kit for US printing of Daily Mail