The tower will join an existing Goss Tribune press and three towers that have gradually been installed over the past five years.

The existing Tribune satellite units are to be equipped with remote inking and the same motorised ink key modules as the new tower.

The upgrade at the Essex-based print plant, part of the Gannett UK-owned Newsquest Media Group, is in response to advertisers' demand for more colour and greater pagination.

Newsquest group print director Steve Long said the latest investment would increase efficiency.

"All the colour page positions can be set with data provided from the RIP data," Long said.

The plant currently prints more than 1.7m newspapers each week, including 30 weeklies and two dailies, the Basildon Evening Echo and Colchester Evening Gazette.