WHEN readers pick up their copy of The Sunday Age this weekend they won’t notice anything different.
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However, there will be one major change.
It will be the first edition of The Age’s gradual transition to be printed in Ballarat.
By the end of April, all but one Fairfax-owned newspaper in Victoria will be printed at the expanded Fairfax Media Print and Distribution site in Wendouree.
The expansion also brings more than 40 new full-time jobs to the community.
Print and distribution manager Matt Hancock said more than $18 million had been spent on the site to allow for the increased production.
“We have expanded the press so we can do two 96-page copies at the same time to accommodate for The Age,” Mr Hancock said.
“We have mirrored our publishing room. It is almost identical except it is a bit faster and a little bit bigger.”
Mr Hancock said the paper store room had also tripled in size during the construction.
The long list of publications printed at the site include the Australian Financial Review, Bendigo Advertiser, Warrnambool Standard and, of course, The Courier.
“When you rattle off the list of jobs we do here they (residents) are amazed it is in their own backyard,” he said.
“Just about every copy of The Good Guys brochure across Victoria is printed here as well – that is millions of copies a month.
“It is great for the local community and gives a bit of longevity to the place being here and to everyone being employed.”
matthew.dixon@fairfaxmedia.com.au