It is part of a project with News International (NI) to speed up the sign off on the titles Polestar produces for the group including the Saturday and Sunday Times magazines.

The firm is using KPG's RealTimeProof Express software with calibrated and colour managed 23in LCD screens beside each of the four gravure presses at Greaves.

"NI has recently introduced digital advertising delivery and wants to continue the online approval and colour control process all the way through to the pressroom," said Polestar Greaves customer care director John Stevenson. "RealTimeProof Express will remove the need for time-consuming hard copy proofing cycles."

Fine-tuning of the system is currently taking place, with live production expected within the next couple of weeks.

Polestar group pre-press director Jack Bissett expected that press side soft proofing would be used in offset production by the end of the year, although the firm has no firm plans or customers lined up as yet.

"I'm really quite excited by it and convinced it's the way to go for offset," he said.