More colour and reduced paper usage will result from upgrades of the Goss Metroliner at Pennsylvania Media Group in Mechanicsburg.

The changes expand printing capacity to enable it take on the printing of 60,000-circulation Lancaster daily LNP.

John Luciew at the group's Pennlive news site reports that the US$3.6 million investment by Advance Central Services Pennsylvania - which owns the production facility - will result in 20 jobs, as it adds other contract work to that of printing the three-days-a-week Patriot-News.

Luciew reports that Lancaster is the company's first seven-day-a-week print client, with an 80,000 circulation Sunday title in the contract.

A four-colour tower and extra folder are being added to the 15-year-old Metroliner tower, with additions to conveyers and controls. As part of the moves, the Patriot-News has changed to the narrower page width, but will gain extra sections and features.

Vice president and general manager of ACS PA Paul Thomas says the investment will make the plant one of central Pennsylvania's leading printing facilities. It is a member of the WAN-Ifra's International Newspaper Quality Club and has received multiple awards for print quality and distribution: "We have tremendous capacity in both volume and colour," he says.

"We care a great deal about quality reproduction, and (the investment) increases our capacity for even more pages, more copies and greater speed. And we are currently in discussion with other regional clients."