The closely guarded launch date, revealed last week, came more than a year earlier than Guardian Newspapers (GNL) originally planned, after MAN Roland completed its quickest-ever press installation.

Three new Colorman presses with a 470mm cut-off will print the daily at Trafford Park Printers in Manchester and the Guardian Print Centre at Newsfax International in East London from Sunday.

GNL printing, distribution and circulation director Joe Clark said that the project had been "a rollercoaster just a fantastic thing to be involved with".

Norman Revill, MAN Roland GB web division director, said he was "very proud" that MAN Roland had completed the project in under 13 months, after orders were signed on 27 August 2004.

"It usually takes 14 months just to build a Colorman, so this was incredible," he said.

In a late development, Irish editions will print at Mortons of Portadown on a 64pp, 630mm cut-off Goss Universal 35 press. New Ferag stitching, trimming and inserting kit, including
a StreamStitch, will be installed at the site.

International editions of The Guardian will be printed in Paris, Madrid and Frankfurt, while New York editions will be printed on Oc digital kit.

Part of the 80m investment has been a complete redesign for the paper, including an expanded news section and a new separate sports section.

G2, the paper's tabloid magazine section, will become a stitched half-Berliner, while the recruitment-led G3 sections will grow from the current tabloid format to a full 470x315mm Berliner size.

See Profile, p23.

Story by Josh Brooks