It might be light on ‘sleaze’ but News International’s new ‘Sun on Sunday’ is a resounding vote of confidence in the power of print… and will help fill a substantial gap at the group's high-tech Broxbourne plant, north of London.

The paper appeared yesterday, only days after its announcement by News Corporation chief executive – and News Australia chairman – Rupert Murdoch and ahead of expectations. Commentators say the launch was brought forward to pre-empt further revelations to the Leveson inquiry.

In coverage on its website, News’ Melbourne tabloid the ‘Herald Sun’ made the comparison between the launch of the original ‘Sun’ in 1969, and the new Sunday edition, publishing side-by-side.

The publisher’s hairline has moved (or disappeared) and the printing plant has been upgraded, but some of the old pride in creation seems to have survived. Murdoch stayed in London last week to support staff and be around for the launch and is reported to have taken a strong interest in its development. He was at the manroland-equipped state-of-the-art Broxbourne plant when first copies came off the presses.

Murdoch has made a new pledge to rebuild public trust in the media, describing the new edition as “the best answer to our critics”.

Designed to print complete newspapers at high speed without inserting, the new plant was left with a substantial gap when the ‘News of the World’ was closed last year after 168 years of publication. Some three million copies were printed and having Tweeted that he would be very happy with sales, “anything substantially over two million”, later reported that an estimated three million had been sold.

Not surprisingly, the launch ‘Sun on Sunday’ is an uncontroversial product, described as more magazine than newspaper, but expected to score sales similar to the daily paper’s 2.8 million copies and provoke a new circulation war.

The first edition was missing the daily stablemate’s trademark ‘Page 3 Girl’ and not everyone was satisfied with other aspects of the content. Former editor Kelvin MacKenzie told a BBC commentator he was unhappy with the lack of kiss-and-tell stories. "I like sleaze on Sunday so I feel slightly robbed,” he said.