In Hagatna, Guam - equidistant between the US navy and airforce bases - a new era has begun at the local Pacific Daily News with the introduction of digital newspaper printing.

The island, a speck in the ocean, just over 1000 kilometres from Papua New Guinea and the Philippines, and more than 6000 km from mainland USA is a US territory. And with the addition of about 35,000 military personnel - not including families and other support personnel - it is undergoing a population boom.

The increased population and rising literacy rates are driving increased demand for printed information, with Gannett-owned the Pacific Daily News the primary printed news outlet.

A new production system for the paper is underway with an installation based on Kodak's Prosper 5000 inkjet web and manroland's FoldLine finishing system and workflow.

Gannett Publishing Services has replaced a less flexible offset newspaper press with the system, eliminating the need for platemaking. One demand was that the 20,000-circulation tabloid daily should be printed and finished in four hours or less, a deadline which the new 300 metres/minute system can meet.

manroland web systems sales vice president Ron Sams describes it as a "breakthrough installation".

"Gannett Publishing Services is a leader in the print industry, and they are embracing emerging technologies for newspapers," he says. "We believe this technology is a game-changer for newspapers in the future."