Yell used the official opening of RR Donnelleys new Flaxby Moor plant to confirm full-colour printing for Yellow Pages.


The firm would not reveal the date it planned to convert all directories to the process but it is expected to take place in the autumn.


Yell business process director John Satchwell said when the firm started contemplating the move to full-colour it decided to continue working with Donnelley due to the relationship it had built up with the printer since 1979.


"The progress has been outstanding," he said. Yell has been trialling full-colour in Dundee, Bournemouth and Taunton since January.


RR Donnelley president and chief executive Bill Davis said the Flaxby Moor plant was "a culmination of all the things we have been working on". And division director Roy Houston added that he was "so proud" of the the staff who had helped in the move from York.


The opening was attended by representatives from the plants two main directory customers, Yell and KPN TeleMedia, the Dutch national telecoms provider. Donnelley has printed four-colour directories for KPN for over two years.


Davis said he believed that those telecoms companies pulling out of their traditional publishing markets, like BT did with Yell, were "making a mistake by not recognising the value of their publishing businesses.


"For Yell it is probably a very good thing because the new owner really cares about it," he added.


The new plant houses five 64pp heatset presses four MAN Roland Unisets and a Goss Universal that was transferred from York. The factory can produce 4.2m 64pp sections in a 24-hour period. Covers and inserts are printed on a five-colour MAN Roland 700 with inline coater, which also came from York.


Story by Gordon Carson